SkyJet Aviation Services in Nigeria has been named as an official sales representative for Gulfstream. The company operates three Embraer Legacys, a G-IVSP, two Hawker Beechcraft jets and a Learjet 45 XR. It recently took the decision to represent an OEM and sell and support new aircraft, forming a separate division from its charter and maintenance activities.

Sales director Bruce Fullerton says: “We manage the sale of Gulfstream business jets to private individuals and corporations. Gulfstream has a reputation of setting the quality standards for business jets, and when you couple this with its long range and number one position in several product support surveys, it gives prospective customers a feeling of quality and strong product support.”

The G-IVSP has just been added to the SkyJet charter fleet, and once this aircraft is established and the company can assess the market, Fullerton says further Gulfstream additions are likely. It has been a busy 2014 for the operator, with a Legacy 600 also joining in recent months.

“We have expanded our maintenance division to the point that we can now do our own Embraer Legacy factory approved L1 and L2 inspections on our fleet,” he says. “We also do all the maintenance up to and including the 24-month inspections on our Hawker Beechcraft fleet.”

Additionally, SkyJet has been approved by Viking Air to sell and support the Twin Otter Series 400 product line throughout 40 sub-Saharan African countries, plus Libya and Egypt.

Fullerton lays out the plans for the remainder of the year: “We will continue trying to be the best business jet charter operator in Africa. We are approved by the Nigerian CAA and soon San Marino CAA and we maintain full insurance coverages as required of a commercial operator on our entire fleet.

“I think our biggest challenge operating in Nigeria is cost. We are in the centre of the continent and all the support, spare parts and tooling have to be imported. Additionally we have to send our crews to the United States, Dubai, or South Africa for recurrent training. These expensive travel costs are all costs that we have to absorb.

“We also have to compete against the grey market charter operators who operate without an AOC and do not meet the strict operational, safety maintenance, training and insurance requirements as met by SkyJet. Our company has an AOC and our fleet is properly certified to operate commercially in Nigeria.”

He adds that the market in Africa is buoyant: “Business aviation here is very broad. Some of the segments are business jets, turboprops, tour operators, government, and training. We see some bright spots in Angola and also in north Africa. The east Africa business jet market will increase in the next couple of years following recent oil discoveries.”

East Africa has historically been a very good turboprop market, according to Fullerton. “The tour operators in the east African community are very fond of the Cessna Caravan,” he says.

“As for the government market, it is very diverse. It utilises all types of aviation and we will concentrate the Viking 400 product on this market.”

But he believes that the primary flight training market is something that needs attention. “It is sometimes difficult for African student pilots to get visas for the United States since 9/11. This, coupled with the high cost of importing Avgas, makes training on-site in north and sub-Saharan Africa cost prohibitive.”