Airlines bet big on sports travel boom

United plans to offer a rare flight between Indianapolis and Lincoln on the game weekend. Normally, it wouldn't connect those two cities with nonstop service.

There are more flights like that one, too.

That same week, United will also offer unusual nonstop service between Eugene, Oregon, and Columbus, Ohio, catering to a high-stakes University of Oregon-Ohio State University matchup.

Meanwhile, Southwest Airlines has added a full slate of flights this fall, specifically to carry fans to away games.

Plus, American Airlines will go bigger and farther when the Dallas Cowboys head to Brazil for an NFL game. American will offer a special flight from Dallas to Rio de Janeiro on one of its large Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

As The Points Guy examines here, airlines are leaning into sports, and for good reason, too.

"The local market in sports is so popular right now, and so much money is being spent," Joe Esposito, chief commercial officer at Delta Air Lines, said when speaking on a panel in Texas in August.

"No matter where you look in this country — whether it's college, pro, WNBA — everything is packed," he added. "It's an insatiable business."

Sports travel is booming

In 2025, fans spent $51.1 billion traveling to spectator sporting events, according to the Sports Events and Tourism Association.

Keep in mind that was before fans flooded major U.S. cities this summer for the FIFA World Cup.

In Austin, one out of every six hotel room nights is now owed to sports-related travel, tourism leaders say.

"It drives summer. It drives weekend[s]," Tom Noonan, CEO of Visit Austin, said at a panel in August. "It's a big part of Austin's future."

It's about how fans are traveling

Of course, fans following their teams around the country is nothing new.

Rose Gray, a Wisconsin-based travel adviser, has helped Green Bay Packers fans book trips to away games for more than 40 years.

What has changed, she said, is how fans are choosing to travel.

Gone are the days of scoring cheap tickets, staying in budget motels and tailgating to beat traffic.

Now, fans are asking Gray to send them to Formula One races in Monaco with prime seats and meet and greets with their favorite drivers.

"They may say, 'I don't want to just stay in some Motel Six an hour away from the Masters," Gray, of Fox World Travel, told TPG. "They're looking for an experience. It's not just a game. It's talking to the locals. Learning about the local cuisine. Being as close as possible."

It's a cultural phenomenon cut from the same cloth as the all-in approach Taylor Swift fans took while booking trips to the Eras tour in 2023 and 2024: expensive hotels, luxe dinners and high-end experiences.

In the face of stubborn inflation and higher borrowing costs, it might be the latest sign that consumers are refusing to sacrifice travel even as they face difficult spending decisions.

"I don't think the splurge is necessarily people that are all really wealthy," Wendy Zajack, adjunct professor who studies consumer behavior at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business, explained to TPG.

"I think people are willing to save for a big trip or a big moment," Zajack added. "And when they do it, they're going to do it all in."

Airlines bet big on the big game

Southwest is planning unique nonstop service between Oklahoma City and Jacksonville when Oklahoma plays the University of Florida in November.

The weekend before Thanksgiving, there's a flight between Columbus and Omaha when Ohio State plays Nebraska.

To be fair, these football-focused flights aren't actually new.

United has been strategically adding unique routes to college football games for nearly a decade.

In recent years, the Chicago-based carrier has doubled down on finding opportunities to add one-off routes, even ones that don't touch its major hubs.

A prime example is the flight between Birmingham, Alabama, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which it added for the Nov. 7 Alabama versus LSU matchup.

"We've developed a much deeper understanding of where fans want to go and how they prefer to travel," Michael Weeks, United's managing director of domestic schedule development, told TPG.

"That experience," he said, "has helped us become more strategic in identifying the right games, matching capacity to demand, and creating schedules that work well for customers."

More than a game

The deep link between sports and travel goes well beyond Saturday college football games, too — especially as leagues launch games to more alluring destinations.

The NFL is planning its biggest international tour in 2026, following the first-ever game in Australia.

Next summer, the MLB plans to host another game on the Iowa farm that was once the set of the film "Field of Dreams."

Meanwhile, ticket sales are already underway for one of the biggest draws of all: the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

At a time when so much in life now happens on a screen, traveling to these "in-real-life" games increasingly feels like a splurge worth planning a larger trip around, according to Zajack.

"I think in our world right now we are really craving unique time-bound events," she said. "I don't see an end to it right now."

Tips for booking

If you're planning to book a trip to see your favorite team, it helps to be an eagle-eyed schedule-watcher.

Begin searching flights and hotels as soon as your team's schedule drops. If you're hoping to use points, the best award deals are sometimes available 11 months or more in advance.

Just be sure to book reservations you can change if the price later drops or if your plans change.

Consider protecting your trip with a travel insurance plan that covers major events like sports games or concerts. When possible, add another layer of protection by purchasing your travel with a credit card that has built-in travel insurance.

Flight prices typically surge around major events, so plan to land a few days early and leave a couple of days after the final whistle. This can add peace of mind if you get delayed and help you avoid high-demand ticket prices.

Finally, be strategic when using points and miles. While award bookings can reduce your out-of-pocket expenses on flights and hotels, research current valuations to ensure you're not handing too many hard-earned points over at once.

This story was produced by The Points Guy and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.