by Andy Dehnart

Part of the wonder of watching “The Amazing Race” is trying to figure out just how the producers pulled off a literal race around the world. A big part of that involves the flights that teams frequently take to get from one location to the next. On most commercial flights, teams must buy their own tickets ? and, generally, tickets for their two-person camera crew. Whether or not they get on a flight is determined by whether or not there’s space on the plane. (To buy last-minute, full-fare, economy-class tickets, they use a credit card supplied by the producers; it can be used for nothing except plane tickets.)

Occasionally, teams sign up for charter flights that have been pre-booked by the producers, so the producers can arbitrarily decide how many seats are available on each flight. The same often holds true for the first commercial flights on the race’s first leg. Producers pre-purchase those tickets, so teams simply claim one of the pre-booked flights once they arrive at the airport.

Wherever teams land, they’re part of a truly international effort. According to CBS, “approximately 2,000 people are hired worldwide during the running of the Race. These other people perform jobs as diverse as transportation management, communications, Team tracking, translating, stunt rigging and catering.”

Before the race, the show’s creators and executive producers ? married couple Elise Doganieri and Bertram Van Munster ? each plan the route through half of the world. (Interestingly, Elise came up with the idea for the show when challenged by her husband to create a show idea in five minutes.) In most countries “The Amazing Race” stops in, the producers are assisted by local crews who are hired to work with the permanent crew members who travel around the world. That explains, in part, the disclaimer that ran before last week’s episode. It noted that people who’d worked on the race in Sri Lanka had been affected by the tsunami. It said, “The following episode of The Amazing Race was filmed in Sri Lanka several weeks before a deadly tsunami struck the country. We dedicate this episode to the memory of the thousands of people who lost their lives in this terrible tragedy, and to our courageous friends and co-workers in the region who are coping with its aftermath.”

Source: MSNBC.com

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