This is definitely not the best of seasons for wealthy Nigerians who are owners of the expensive toys called private jets. We reliably gathered that private jet owners in Nigeria are currently groaning under the pain of exchange rate which has placed the naira on 316 against a dollar.
It would be recalled that as at 2015, reports confirmed that the 250 private jet owners in Nigeria splashed an average of N34.9 billion (the calculation then was an average of N166 against a dollar ) to maintain their expensive toys. Information available to Sahara Weekly revealed that due to the splurge in naira which placed it at N310 against a dollar, they would spend about N65.3 billion. Checks by us revealed that aside splashing over N1.8 trillion to acquire their jets, they spend an estimated $46million monthly (that’s about N7.6 billion altogether) as salary to their expatriate pilots, but now that a dollar is equal to N310, they would cough out about N14.2 billion. They splashed about $1 million monthly to the crew, which was equivalent to N166 million then but now N310 million, while a whopping N25 billion is splashed on general maintenance annually by them.
Two expatriates usually man these toys and their take-home monthly is $10,000 (which was equivalent to N1.6 million last year but is now N3.1m). That means an average of 500 pilots are in charge of the wheel of these jets. Thus, monthly, the 250 jet owners squander over N750 million, and that equals N9 billion annually.
Also, an average of three cabin crew members are usually on board, and their monthly take-home is averagely N100,000. Thus, an average of 750 crew members are on the payroll of these wealthy Nigerians and they splash an average of N75 million and their monthly salary and N900 million annually.
Furthermore, an estimated N100 million is expended on each jet annually for maintenance at home and abroad. This includes daily landing and parking fees at home and abroad, A and B checks, mostly in the USA, several millions on jet fuel, among others. Consequently, the naira issue has a negative effect on the jet owners and many are not finding it easy to maintain them under the present economic situation.
Nigerians who have taken the front seat in the business of private jet ownership, which is now a trend and competition among the rich in the country, are not finding it easy under the current administration as some of them have converted them to commercial purposes.
Industry sources revealed that most of them are battling with financial challenges, which necessitated them being converted to commercial purposes. In fact, we reliably gathered that some of them, like Bishop Oyedepo, have sold some of their spare jets. Out of the four jets he has, we learnt, he sold out three.
It was reported that the penchant for private jet acquisition has cost wealthy Nigerians over N1.8 trillion aside the several billions used to maintain them annually. Investigation The luxury trend actually rose by 700 per cent between 2007 and 2014 and this increased the rate of private jet acquisition from 20 in 2007 to over 250 in 2014, placing Nigeria and China as the fastest growing private jet markets in the world.
Aircraft manufacturers like Bombardier, Gulf Stream, Embraer, Hawker Siddley and Challenger have made Nigeria their huge market because of the demand for these aircraft types.
The common brands of private jets in Nigeria are Hawker Siddley 125-800 and 900XP, Gulfstream 450, 550 and 650; Bombardier Challenger 604, 605; Global Express; Embraer Legacy and Falcons.