Super-rich Nigerians Travel in Style

The BBC recently reported that super-rich Nigerians have spend approximately $6.5bn on executive jets to avoid travelling on commercial airlines.

With commercial flights in Nigeria becoming increasingly unreliable, the business aviation sector is literally taking off to record heights. When time is money, ground delays and rerouting is not an option and control is being taken back by the Nigerian elite. Not only are Nigerian businesspeople controlling their flight schedules, but they are also travelling in comfort.

The most popular aircraft appears to be the long-range Bombardier Global Express XRS, closely followed by the Falcon 900 from Dassault and the Gulfstream 550. With custom interiors and price tags ranging from $38 million to almost $60 million, it is not difficult to see where the $6.5bn has been spent.

Many of Nigeria’s super-rich prefer to remain anonymous and often register the aircraft under foreign registries, making it ‘difficult to estimate the exact number of private aircraft in Nigeria’, according to the African Business Aviation Association. It is thought, however, that the majority of these aircraft belong to individuals, unlike Europe and the U.S. where corporate ownership is more common.