Europa League Draw: Rangers / Progrès Niederkorn v AEL Limassol / St Joseph's

[rbr 1,256]

There are hardly any decent tickets available online at the moment so will need to wait for Sunday and hope all the season ticket holders don't take theirs

[ian1964 10,724]

There are hardly any decent tickets available online at the moment so will need to wait for Sunday and hope all the season ticket holders don't take theirs

 

FS is your man

[trublusince1982 243]

Has anyone travelled with the TC often? Been once and it was a disgrace, have always travelled and bought tickets on our own. Have seen some terrible treatment of fans when going with the TC like at Auxerre ? Does anyone have good stories of travelling with the official club?

[trublusince1982 243]

There are hardly any decent tickets available online at the moment so will need to wait for Sunday and hope all the season ticket holders don't take theirs

Yeah I just bought two had to settle on club deck 1 to get two together, abroad the now so didn't want to risk waiting

[Tannochsidebear 2,420]

Has anyone travelled with the TC often? Been once and it was a disgrace, have always travelled and bought tickets on our own. Have seen some terrible treatment of fans when going with the TC like at Auxerre ? Does anyone have good stories of travelling with the official club?

 

Have travelled with the TC many times and generally all have been smooth operations. I have also travelled with Sport options a few times and again are a very professional outfit. I would add that I usually just do the day trip so cant comment on accommodation etc. I will be going with the TC again this time.

 

I was in Auxerre but cant remember if i went with TC or SO, but other than the torrential rain I dont remember being mistreated?

[BrahimHemdani 1]

Has anyone travelled with the TC often? Been once and it was a disgrace, have always travelled and bought tickets on our own. Have seen some terrible treatment of fans when going with the TC like at Auxerre ? Does anyone have good stories of travelling with the official club?

 

I travelled with the Club to Stuttgart (2003), Maritimo, Wronki, Nicosia for Famagusta, Bratislava, Porto, Valencia for Villarreal, Molde, Pisa for Livorno, Auxerre, Tel Aviv, Zeta in Montenegro and Belgrade; I went independently to Pamplona for Osasuna to and all the group stage games in 2007/08, and all the matches subsequently in 2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12. So I can base my comments on having travelled 13 times with the Club and 19 times independently to 21 different countries over 9 seasons.

 

I agree that generally the TC trips are well organised and so far as I can recall the buses have always been there to meet the aircraft arriving. The issue I recall in Auxerre was that the police moved the buses and I do remember one chap did not find them and had to make his own way to the airport. There have been issues with departure times of flights being delayed awaiting incoming aircraft and particularly with delayed return flights due to crew down times as they rely on the same crew who are entitled to the legal off duty hours. Obviously this can be a particular issue on day trips. I recall there being a long delay after the match in Molde. This is exacerbated because the aircraft cannot be refuelled until the crew are on board. In addition going with the Club means that you are subject to delays by local police inspecting buses etc and dictating where the buses and fans are dropped off e.g. Belgrade they put us in a park and didn't want to allow us into the city. IIRC we were held in the buses for around 1.5 hours after the game vs Amica Wronki. If you travel independently generally you will avoid such restrictions.

 

The other issue is price. The TC is usually the most expensive option (£395 for the day trip this time, albeit direct and inc transfers vs around £300 for scheduled flights) and there are some who feel that this is because if you do not have much of a history then the only way to guarantee a ticket is to go with the Club. Also the Club are making a profit and paying for staff on the trips and so are the travel agents. There have been several occasions when folk with 0 points have got tickets by going with the Club (as I did myself when I was just starting out) and those with much better histories going independently have not. How big an issue this is depends on the ticket allocation. I don't see it as an issue for LUX because of the move to the National Stadium but it will be an issue if we go to bigger clubs and are limited to the statutory 5%, which often means around 1,000 - 2,000 tickets. Bear in mind that Corporate and Sponsors as well as players and directors account for several hundred tickets. There are 2 or 3 supporters clubs who traditionally have also run buses and get an allocation. So quite often there are only a few hundred or less left for independent travellers.

 

Again in my experience the TC trips are generally well monitored in terms of fan behaviour on flights and buses; surprisingly this can be an issue on scheduled flights with a large number of fans on board.

 

I have no experience of Sport Options other than to say that they are usually a few quid cheaper than the Club (I have often felt that they wait to see the Club's price and then charge a bit less but that may be the cynic in me); this time £379 vs £395 but they do not supply tickets.

 

My experience has been that it is always cheaper to travel independently, albeit sometimes by circuitous routes e.g. 3 flights to Pamplona via London and Madrid and flights and bus/ferry to Istanbul for Bursa, flight and trains to Maribor. As a rule of thumb I have been able to do a one night trip for the same price as the Club charge for a day trip and a 2 night trip for the same price as they charge for a 1 night trip. This is for a single room. Those sharing will be more cost effective. I reckon you can do a 2 night trip to LUX sharing a room in a decent hotel for £425/£450 vs £395 for the Club's day trip and you should have no problem getting a ticket unless 10,000 bears turn up, which is not impossible given 8,500 in Leipzig.

 

My understanding is that more than 4,000 have signed up to the TC, which is an extraordinary number especially for this stage of the season and that around 200 (inc me ) have the maximum 6 points history from 2009/10 & 2010/11.

 

Rangers are only taking one plane so you can do the maths. I suspect they will take around 5,000 - 6,000 tickets if they can get them, so everyone who wants one should get one. It will be a completely different story in Cyprus and if we get to Q3 because we will be limited to the statutory 5% which usually works out as I said about 1,000 - 2,000 tickets.

 

The TC is closed for this match but may be re-opened for Cyprus or any other matches depending on demand and supply of tickets.

 

I hope this helps. Anyone who wants specific advice feel free to ask and I'll try to answer.

Edited June 22, 2017 by BrahimHemdani

[Tannochsidebear 2,420]

It may be cheaper to travel independently but you often need a lot of free time to be able to do so. Many of my friends end up going on 3 planes and a Euro trip requiring 3 days to save £100. I am quite sure they spend more than £100 on the extra days food and drink even before costing in days off work.

 

The big difference between the TC and SO is ticket guarantee. If you go with TC you get your ticket as no matter the number of tickets RFC receive, the first lot go to the official flight. If you book up with SO you go into the independent ticket ballot. Sometimes this works ok, and sometimes it doesnt.

 

I agree in the past the TC has been a bit like herding sheep with some daft rules etc, but I think that was more to do with poor management which wont be an issue now that there are different personnel in charge.

 

I know you are right BH in the pricing from SO. They generally just cut TC by £20-30 but they do run a good service as an option for those who didnt get a ticket through TC sometimes.

[Tannochsidebear 2,420]

On a sidenote there are some supporters buses running to this game, and I have just heard that my own RSC, Nithsdale, are running a bus and that it is already over-subscribed.

 

I think we are going to be amazed at the numbers going to this game in Lux!

[forlanssister 3,114]

Only once went official to Podgirica and that was due to logistical difficulties in getting there. Sat outside the airport waiting for a couple of hours till the crew had their rest period. However with the travelling to and from Glasgow allied to the delay the day trip was more like a two day trip for us.

 

Normally go independent from Aberdeen via Schipol as it's the most convenient and usually for 3 nights always travelling the day before the game.

 

Working out about £570 per head all in for the Luxembourg trip sharing a room in Novotel Kirchberg which appears to be a decent gaff.

[BrahimHemdani 1]

It may be cheaper to travel independently but you often need a lot of free time to be able to do so. Many of my friends end up going on 3 planes and a Euro trip requiring 3 days to save £100. I am quite sure they spend more than £100 on the extra days food and drink even before costing in days off work.

 

The big difference between the TC and SO is ticket guarantee. If you go with TC you get your ticket as no matter the number of tickets RFC receive, the first lot go to the official flight. If you book up with SO you go into the independent ticket ballot. Sometimes this works ok, and sometimes it doesnt.

 

I agree in the past the TC has been a bit like herding sheep with some daft rules etc, but I think that was more to do with poor management which wont be an issue now that there are different personnel in charge.

 

I know you are right BH in the pricing from SO. They generally just cut TC by £20-30 but they do run a good service as an option for those who didnt get a ticket through TC sometimes.

 

The TC has never been the same since Gillian Melrose left. She was a tigress. The lady who took over (name escapes me) ended in tears in Israel but did gradually become more confident. A lot of good staff have left but one or two experienced ones remain and I would be fairly confident that this is an easy restart for them.

 

Another advantage of going independently is that the travel itself can be interesting e.g the train to trip across the Alps from Vienna to Maribor and if you stay at least one night then you can do a bit of sightseeing.

 

That said I recall in Pisa mentioning to some of the guys that the Leaning Tower was just round the corner, you could literally see the top from where they were sitting. "Maybe later" came the reply, they never did see it.