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Edmonton fans offered charters to see Grey Cup

Edmonton fans offered charters to see Grey Cup

 

Edmonton Eskimos fans are doing their best to get to Winnipeg to see their team compete in the Grey Cup — including chartering planes.

The Canadian Football League’s 103rd Grey Cup will be held at Investors Group Field in Winnipeg at 5 p.m. local time on Sunday. The Edmonton Eskimos will be playing the Ottawa Redblacks.

Airco Aircraft Charters is one of the airlines offering charter flights from Edmonton to Winnipeg for Grey Cup fans. It costs $1,100 each for 18 people to fly in a Beachcraft 1900D from Edmonton to Winnipeg, according to Airco’s website. The flexibility of flying a charter means that passengers can leave and arrive when they choose — even arriving right before the game if they want, Airco managing director Mary Ann Stanway told the Edmonton Journal.

Other airlines are getting in on the charter action to take advantage of the Grey Cup boom — a welcome boost in business at a time when Alberta’s economic slump has led to a drop in corporate charter clients.

Classic Canadian Tours has a same-day return charter flight running on Sunday that costs $504 per person, round trip. Budjet’s same-day charter costs $550. Or there’s a team-organized charter that leaves Edmonton on Friday and returns on Monday, if you want to make a weekend of it. That’ll run you $600 — game tickets not included.

The City of Winnipeg has planned considerable events surrounding the game itself, including a Grey Cup event at the provincial legislature on Wednesday and a post-game party at Max Bell Field House on Sunday night in the effort to entertain early arrivers and get visitors to stay longer.

The Grey Cup brought in $100 million for Vancouver in 2014 and $60 million for Regina the year before. It’s estimated the event will be worth $85.5 million for Winnipeg, according to a preliminary study by the CFL and Economic Development Winnipeg. The study estimated that 28,000 people would come to town for the event.

A charter isn’t the only option to get to Winnipeg, of course. If you’ve got at least $937 to spare, there are still Air Canada flights between Edmonton and Winnipeg that leave on Friday and return on Monday. WestJet will run you a bit less, at $643 to fly to and from Winnipeg from Edmonton on the same days.

There’s also driving, if you can handle the 13 hours or so each way that the trek will take you, or the even longer trip by Greyhound, which takes about 20 hours.

But not everyone can afford a flight, or has the time to head to Winnipeg for the game. That’s why local bar owners in Edmonton are preparing for a busy day on Sunday so hometown fans can cheer the Eskimos on.