Flight trackers lit up this morning when a Virgin Atlantic Airbus A350-1000 touched down at London Stansted from Indianapolis — a route the airline doesn't normally fly, to an airport it doesn't normally use. The reason? The Indianapolis Colts were in town to face the Washington Commanders at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as part of the NFL London Series.
The jet, registration G-VTEA and nicknamed 'Rosie Lee,' departed Indianapolis at 9:13 PM and landed at Stansted just under seven hours later at 9:02 AM. It's since repositioned to Heathrow to rejoin scheduled service. Getting it to Indianapolis in the first place required some clever repositioning too: the aircraft flew a regular passenger run to Atlanta before hopping over to Indy under charter flight number VIR865P.
This isn't Virgin's first NFL charter. The same VS632 flight number was used in October 2023 to carry the Buffalo Bills home to Niagara after a 25-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and back in 2021 the Miami Dolphins arrived at Stansted on another Virgin A350 ('Purple Rain') ahead of a 23-20 defeat to — once again — the Jaguars.
The A350-1000 is a natural pick for these missions. Virgin's config includes 44 Upper Class flatbeds and 56 Premium Economy recliners alongside 235 economy seats, so players and staff can cross the Atlantic in something close to comfort. But the real headache is logistics. NFL teams travel with a 53-man roster plus coaches, physios and thousands of pounds of helmets, pads and radio equipment. It's such a burden that some franchises, including the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots, have simply bought their own planes.
For plane spotters and sports fans alike, it's a fun reminder that the London games bring more than just football to the capital — they bring widebody jets to airports that rarely see them. Stansted, best known for budget short-haul carriers, is the preferred arrival point for these charters, keeping the big metal away from Heathrow's packed slots until the aircraft can slip back into routine service.
