Frequently Asked Questions

How did you obtain these records?

Through the power of #FOIA (or in this case, "WVFOIA", specifically W.Va. Code § 29B-1-1 et. seq.).

Who pays for these flights?

West Virginia University pays for all the trips shown in this database from a pooled fund consisting of tuition, fees, and other revenues. Invoice totals can be verified publicly using the WV Checkbook.

Why does every flight start and end at Latrobe, PA (LBE) if WVU is based in Morgantown, WV which has its own airport (MGW)?

West Virginia University chose not to contract with a Morgantown-based, or even a West Virginia-based, air charter company. LJ Aviation is based at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport (LBE) in Latrobe, PA, 51 nautical miles away Morgantown, WV.

Does this dataset have data from all flights WVU has chartered from LJ Aviation?

No, this dataset contains only ~800 of some more than 1,000 flights. At least 9 months worth of flight data and invoices are missing entirely, including: 2021-12, 2018-01, 2017-12, 2017-10, 2017-09, 2017-08, 2017-07, more than half of 2015-10, and 2015-09. But if the monthly invoice has been found (see the Invoices page on the wvu-flights website, or the invoices table in the Datasette, then the trips located on it would have been processed into this dataset.

Do the costs shown include ground transportation or hotel accommodations?

No. There are additional ground transportation costs, and often hotel accommodation costs, associated with each trip which is not captured in this data. However, transportation or hotel arrangements can often be found in each individual trip itinerary.

I noticed something wrong, experienced a bug, or otherwise have a question about the site or data.

Open an issue via GitHub Issues or send an email to the mailing list at ~abs/wvu-flights@lists.sr.ht.

Are all these flights a waste of money?

Not necessarily. Sometimes, believe it or not, chartering an aircraft can be economical (when compared with flying commercial) depending on the time of travel, number of passengers, and destination(s). Although in the end, the definition of "waste" in this case could be personally subjective.

Instead of spending money on these private flights ... couldn't WVU admins just fly commercial, drive (or be driven), or meet remotely via Zoom or similar?

Yes.

Couldn't the money spent here go elsewhere like academics or institutional support?

Yes, but WVU admins choose instead to spend it flying private. Additionally, WVU claims that their privately chartered flights are necessary expenses by paying for them using the budget code 401 - Institutional Support - Exec Management, which further allows them to draw from the pooled 4187 - Tuition & Required E&G Fees Fund funding source.

How can I access the original records in the condition they were released?

See WVU-LJA.records.zip in the most recent release to download a .zip file containing the PDFs released by the West Virginia State Auditor's Office.

What does the "last updated" date on the wvu-flights website home page mean?

This is the date that any data was last updated in the database itself in any way.