Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

My company is organizing a series of African music concert events in a region of the U.S. that is untouched by local African entertainment, although there is a large African community within. It is our goal to establish a whole new market for African entertainment in the U.S. We are looking to request sponsorship from an airline that has a heavy African customer base, but don't know the best way to approach asking the airline to sponsor us with transporting the African musicians and their crew, to and from internationally(band members, management team, etc). What is the most effective way to request such sponsorship, and what are some ways that we can promote the airline at our events? Thanks in advance for any feedback.