Why European soccer is good for airlines

At one time if a soccer fan wanted to travel to a game taking place abroad he (or sometimes she) would take an affinity group charter flight if there was one. More usually these days as airfares have fallen in real terms owing to the influence of LCCs, supporters can follow their team even if it is a foreign one, taking several trips every year on scheduled airlines to watch league matches.

One of the best examples is Scandinavia, where the level of support for British clubs has reached such a level that scheduled flights are being put on for entire seasons just to cater to this demand.

Can such trends spread to long-haul travel? In some cases it already has.