Former White House Travel Office Director Runs Advanced Aviation Team, Arranging Charter Flights for Campaigns and VIPs
Why It MattersThe firm illustrates how asset-light charter arrangers capture political and high-net-worth demand through logistics expertise and relationships, leaving aircraft ownership and operation to third-party carriers.
What happened
Gregg Brunson-Pitts founded Advanced Aviation Team (AAT) in 2015, after serving as director of the White House Travel Office during the George W. Bush administration. He lives in Arlington's Williamsburg neighborhood. AAT does not own or lease aircraft. It handles logistics: chartering planes, configuring cabin layouts and overseeing aircraft graphics and branding.
Political campaigns use the company to arrange flights for candidates and their staff, press, security and donors. In 2020, AAT branded Joe Biden's 737-500 campaign jet with the Biden-Harris logo and the slogan "Battle for the Soul of the Nation," with seats arranged for social distancing. Clients have included candidates from both parties, from Florida's Ron DeSantis to Vermont's Bernie Sanders. In 2024, AAT organized the flight that took Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to Philadelphia for his announcement as Kamala Harris' vice presidential pick.
Brunson-Pitts studied political science, history and constitutional law at Bowling Green State University and held a White House internship in 2002. He worked on Bush's 2004 reelection campaign and was then offered the job of directing the White House Travel Office, where he managed the charter aircraft that traveled alongside Air Force One carrying the press corps, Secret Service personnel and staff. He cites a 2008 trip to five African nations with President Bush to promote the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) as a highlight.
AAT has since expanded to corporate executives and wealthy private clients, with summer trips to destinations such as Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard and winter trips to the Caribbean. Brunson-Pitts declined to disclose pricing, saying it depends on factors such as catering and whether a flight attendant is requested. Competitor Global Charter lists small-plane flights from Washington, D.C., to Martha's Vineyard starting at $5,700. Some AAT charters depart from Dulles International Airport, while others use the smaller Washington Manassas Airport or Leesburg Executive Airport.
Industry impact & what to watch
AAT works as a pure arranger: it sells coordination, cabin configuration and branding rather than lift. That model suits political work, where the product is a flight that looks, sounds and moves the way a campaign needs. A distinct, well-documented credential, such as years running presidential press charters, carries real weight in a segment where clients cannot afford a scheduling or security misstep.
The move from campaigns to corporate executives and wealthy leisure travelers follows a logical path for an asset-light intermediary. Seasonal demand toward Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard and the Caribbean is served by the same capability, finding and dressing the right aircraft, without the capital or utilization risk of a fleet. Because pricing varies with catering and crew requests, quotes from such arrangers are hard to compare with advertised starting fares like the $5,700 figure from Global Charter.
The airport mix in the profile, Dulles alongside Manassas and Leesburg Executive, reflects how Washington-area charter demand spreads across a main commercial airport and smaller general aviation fields. How far a politically anchored brand can keep growing in the private client market will depend on repeat business outside election cycles.
