FOIA SAYS WVU'S PLANE FLEW TO CHARLESTON HUNDREDS OF TIMES - Lease $800,000 Annually

(03/02/2009)
West Virginia University records show WVU officials took hundreds of trips on a leased airplane over an 18-month period from Morgantown to Charleston.

The information was obtained from the school through a Freedom of Information request filed by the Dominion Post.

The university leases the seven-passenger plane for nearly $800,000 annually for about 450 hours of use.

The lease agreement is with LJ Associates of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, through 2014.

Records requested by The Dominion Post under the FOIA Information reveals 306 trips were taken between January 1, 2007, and September 30, 2008.

The newspaper said that Charleston was the most common destination for the WVU plane.

WVU spokeswoman Becky Lofstead says all the trips were for university business, including administrative meetings, alumni events and professional conferences.