NBA Abu Dhabi series prompts rare Etihad Boeing 777 to visit Milwaukee

While Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE) is a sizable facility, the busiest airport in the US state of Wisconsin sees little international traffic. In practice, this often amounts to a combination of Air Canada Express flights to Toronto and seasonal services to Cancun by various airlines. However, the upcoming National Basketball Association (NBA) game in Abu Dhabi has attracted a rare visitor.

unlikely sight

From October 6 to 8, Abu Dhabi’s 18,000-seat Etihad Stadium will host two NBA preseason games between the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks, both teams requiring long-haul flights.Atlanta is no stranger to wide-body aircraft because of its Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) is a major delta center.

In the case of Milwaukee, however, the Abu Dhabi series offers a rare treat for local aircraft enthusiasts.That’s because the Bucks took advantage of Etihad Airways The Boeing 777-300ER family flies around and represents an extremely rare sight at an airport.

The Eagles also flew to Abu Dhabi in an Etihad 777-300ER, data from FlightRadar24.com Showing them lift off on Friday, September 30th at 16:42. After more than 13 hours of flight, they landed in Abu Dhabi at 13:41 the next day. However, the Bucks appear to be aiming for a shorter stay.

Both teams traveled to Abu Dhabi on an Etihad Airways 777-300ER.Photo: Getty Images

flight details

From FlightRadar24’s data, we can see that the Bucks’ 777 (A6-ETI) has a fairly quick turnaround in Milwaukee. In fact, it left the Abu Dhabi base as EY145 at 07:39 local time yesterday and landed in Wisconsin at 13:02 after nearly 14.5 hours in the air. The scheduled departure time for the flight back to Abu Dhabi (EY144) was just under four hours later, at 16:40.

However, the plane actually took off more than an hour later at 17:46 local time. It flew northeast over the United States and Canada, reaching the Atlantic Ocean off Canada’s northeast coast, before following an east-southeast track across the ocean. It cruised at 33-35,000 feet and made landfall over Ireland.

Its path then passed through England, Holland and Germany, by which time its altitude had increased to 37,000 feet. Turning right over Germany, the plane headed southeast, then over Austria, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. As of this writing, it is cruising over the Black Sea.

Despite being over an hour late, at the time of writing, the flight would still arrive 32 minutes early. picture:
FlightRadar24.com

aircraft involved

As per regulations, the Milwaukee Bucks plane flew to Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) is Etihad Airways Boeing The 777-300ER is registered as A6-ETI.According to data from ch-aviation.comthe 10.8-year-old twin-engine jet is one of nine models in the Emirates flag carrier’s fleet, seven of which are in service.

This particular aircraft joined Etihad Airways in January 2012, where he has worked throughout his career. It is configured with 330 economy class seats in a 10-a-side (3-4-3) configuration, and a 10-row, 40-seat business class section with flatbeds in a 1-2-1 configuration. As shown above, it looks like the Bucks players will enjoy the luxury of this cabin.

What do you think of this exciting charter? Have you met a traveling sports team on your flying adventures? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!