American football features large in Imperial Jets’ programme

Broker boosts Imperial progress in inte rnational sports charter

Air charter broker William Gyarfas has developed a productive way to combine business and pleasure. He learns about the requirements and rules of different sports around the world and this furthers the global sports charter business of the New York-based Imperial Jets.

"The United States tends to have a focus on American football, baseball and basketball but interest in soccer is growing and I've also enjoyed assimilating the requirements of rugby and cricket," Gyarfas says.

Gyarfas arranged charters for the most recent Ashes cricket confrontation between England and Australia and is now focusing on international events including the football World Cup in South Africa in 2010 and the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in 2011, in addition to national sporting passions in the US.

Imperial Jets will be donating up to US$2,000 per flight to the scholarship funds of university alumni chapters whose members use Imperial Jets services for private charter flights during the 2009 American football season. Gyarfas explains: "The arrangement applies to aircraft used for any game of any school throughout the season – high profile games, rivalry games, homecoming games, alumni weekends, and bowl games."

Arrangements will be made for fans and alumni of universities to fly private charter at a cost which it says is comparable to first class commercial seats. It can also arrange ground transport, hotel rooms and catering. The donations will be based on the size of aircraft used for the trip – US$500 for a light jet, US$1,250 for a midsize jet, and US$2,000 for a heavy jet. "The agreement will be honored on each and every trip as they occur," Gyarfas says. "There will be no limit to the number of donations an alumni chapter may receive."

Imperial Jets is also sponsoring the inaugural Sports Legends Challenge (SLC) poker tournament at the Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas on September 14-17. Gyarfas says: "The SLC offers sports fans the opportunity to play side-by-side with legends such as Troy Aikman, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Mike Ditka. During the four days, all participants will compete in a wide range of tournaments for up to $10,000,000 in prize money. Amateur players will have the chance to improve their poker skills while being coached by 25 of the world's best poker professionals."

Imperial Jets, which will secure aircraft from any location worldwide to the Bahamas, will donate a portion of the proceeds from the flights to charity. The company, which also has international offices in Dubai, London and Tanzania, has installed a group of specialists from its New York and Tanzania offices to support private flyers attending the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

The World Cup, which takes place from June 11 to July 11, was highlighted in Charter Broker (June 2009) and will be held in nine different South African cities including Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban and Rustenburg. According to FIFA, three million tickets are being distributed.

Sporting and other events will be highlighted on JetRequest.com, a new private jet charter information portal and deal finder. It is headed by Gyarfas and hosted by Imperial Jets.