US brokerage Private Jet Services (PJS) together with the LEAD1 Association, which represents member schools of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), have agreed a five-year collective air charter purchasing programme that secures air transportation from licensed carriers and offers participating schools a fixed hourly rate. The programme also includes rebates of up to 20 per cent for teams who participate for a three-year period.

The five-year programme, which kicks off on 15 February, 2019 by providing air travel for the spring athletic season, extends PJS’ track record in sports team air travel service which began in 2003.

“We are delighted to partner with the LEAD1 Association and its members to create an innovative air charter programme that delivers safety, reliability and significant cost savings. PJS has designed and successfully implemented more of these team air travel programmes than any other company in North America. This award by LEAD1 is a testament to the work of our employees and their efforts on behalf of our customers,” says PJS CEO Greg Raiff.

“Our schools spend over $200 million annually on air charter travel,” adds LEAD1 Association president and CEO Tom McMillen. “A collective purchasing effort just makes economic sense when you have 130 schools individually contracting for air travel. Safety, however, will be our number one priority.”

In an effort to improve travel in college athletics, LEAD1 investigated the sharp decline in airlines participating in the air charter market as the reduced supply of charter aircraft and pilots was creating upward pressures on pricing.

To alleviate the problem, LEAD1 selected PJS as its air charter partner, in large part due to the firm’s reputation for reliability, competitive pricing, experience and commitment to safety. PJS created the collegiate and university air charter purchasing programme based on its 15-plus years of supplying mission-critical flight solutions for both college and professional sports clubs, using its knowledge of team travel, aviation resources and contingency planning to develop a programme that is designed to deliver the benefits of private air travel with minimal impact on athletic department travel budgets.