By Chinelo Obogo
Nigeria might be spending not less than $22, 147, 873 million annually to maintain its presidential fleet, Saturday Sun has learned.
At the moment, the country has 10 aircraft in its presidential fleet. These include a 19-year-old Boeing Business Jet (B737 BBJ) with registration number 5N-FGT, one Gulfstream 550 (G550) with registration number 5N-FGW, one Gulfstream (GV) with registration number 5N-FGS, two Falcons (FAL 7X) with registration numbers 5N-FGV and 5N-FGU, one Bombardier Challenger (CL605) with registration number 5N-FGZ, two AgustaWestlands 189 (AW189) with registration numbers 5N-FG1 and 5N-FG2 and two AgustaWestlands 139 (AW139) with registration numbers NAF540 and NAF541.
Saturday Sun learned that the weekly maintenance for the aircraft is usually done in Nigeria while the annual Periodic Depot Maintenance (PDM) takes all the aircraft in the fleet outside the country except the AW 189 and AW 139 which are usually maintained by Caverton Helicopters as they are the sole representatives of AgustaWestlands in West Africa.
Saturday Sun spoke to aircraft engineers who provided some insight on the estimated annual costs for maintaining the various aircraft types in the fleet.
President of the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), Abednego Galadima, told Saturday Sun that a C-check for a B737 BBJ is estimated to cost between $300,000 and $350,000, while the annual operating cost for the AW139 is estimated at $1.5 million and the AW 189 $1.7million. Another aircraft engineer, Peter Duniya, explained to Saturday Sun that the maintenance of an aircraft includes fuel costs, engine maintenance, crew expense, airframe maintenance and other miscellaneous expenses.
He said: “A Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) is a version of a Boeing jet airliner with modifications to serve the head of state. It is the biggest in size and that is the one that is called ‘Air force 1’ and if you look at the body, you would see 001 written on it. It is what the President usually flies with internationally. Whether he likes it or not, it must be maintained because it is the priority aircraft and not an aircraft that you park. When he wants to fly within Nigeria, he can use the Gulfstream, which is what he usually uses when he comes to Lagos. I think the Vice President usually uses the Falcon 7X.
“The age of an aircraft determines its maintenance. A new aircraft that is five years old would not require much maintenance. There is the A-Check, C-Check and there is D-Check but if your aircraft gets to the point where it needs a D-Check, it means the aircraft is gone. C-Checks are usually expensive to carry out but again, it depends on the age and the aircraft type. The cost can get as high as between $150,000 and $250,000.
“Typically, the annual budget to maintain a B737 BBJ is $3,497,291. If I am to give a very modest estimate of what it would cost, based on the 400 flight hours per year, the Gulfstream G550’s total annual variable costs would be around $2,113,296 and total fixed costs are $1,336,871 for an annual budget of $3,450,167, which gives the aircraft an hourly cost of $8,625 per hour. The annual total fixed cost for the AW139 and AW 189 is estimated at $831,946, variable cost, $652,800, and annual budget would be about $1,484, 746 at a total hourly cost of $4,949.
“Based on the 450 annual owner-operated hours, the Bombardier/Challenger 605 has total variable costs of $2,124,450 and total fixed cost of $946,773 and an annual budget of $3,071,223. For the Dassault Falcon 7X, based on an annual 450-annual owner-operated hours, it usually has variable costs of $1,172,254 and an annual budget of $3,095,104.”
