ROMULUS (WWJ) - As waves of travelers sporting Maize and Blue arrived at Detroit Metro Airport on Friday morning ahead of Monday's Rose Bowl matchup between the No. 1 Wolverines and No. 4 Crimson Tide, at least one airline thought "we're going to need a bigger plane."
Or, as Delta Airlines decided, multiple planes.
The major airline announced Saturday morning that they were going to accommodate more college football fans making their way out to Pasadena, California for the College Football Playoff -- set to kick off at Monday, January 1st, at 5 p.m. -- by adding more flights, in addition to the its current schedule, at its Romulus-based hub.
"Delta has added extra flights, including four extra nonstop flights between Detroit (DTW) and Los Angeles (LAX) ahead of and following this matchup: Delta caters to college football fans with added service to Los Angeles and New Orleans."
Flight details are as follows:
• Dec. 30 – DL 8804 departs DTW at 10:00a.m. local and arrives at LAX at 12:14p.m. local.
• Dec. 31 – DL 8800 departs DTW at 10:00a.m. local and arrives at LAX at 12:14p.m. local.
• Jan. 2 – DL 8800 departs LAX at 10:35a.m. local and arrives at DTW at 6:05p.m. local.
• Jan. 2 – DL 8809 departs LAX at 1:35p.m. local and arrives at DTW at 9:07p.m. local.
WWJ's Charlie Langton reported live from DTW on Friday morning where fans were already catching flights ahead of the big weekend.
"So many people here at Metro Airport getting ready to take a plane out of Detroit and go to Los Angeles for the Rose Bowl," Langton reported.
He tracked down Matt, a '99 University of Michigan grad, asking him why this trip was so exciting.
"It's the Rose Bowl, you know -- it's the game of games!" he replied, adding, "who doesn't want to beat Alabama?"
Don Knight of Ann Arbor was also at the airport on Friday. He was decked out and everything maize and blue, and told Langton the winning strategy for UofM will be "to be loud."
"There's a lot of people traveling," Knight said. "As loud as we can get. I won't have a voice left."
"So I say something!" Langton said.
Knight didn't hesitate to yell, "Go Blue!"
On New Year’s Day the Michigan football team will play in their first Rose Bowl Game since the 2006-07 season.
It will be the Wolverines’ 21st all-time trip to Pasadena, and with everything to play for, it’s arguably their biggest appearance in “The Granddaddy of Them All.”
It's all down to the colossal showdown against Alabama, owners of three national titles in the last eight years and six in the last 15. As the calendar turns to 2024, Michigan will continue the quest for its first national championship since 1997 and first outright, undisputed title since 1948.
A WWJ broadcast special "Go Blue, Or Go Home: the highs and lows of Michigan's road to the Rose Bowl" will air on Saturday, December 30, at 3 p.m. and New Year's Eve Sunday, December 31, at 5:05 p.m.
LISTEN HERE, tell Alexa to 'play WWJ nine-fifty' or stream it anywhere on the free Audacy app