It’s a balmy November night in Harare’s leafy Gunhill neighborhood when Ameerh Naran’s mobile phone rings.
The caller is the son of Emmerson Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe’s then-vice president. He wants Naran to help his father escape the country. President Robert Mugabe had just fired his former enforcer and the family got a tip that there will be an attempt on Mnangagwa’s life.
The call kickstarts a frenzied few hours for Naran, 32, who specializes in fulfilling aviation requests for clients including billionaires, politicians and celebrities. He starts working his phone to arrange a medical evacuation for Mnangagwa to South Africa.
But then -- after hours of calls, careful coordination and with an ambulance and nurse pulling up to Mnangagwa’s hideout -- the politician decides to go his own route. He drives to the border and escapes by foot into Mozambique before returning a few days later to seize power.
Naran’s recollections of the episode -- details of which were confirmed by a person with knowledge of the situation -- illustrate the outlandish and unpredictable requests that make up his daily grind. His company, Vimana Private Jets, caters to some of the industry’s most demanding clientele, who look to charter flights for business and pleasure.
Private jet usage is returning to a level not seen since before the 2008 financial crisis, with more than 3 million business-aviation flights in the U.S. and Canada last year, according to data provider Argus International.
Naran has focused his business on the most exclusive part of the charter market, betting that his high-touch service will still appeal to the kind of client who can justify renting a plane for a shopping trip to Hong Kong.
“Ameerh’s a well-connected individual, that’s for sure,” said Duncan Aviation’s Tim Barber. “The top of the market is still very healthy. You can’t get away from the fact that private jets are the only way to buy you time.”
Still, the field is crowded with competitors. Rival brokers including Victor and PrivateFly are far bigger than Vimana. And as the market consolidates and automates, Naran’s niche could be threatened.
For now, the sums involved can be vast. Vimana booked a $4.2 million charter this month for a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Naran said. That kind of price tag buys wings that even a U.S. president might envy: a jumbo jet for as many as 40 passengers featuring a master suite with its own bathroom. A more typical request -- a flight between London and Los Angeles on a Gulfstream 650 -- might set a client back $200,000.