text: Sponsorship Trend: Major Carriers Move Away From Charter Service - IEG Sponsorship Report
  Pro Sports | Jul 25, 2016
  Sponsorship Trend: Major Carriers Move Away From Charter Service
  Majors move away from charter business, but smaller carriers fill the void.
  While many companies use sponsorship to gain business from properties, some airlines are taking a different path.
  With the exception of American, Delta and United, most major carriers do not offer charter service and do not look for business from sponsored teams.
  "It used to be that every deal with a major airline came with a desire for charter business. There's no longer that desire with many of the major carriers," said Michael Young, senior vice president of corporate partnerships with the Los Angeles Dodgers, which this year secured a new partnership with Emirates.
  Teams typically have two contracts with airlines: one for sponsorship, the other for charter service. The two deals are typically negotiated separately.
  "I don't know what our director of travel needs, which is why that is negotiated separately," said Cullen Maxey, Arizona Diamondbacks executive vice president of business operations.
  While each contract is negotiated separately, teams typically try to go with one company, assuming its charter business meets its travel needs.
  That's the case with the Diamondbacks, which works with American Airlines as both a sponsor and a travel partner. The team has worked with American and US Airways (which merged with American in 2013) for the past six or seven years.
  "If all things are close to equal, we're going with our long-term partner."
  To be sure, charter service can be lucrative. Delta, for example, transports the New York Knicks and New York Rangers as part of its multifaceted partnership with The Madison Square Garden Co. MSG awarded the business to Delta in 2015 after spinning off its aircraft leasing business.
  While some major airlines have moved away from charter service, some smaller carriers are filling the void and are using sponsorship to drive their business.
  Eastern Air Lines is sponsoring professional and collegiate sports teams to promote its charter business, build awareness for its relaunched brand and support its reported goal of becoming more than a charter carrier.
  The Miami-based company this month signed a new partnership with Florida International University athletics, around which it will transport the FIU football team for all five away games. The partnership will help the athletic department save $1 million in transportation expenses over the course of the three-year sponsorship, according to an FIU release.
  "This partnership, under which Eastern will fly FIU's football team, helps further our corporate strategy of working closely with world class institutions such as Florida International University, one of the largest universities in the United States," said Edward Wegel, Eastern president and CEO, in a statement.
  Eastern is also the official airline of University of Miami athletics, Georgia State University, Georgia Southern University and the NHL Florida Panthers, the latter of which is owned by Vincent Viola, Eastern Air Lines' majority owner.
  Eastern this year also signed a marketing partnership with Paramount Pictures, around which it is promoting the summer release of Star Trek Beyond on a special livery.
  The airline last week flew the cast, filmmakers and guests from Los Angeles to San Diego for the movie's world premiere.