WARWICK -- The mysterious jet getting all the attention at T.F. Green lately is parked in the same place where fans frequently see a jet with New England Patriots logos on its engines.
This particular jet is a Boeing 767, just like the other one, and it has the same loud paint scheme: red and blue and white.
Only it has no logos on its engines, no “PATRIOTS” written on the fuselage in huge letters, and, gasp, no satisfying arrangement of Lombardi championship [...]
WARWICK -- The mysterious jet getting all the attention at T.F. Green lately is parked in the same place where fans frequently see a jet with New England Patriots logos on its engines.
This particular jet is a Boeing 767, just like the other one, and it has the same loud paint scheme: red and blue and white.
Only it has no logos on its engines, no “PATRIOTS” written on the fuselage in huge letters, and, gasp, no satisfying arrangement of Lombardi championship trophies on its tail.
But no Lombardi trophies have been removed from any plane, according to the Patriots’ spokesman, Stacey James.
The Patriots have two 767s, one with Patriots logos and one without, James said Friday.
The more plain plane has been using the high visibility parking spot on the tarmac at Green lately.
James said he did not have specific information to explain the recent presence of the plane with no Patriots’ markings and the absence of the other one.
But the Patriots' original plan was to lease the jets out to paying customers when possible and James said he figures that’s probably why the particular jet without Patriots’ markings is at the airport.
The other plane might have flown off to receive an upgrade to one of its systems’ or it, too, might be doing charter work, James said.
“That was the plan when we got them,” he added.
So for now, Patriots fans at the airport get to see what James refers to as the “backup plane.”
“If you’re going to have a plane, you better have a backup plane,” said James, who acknowledged that the presence of the plane without logos has generated a lot of chatter at the airport.
Seeing the backup plane for the first time can be a big jarring for fans who prefer the jet that has five Lombardi trophies on its tail. The experience is a bit like seeing more preseason snaps from Brian Hoyer or his predecessor Jimmy Garoppolo.
The Patriots became the first NFL team to own their own jet — also the first to own two jets — back in 2017, finding a new way to outclass a rival team, based in New York, that did not own any jets itself even though it was named after the aircraft.
in February of 2018, the Patriots became the first NFL team to fly to a Super Bowl in their own jet.
Then, in February of 2019, they became the first NFL team to fly to a Super Bowl in their own jet and to then win that Super Bowl.
All of this begs a question: When will the non-backup 767, the one that carries Tom Brady to Super Bowls, get a sixth Lombardi trophy added to its tail fin?
“Eventually,” James said.
But certainly, he said, before the outset of the next NFL season.