Burner Express Air Accepting Proposals From New Air Carriers for 2018

Update 12/15/17: Due to additional information requested of vendors, Burning Man expects to announce its selection of a an air carrier service provider for Burner Express Air on January 12, 2018.

Burning Man is soliciting proposals from air carrier service providers for the Burner Express Air program for 2018.

In 2016, Burning Man introduced the Burner Express Air program and contracted with Advantage Flight Solutions (AFS) to manage all air charter operators flying to and from the event. The goal of the program was to improve safety and manage capacity of flights to and from Black Rock City while providing an easier way for participants to book a flight via the Burner Express Air website. AFS coordinated flights, bookings and participant entrance and exit to Black Rock City.

In its inaugural year, Burner Express Air flew approximately 2,300 participants into and 2,400 out of Black Rock City. Burner Express Air flights operated from Wednesday, August 24 through Tuesday, September 6. Participants were able to book a seat on a plane or reserve an entire aircraft. AFS was able to allocate appropriate aircraft to high demand time slots and space out air traffic so that no more than 15 landings an hour occurred at any time during the event. AFS was also able to arrange for the largest planes ever to fly into Black Rock City: Beechcraft 1900s seating 19 people and Bombardier Dash-8s seating 29 people. BRC estimates that by using larger planes, 405 fewer landings were needed to accommodate participants flying into Black Rock City.

For 2017, BRC will once again be working with AFS to deliver the Burner Express Air program. To learn more, please visit the Burner Express Air website here.

Burning Man will be accepting Letters of Intent (LOIs) through July 21 from carriers to partner with BRC on the Burner Express Air program for 2018. A few carriers will be invited to attend the 2017 event for a one-day site visit. Full proposals will be accepted through December 1, and a final contract will be awarded by December 15, 2017. If you are interested in submitting a letter of intent for Burner Express Air 2018, please send it to airportcharter@burningman.org.

Photo by Bobby Pin