Earlier today, a Virgin Atlantic Airbus A350-1000 landed at London Stansted Airport (STN) from Indianapolis International Airport (IND). While transatlantic traffic plays an important role in the carrier’s day-to-day operations, its London base is not Stansted but Heathrow (LHR), and Indianapolis is not on its usual roster of US destinations. As such, this flight, numbered as VS632, drew interest.

The reason for this special service is the NFL London Series, with the Indianapolis Colts facing off against the Washington Commanders at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the British capital city. As it happens, Virgin Atlantic is no stranger to these charters, having operated several over the years. In any case, given their large entourage and specialist equipment, NFL teams are trickier to fly than most.

A Very Special Charter

Credit: Simple Flying

This morning, users of Simple Flying’s flight tracker might have spotted a Virgin Atlantic Airbus A350-1000 landing at London Stansted Airport from Indianapolis International Airport. The aircraft in question was G-VTEA, a 6.2-year-old jet that also bears the name ‘Rosie Lee,’ according to Planespotters.net. Data from Flightradar24 shows that it took off from Indianapolis at 9:13 PM last night.

It touched down at Stansted six hours and 49 minutes later, at 9:02 AM local time today, and, at 11:30 AM, it is set to reposition to London Heathrow Airport to re-enter regular service. Likewise, with Indianapolis not being a regular Virgin destination, the aircraft flew to Atlanta (ATL) yesterday as a regularly scheduled passenger flight (VS115) before repositioning later in the day. It flew to Indianapolis as VIR865P.

Simple Flying has reached out to Virgin Atlantic for further information regarding this flight. We will update our coverage upon receiving a statement from the carrier.

Not Virgin’s First Rodeo

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A quick look at historical tracking data made available by Flightradar24 shows that this is not the first time that Virgin Atlantic has used the VS632 flight number in relation to a game in the NFL London Series. Indeed, in October 2023, the same designation was applied to a flight from London Stansted Airport to Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF) after the Bills lost 25-20 to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Two years before that, social media posts on X by user @picsthomasgg highlighted the fact that the Miami Dolphins had arrived at London Stansted Airport on an Airbus A350-1000 that bore the registration G-VNRB and the name ‘Purple Rain’ in October of 2021. The other team on this occasion was also the Jacksonville Jaguars, with the Florida outfit running out winners once more by a similar score of 23-20.

Virgin Atlantic’s Airbus A350-1000s are well-equipped for high-value transatlantic sports charters such as these. According to aeroLOPA, their most luxurious configuration features 100 non-economy seats: 44 flatbeds in Upper Class and 56 recliners in Premium Economy. This opulent environment makes for an ideal way to cross the Atlantic in style ahead of a big game. The jets also have 235 economy seats.

Flying NFL Teams Can Be A Logistical Challenge

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Charters are part and parcel of everyday life in modern commercial aviation. However, NFL teams are arguably more difficult to handle than most on this front, due to a wide variety of factors. As such, several teams have opted to acquire their own aircraft in order to be able ease the logistical burden. These include the Arizona Cardinals and the New England Patriots, as covered previously by Simple Flying.

In terms of the factors that make it tricky to fly an NFL team to a game on the road, equipment is up there: the demands of the sport mean that each team has to travel with thousands of pounds of helmets, pads, and even communication devices for the coaches. Then there are the players themselves, with each team having a 53-person roster. As such, this flight will have posed an interesting challenge for Virgin!