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Nigeria's rich elite buying private jets to avoid flying on commercial airlines
3/5/2014 1:38:00 PM
Nigeria's rich elite are increasingly buying private jets to avoid flying on commercial airlines, reports the BBC's Tomi Oladipo from Lagos. The full report below...
"There's an average of nine aircrafts fixed here in the hangar," says Peter de Waal of ExecuJet Aviation Nigeria, looking across at a line of sleek jets, as a team of engineers works on them.
ExecuJet provides a hangar and is authorised by major aviation companies to provide maintenance services for business aircrafts, attesting to the rapid growth of the private aircraft industry in Nigeria.
Travelling on Nigeria's commercial airlines, even in business class, can be problematic, with frequent delays and rerouting causing an inconvenience for everyone, including those for whom time is money.
This, with the added exclusivity, has made the option of bespoke air travel a popular one for the super-rich.
"It is difficult to estimate the exact number of private jets in Nigeria because the majority are under foreign registries," says Rady Fahmy, the executive director of the African Business Aviation Association. "Aircraft in Nigeria, and most of Africa, are owned by individuals who are businessmen and women," he says.
"This is in contrast to North America and Europe where the account is usually under corporate ownership.
"The choice to put it under individual's name is due to financing requirements."
'To owner's taste'
Most of the jet owners prefer to avoid the spotlight, especially when it comes to discussing their wealth, although within aviation circles it is common knowledge who owns what.
The long-range Bombardier Global Express XRS, worth about $50m (£30m), is preferred by those at the top of the rich list, including Africa's wealthiest businessman Aliko Dangote, oil baroness Folorunsho Alakija, and the mobile phone tycoon Mike Adenuga, who also own both short and long-range business aircraft.
Other common models - ranging from about $57m to $39m - are the Gulfstream G550, Bombardier Challenger 605, and Dassault Falcon 900, with owners ranging from politicians to clergymen.
Mr De Waal makes a quick phone call to a jet owner and I am granted access to a sleek Falcon 900.
A polished dark wood trim sets the mini-bar apart from the rest of the cream interior with grey leather seats.
The passenger area is divided into several parts, including a general area with four seats, a business meeting area also with seating for four, an enclosed area with a large couch that can be converted into a bed, and a small bathroom at the back of the plane.
It is all made to the taste of the owner, a billionaire businessman, who asks not to be identified.
The planes are also mostly registered abroad, mainly in the US, Bermuda, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and Mauritius.
Some industry insiders think owners prefer such arrangements as aircrafts lose their resale value if they are registered in Nigeria because of doubts over maintenance standards.
Luxury jet tax axed
It is difficult to ignore the tens of millions of Nigerians who cannot afford commercial air travel, not to mention owning aircrafts.
Many Nigerians have never flown in their lives
Victoria Island is a plush area in Nigeria's commercial hub of Lagos
Nigeria is achieving steady economic growth but the general perception is that few are benefiting from this boom apart from its more than 500 people with estimated assets of above $50m.
For those who are not quite able to afford their own planes, Nigeria's chartered flights business is also booming, attracting international companies such as Hanger8 and VistaJet.
The growth of the air transport industry and the economy has led business aviation manufacturers like Beechcraft Corporation into the African market, with Nigeria as a key focus.
"We have seen a large number of deliveries of business aircraft across the continent over the past decade," say Scott Plumb, Beechcraft's vice-president of sales for Europe, Middle East and Africa.
"We fully expect this trend to continue as a greater number of entrepreneurs and corporate entities seek to take advantage of the benefits of business air travel on the back of Africa's strong economic growth."
Cultural peculiarities also make it to the runway, with huge entourages of friends and aides swarming around Nigeria's larger-than-life VIPs.
"You can sometimes see five or six cars at the same time to receive one person," Mr De Waal says.
In October 2013, the Nigerian Airspace Management Authority introduced a luxury tax of about $3,000 for every departure of a private jet.
The jet owners responded by saying it was unfair and the senate soon ordered a suspension of the levy - a sign of the political influence of Nigeria's wealthy businessmen and women.
Culled from the BBC
Spoiled 18 year old sue parents to support her after she ran away
3/5/2014 1:38:00 PM
Rachel Canning (left) turned up to Morris County Court, New Jersey, yesterday dressed in her school uniform and pearls for the first hearing in her sensational case against her parents (right) who she claimed 'abandoned' her and owe her money. But her hopes were dampened when Judge Peter Bogaard read an expletive-laden and vicious answerphone message left by Rachel, from Lincoln Park, New Jersey, to her mother, Elizabeth, and said: 'Have you ever in your experience seen such gross disrespect for a parent? I don't see it in my house.'
Rachel with her dad and mum when the going was good
Rachel, who is suing her parents for 'abandoning' her has made sensational claims that her mom calling her 'fat' and 'porky' led to her suffering bulimia and that her former police chief father dad used to get her drunk and kiss her inappropriately. The judge denied any immediate claim for cash and adjourned to a later date - but warned her there appeared to be insufficient evidence to support her claims so far.
The judge added: 'what is the next step...are we going to open the gates for a 12-year-old to sue for an Xbox, a 13-year-old to sue for an iPhone... what about a 15-year-old asking for a 60 inch TV?' Her mother and father, Sean, broke down in court as details of how their family was torn apart were read out.
The judge today blasted Rachel for being disrespectful to her parents. When Judge Peter Bogaard read an expletive-laden and vicious answerphone message left by Rachel to her mother, Elizabeth, in which the girl said: 'I wanna s*** all over your face', he said: 'Have you ever in your experience seen such gross disrespect for a parent? I don't see it in my house.'
The judge, sitting at Morris County court added that Rachel had given her mom and dad, Sean: 'The proverbial f you'. He also warned he must consider the 'slippery slope' where 'we open the gates for a 12-year-old to sue for an Xbox, a 13-year-old to sue for an iPhone… what about a 15-year-old asking for a 60 inch TV?'
Rachel, who is suing her parents for 'abandoning' her has made sensational claims that her mom calling her 'fat' and 'porky' led to her suffering bulimia and that her former police chief father dad used to get her drunk and kiss her inappropriately.
In shocking legal documents submitted to the court, the honor-roll student said her parents' behavior contributed to her developing an eating disorder at a young age and saw her weight plummet down to 92 pounds.
Rachel, who has two younger sisters moved in with the parents' of a friend and is now suing for child support, medical bills, college expenses and legal fees.
She states that her parents have a combined yearly income of between $250,000 and $300,000 and she is entitled to $654-a-week in child support. Her parents have also refused to pay $6,000 owed in school fees for her Catholic High School.
Her parents claim their daughter ran off to stay with friends when she turned 18 because she refused to abide by rules they had set down, including to stop dating her boyfriend.
But today the judge clearly took a dim view of the lawsuit. He said: 'What kind of parents would the Canning's be if they didn't try to set down some strict rules?
'I'm not going to put myself in anyone's shoes, he's (father Sean) trying to raise a child. It's clear to me all the positive qualities Rachel obviously has, in terms of sports and academics, but I'm not going to step on a father for how he tries to get his child on the right tracks when she has obviously come off the tracks, to put it mildly.'
When summing up later he denied all immediate financial claims, including monthly maintenance, private school payments and legal fees.
Summing up, Judge Bogaard said: 'The court was called upon to find whether immediate financial relief was needed… It is not necessary….
'Counsel, also needs to ask themselves, what is the next step…. Are we going to open the gates for a 12-year-old to sue for an Xbox, a 13-year-old to sue for an iPhone… what about a 15-year-old asking for a 60 inch TV….
'I want both counsels to think of the potential slippery slope here.'
He added: 'I think everyone needs to take a step back and realize this family and Rachel in particular is well worth the effort to salvage or attempt to.
Source: Daily Mail
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