Kenyan president William Ruto has started his trip to the United States of America and is the first African leader invited for a state visit to the U.S. in fifteen years.
On his departure from Nairobi, to his First destination the city of Atlanta in the State of Georgia, something unique was noted.
President Ruto dumped Kenya’s Presidential Jet, Harambee One, and Opted to use a chartered Private Jet for the Trip.
As President Ruto’s state visit to the U.S. is being closely monitored globally, Kenyans have also keenly watched details of the trip and noted the use of a luxury private jet.
It’s not a secret that the President travelled and will land in style in the United States as he used an aircraft used by the world’s most powerful, rich and mighty.
The Boeing Business Jet or (BBJ) boasts of making private air travel a luxury.
The government of Kenya chartered the aircraft famously known as the Boeing BBJ for use by President Ruto and part of his entourage during the trip.
In this video we take a look inside this unique Boeing Business Jet (BBJ).
The plane, a Boeing Business Jet B737-77W, has the aircraft registration A6 RJU and is operated by Abu Dhabi based company, RoyalJet, a private jet leasing company owned by U.A.E Royal, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan.
The aircraft is one of the newest in the RoyalJet fleet and has been in operation since 2017.
The jet is worth a whopping $100 million dollars or Ksh 13.1 Billion…would Kenyans be buying one of such soon?…Let’s wait and see.
The private jet offers a presidential suite complete with a conference room, a mini office area, and a stateroom or in simple terms, a luxury bedroom with an ensuite VIP toilet, forward and back area cabinets, a mid-cabin club or conference area.
The VIP suite is located in the front of the plane with a Partition to block it off from the rest of the cabin granting the VIP passenger privacy from other occupants.
It also has a back area business class, and standard class seating.
The private jet can carry 34 passengers at a time with 18 seating in standard class seats, eight in the business class areas and 8 in the VIP conference Area.
For passengers flying overnight or at any time of the flight, the aircraft features a queen-sized bed and 16 lie-flat seats for extra comfort.
On the inside, there are kingly tapestries, gold coloured finishes for the president.
The contemporary design of the private jet features carbon fiber and premium materials throughout the cabin, along with a unique cool mood lighting system with over a million color variations, which is controlled by the customer operated iPad-based cabin management system.
This private jet also boasts a state-of-the-art video-on-demand In-flight Entertainment System, enhanced by a high-quality sound system with overhead speakers and subwoofers, which can be controlled by the iPads provided for VIP passengers.
The aircraft has also been equipped with the highest speed communications system which allows passengers to stream high definition video content throughout the flight, including via their own personal account with providers such as Apple TV, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video.
It also has a low cabin altitude modification and an air filtration technology, which optimizes health and comfort, leaving its VVIP Passengers more relaxed and fresher upon reaching their destination.
You may be wondering why President Ruto opted to use a chartered private and not the state owned presidential jet.
The reason is because the current government owned aircraft, The Fokker 70 is designed as a short to medium range airliner and cannot fly all the way to the United states.
The total flight duration from Nairobi, Kenya to Atlanta, Georgia is approximately 16 hours, 35 minutes for a commercial airliner flying at average flight speed, but that could take a slightly shorter time for the Boeing Business Jet.
The lease of the private jet is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions by the time President Ruto and his delegation complete the trip at the end of the week.
For a round trip, this would have set back the taxpayer something in the estimates of 200 to 300 million shillings.
Having a private jet is an expensive affair as owners and operators pay millions in Landing fees that range in the several thousands of dollars.
Other additional costs like fuel, maintenance, and inspection are also the responsibility of private jet owners or operators.
World leaders like to travel in style… and I know you’re wondering, whether the Kenyan taxpayers are funding the lease of the private jet.
Diplomatic culture and protocol demands that the host country be responsible for paying all expenses, including lodging and travel for its guests so, there’s a high likelihood that the luxury travel has been footed by the American and not the Kenyan taxpayer.
But this is just an assumption as it happens depending on interests and who the trip benefits.
