NIGP 96288: Travel, Non-Local (Scheduled and Unscheduled), Provided by Third Party (incl. Commercial Airplane Travel and Helicopter Services)

NIGP 96288 Travel, Non-Local (Scheduled and Unscheduled), Provided By Third Party (Incl. Commercial Airplane Travel and Helicopter Services) is an Item code covering helicopter services for operational missions across state agencies, counties, and special districts, with recent activity dominated by wildlife management, emergency response, and prescribed-burn operations rather than commercial airline travel. State and local governments are procuring helicopter lift, aerial ignition, large-mammal capture support, herbicide application, transmission-line inspection, and specialized transport operations—most sourced through IFB, RFQ, and RFP vehicles at hourly or per-mission rates. The issuing bodies span state wildlife agencies (California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources), water management districts (St. Johns River Water Management District), county sheriffs (Orange County, California), state transportation (Caltrans), and utilities (Orlando Utilities Commission). California and Utah drive the largest concentration of recent activity, with Florida, Texas, and Colorado-region operations adding secondary volume.

Representative recent opportunities include California Department of Parks and Recreation issuing three separate IFBs (C26803015, C26803017, C26803019) in October 2026 for helicopter services supporting cannabis eradication across the state's Northern, Central, and Coastal/Desert divisions, each with bids due October 27, 2026 and two-provider Call When Needed structures offering 5% small-business preference and up to 5% DVBE incentive (combined cap $100,000); the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission requesting sealed bids under ITB 26.27-23 (bids due October 8, 2026) for aerial ignition and observation flights across five Wildlife Management Areas with minimum three hours monthly flight-time guarantee and three-year initial term plus three one-year renewal options; the St. Johns River Water Management District procuring multiple qualified helicopter contractors via RFSQ16949 (due September 29, 2026) for prescribed burns and aerial observation across 18 Florida counties with $525,000 total estimated budget distributed to multiple awardees; and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife bidding large-mammal capture helicopter services statewide under IFB P2680002 (due June 30, 2026) with 441 hours of standard-elevation and 189 hours of high-elevation flights over three years, 5% small-business preference, and up to 5% DVBE incentive. Utah Division of Purchasing has posted multiple RFQs for aerial seeding (RFQ BD27-111 and successors) and helicopter lift operations (BD27-102), with bids received and SafeChem Pest emerging as a low-cost winner on seeding contracts at $6.69–$6.92 per acre. Set-asides and incentives favor California-certified small businesses (5%), DVBE participation (5% incentive, combined cap typically $50,000), and in some cases Orange County Local Small Business (OCLSB) designations with 5–8% preference deductions.