Window or aisle, Zlatan? Why MLS teams still fly commercial

There are a few different categories of Airport People. There are the holidaymakers, often already in beachwear and almost always with a brightly coloured neck pillow hung on their shoulders like an NBA star wearing a pair of oversized headphones. Then there are The Business People in crumpled suits. You may smell their coffee breath before you see them.

Major League Soccer players could make up a third category. Indeed, few people spend more time in airport North American departure lounges. Their season is a long one and with teams located as far north as Vancouver, as far east as Foxborough, as far west as San Jose and as far south as Orlando, travel days are just part of the job.

Of course, most athletes are accustomed to such a nomadic lifestyle. But in MLS the manner of travel rather than the travel itself has become a talking point. While NBA, NHL, MLB and NFL players journey cross-country in comfort and luxury on private jets and charter flights, MLS’s stars are more often than not forced to fly commercially, complete with layovers and connecting flights.

League rules stipulate that teams can only charter flights for four travel legs, not even four games, per season. Extraordinary circumstances, like cancelled flights, extreme weather or a lack of suitable commercial options, are accounted for, but in effect this means MLS players can only travel like their other major league peers for two games (outgoing and return) in a season that can stretch to 40 games.

This has become a discussion point unique to MLS. Fans of other leagues rarely give much thought to how teams travel to games, but in North American soccer it is a topic of much debate, to such an extent that the subject is expected to be raised in future Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) talks with the league. “With a CBA you’re talking about investment in a wide variety of areas including player compensation,” says MLS president Mark Abbott. “So the question is what’s the right balance between investment in player compensation and investment in charter travel?

Nonetheless, some players have voiced their displeasure at the current arrangement. “Should’ve flown out of Vancouver last night after early kickoff,” Alejandro Bedoya tweeted after a Philadelphia Union game earlier this season. “Instead, we wake up at 4:45 am, spend all day in airports (connect in Toronto) & on airplanes w/ no legroom cross country, and just finally landed back in Philly.” He sarcastically concluded, “what a great recovery day,” punctuated with a facepalm emoji for good measure.

Bedoya fleshed out his criticism the following day. “For me, it’s just so frustrating,” he told reporters. “This is not a Philly issue, this is a league-wide issue. I’m speaking on behalf of all the players in the league. I put that out there and I got messages from players on all different teams laughing with me and telling me I’m so right.”

Such comments feed into a wider debate that MLS is being held back by its own structure. This is a discussion that covers topics from promotion-relegation to the salary cap and Designated Player rule, but also encompasses the discourse around charter travel and the way the league’s players are treated. Primarily, it’s not about the comfort of travelling teams, but ensuring players can produce their best.

“There isn’t a single player in MLS who doesn’t think the league should do better when it comes to charter flights and travel,” says Bob Foose, the executive director of the MLS Players Association. “We view charter flights the same way that we view top-level training facilities, which are not typically a CBA issue. If the league truly aspire to become a league of choice, it must eliminate most, if not all, commercial flights for players.”

It’s worth pointing out that it was only around three decades ago that NBA teams started to fly charter, underlining the argument that MLS is still in its early years. For comparison, the average value of an NBA franchise currently stands at $1.35bn while the average MLS team is worth $240m. That disparity is the main reason why NBA players fly charter and MLS players don’t.

Abbott also points out that charter flights are just one way of mitigating travel time. “Look at what we have done with our schedule so that when people travel across the country we try and have them play more than one game so that the travel is minimised as a result of that,” he explains. “You now play more games against your regional rivals or clubs in your conference which also minimises travel.”

Much of the debate is down to perception, but it is something that clearly matters to players. Indeed, the thought of a global star like Zlatan Ibrahimovic sat in a departure lounge on a layover seems a little ridiculous, almost a throwback to the NASL days when Pele was forced to play on substandard fields literally painted green. There is a disconnect between the stature of such superstars being lured to the league and the travel arrangements made for them.

In other leagues in other countries, travel is something barely afforded a thought. It is an unsexy logistical concern given as much coverage as the washing of kits or the printing of tickets. Not many leagues cover such a huge area, though. All debate and discussion around a lack of charter travel stems from this.

Charter flights are expensive and not always easy to book - American Airlines pulled out of an agreement to provide six NFL teams with charter service for the 2017 season due to shifting trends in the aviation industry. Abbott is right to point out that there are more pressing concerns for MLS to address. And yet there remains turbulence around the issue.