Austin Sagan, a 29-year-old network planning analyst for American Airlines, has a unique job that involves watching sports games for a living. As a specialist in special events, Sagan's work involves setting up the airline's flying schedule to accommodate fans attending games and events.
For the World Cup, Sagan and his team mapped out flight paths for placeholders based on stadium locations and rough dates, long before the official drawing. When FIFA held its final draw ceremony in December, Sagan was glued to a group chat of revenue-management colleagues firing off messages in real-time to make surgical adjustments.
Sagan beefed up the L.A.-to-Seattle route to help followers of the U.S. team attend early-round group matches. He added capacity from Scotland's opening matches in the Boston area to Miami, where their final group match against Brazil is set. Japan's fans are showing a high propensity for travel, so Sagan increased flights between their group-stage outings in Dallas and Monterrey, Mexico.
Once the games begin, Sagan will be watching for unexpected outcomes that might require a fresh look at the schedule. He leans on colleagues who are more tuned-in to the intricacies of sports fandom, and isn't above texting friends for insights on certain matchups or rivalries.
