Guardian

With the rise in business aviation in Nigeria, more firms are setting up investments to cater for that special segment of aviation industry. One of the firms, Avonheli specialises in helicopter sales and services (Agusta, Bell, McDonnel Douglas and Sikorsky) and private jets supply among others .The Chief Executive of the firm, Ajayi Seyi Aremu spoke to WOLE SHADARE on the burgeoning aviation industry in Nigeria. Excerpts:

WHY is your company interested in helicopter business, is it a profitable venture?

The first thing is helicopters. It is more useful to our environment, for the media, oil and gas, surveillance. For the media, you can use it to take your coverage of very important event, for police surveillance, It’s also good most especially to combat the terrorism war going on in some parts of the North. For Lagos, it is very desirable to have police helicopter patrolling around to ensure security that would make it a haven for investors. Nigerian government can afford helicopters to be able to do it.

How do you help to finance helicopter purchase?

We work with Zenith Bank and they have some arrangements with some international banks about how to finance purchase for Nigerian buyers only if they have a letter of guarantee from the bank that they can at least stand for the payment for the aircraft to be made. What I want from the Nigerian banks is that if they can buy these aircraft outright and give them to the airlines that want them. If it is for seven years payment, the bank tells you for instance that every month you pay $7,000 and the interest on it is three per cent. Every month you keep paying that and for seven years you are done with the payment.

Setting up of aircraft maintenance hangar in Nigeria

United States (U.S. ) Flight Source International in partnership with Avonheli System West Africa Limited, its Nigerian counterpart will set up to a helicopter and aircraft maintenance hangar in Nigeria. We are looking to set up a helicopter and aircraft hangar here in Nigeria. We want to see how thing go in Nigeria. In Florida, we have a hangar there with almost 50 engineers. The workforce there is around 300, from pilots to engineers, because we also sell helicopters. We have chartered flights within the U.S. and outside the U.S., but not here in Nigeria. We are  bringing the services, the engineers, even the pilots here. We are also looking at students from the universities who have interest in being aircraft engineers; they can also walk in without paying a dime if we set up a hangar; it is for them to learn and they can get paid and start work.

Nigeria as risk prone clime for aviation

Most of them are not familiar with this country.  Even other countries are still ordering Boeing and we have countries like India, North America that are going for Bombardier aircraft because they know that in years to come, people are still going to fly in these aircraft. It is a long term plan. You can get a passenger aircraft for about $145 million and if you get a full load on that aircraft like B777, you can make a million dollars. You just need to fly that aircraft 145 times. After 145 times flown, the engine life is still there and it is still probably new with the engine programme you have. A normal engine lifespan goes for about 15 to 20 years. I think it can still fly for another 145 times, even 500 times on that aircraft and you will get your money back as well as your profit back before you can resell it.

On helicopters, you just explained the need for it. Can you throw more light to it?

They themselves know the need for helicopters because they have been using it for years. It is actually more needed in Lagos now. There are even some people in Lagos who actually go to work with helicopters. Even some years ago, Shell Nigeria gave Caverton some money to supply some helicopters and gave them some loans to run their services. That is why we have our partners in the U.S. to get us these things very quickly because they are members of international helicopters association; they can rally round to get you aircraft. There are some helicopters that are not in Nigeria that are useful. These are crane helicopters used in lifting cranes for oil rigs, like the high tension poles

Partnership with banks to finance aircraft purchase

What I am actually saying is that by buying the aircraft, and if they default, they can actually retrieve or repossess the aircraft. What the U.S. company does is, if you want to buy an aircraft for instance $145 million, you spread it for seven years and if you don’t pay back, we collect the aircraft and the money you paid is gone. That is the agreement they all have and when they have that type of agreement with you, it pays off for Nigerian banks to finance and buy that aircraft, give you the same terms. Once Nigerian banks give you the same term, the Nigerian bank is not losing too, because they can also get the aircraft back and give it to us and we will sell the aircraft for them.

How do you assess the helicopter market in Nigeria?

I think the helicopter market in Nigeria is big due to the development in Nigeria right now. But I think everybody just goes out to get these things when they can actually do it here in Nigeria without leaving their offices.  We can actually get the spares and we can get them the best they can get.