Playoff fever is on in Montreal as the Canadiens face the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final. For Dany Gagnon, co-owner of Quebec City–based Chrono Aviation, the idea came on a whim — he’s offering a charter flight on a 189-seat Boeing 737 for fans heading to Raleigh for Game 2 Saturday.
“We were getting some calls last week while the Canadian were fighting against the Buffalo team,” said Dany Gagnon, co-founder and VP of Chrono Aviation. “We are a charter company, so people were calling us to see how much would it be to charter an aircraft for a group of four, group of six, group of eight.”
In partnership with Laurier du Vallon travel agency, Gagnon — who is also one of the pilots on Saturday — decided to give it a try.
For $1,950 per person, fans get a round-trip flight, a ticket to Game 2, and a bus transfer between the Raleigh airport and the Hurricanes arena.
On the streets of Montreal, fans say the atmosphere alone would be worth the trip.
“That would be crazy for sure because we have the best fans in the whole league, 100%,” said one Montrealer met on Friday. “I imagine like it’s a mini Bell Center but in a plane, so that would be good.”
“I don’t think I’d be able to sleep,” added another one.
Chrono Aviation’s co-founder and VP Dany Gagnon is turning playoff hype into reality, chartering a special flight for Canadiens fans heading to Game 2 on Saturday. (Instagram: chronoaviation)
Tickets went on sale Wednesday, but Gagnon says it wasn’t until that first faceoff between the Canadiens and the Hurricanes that sales really took off.
“It’s been selling like crazy all day. And today I can tell you that we are sold out. We don’t have any more seats,” said Gagnon.
The plane is set to take off from Saint-Hubert around noon, make a quick stop in Quebec City to pick up more supporters, then continue on to North Carolina, where a bus will take them straight to the Lenovo Center in Raleigh.
Before takeoff, though, there’s one image Gagnon can’t get out of his head.
“I can’t stop thinking about the idea of shooting some videos of the aircraft loaded with 189 fans with their shirts on and send this to the local media in Raleigh, telling them, ‘Hey, we’re coming!’” said Gagnon.
Montréal Canadiens celebrate their third goal during the first period in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series against the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker) Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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