Depending on one’s financial means, when flying there is a choice of economy, business or first-class. But for three people in Turkmenistan, there is the ultra-luxurious “Berdi-class”.

Turkmenistan is a country rich in natural gas, but with painfully high unemployment and a climbing poverty rate. Recent revelations of the special fleet of planes available to the Chairman of Turkmenistan’s Halk Maslahaty (People’s Council) and self-styled "Leader of the Nation" Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, his son, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, and his eldest daughter, Oguljahan Atabayeva, again underscore the great disparity between Turkmenistan’s people and the ruling family.

Latter-day royal chariots

A recent report jointly prepared by Turkmen.news, Gundogar and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) took a close look at a Turkmenistan Airlines Boeing 737-700 that was refurbished in the United States.

The Turkmen plane, originally registered as EZ-A006 , resumed service in Turkmenistan’s fleet as EZ-A010 in December 2024 after flying in 2023 to the US state of Louisiana, the location of Citadel Completions, a company that specialises  in giving the interiors of airplanes “palace in the sky” royal makeovers.

Citadel Completions’ interior design manager posted some photos of the renovated interior of the plane that features “private quarters with gilded furniture, a toilet and showers with gold-plated handles, and Turkmen handwoven carpets on the floor…”  Turkmenistan’s state symbol and depictions of the national horse, the Akhal-Teke, adorn walls and furniture inside the plane.

Information about the price tag for this revamp is not available, but a Forbes article in 2023 said the refurbishment of planes “can cost anywhere from $5mn to $140mn or more.”

The aircraft’s most frequent passenger appears to be Atabayeva, who, since December 2024, has rapidly risen in Turkmenistan’s political world.

Oguljahan Atabayeva is greeted upon her arrival in Monaco on EZ-A010 for a meeting with Prince Albert II (Credit: Screenshot/Instagram post shared by @embassyturkmenistaninfrance, via OCCRP).

Since March, EZ-A010 has taken Atabayeva to Dubai, Monaco, Nice, Samarkand, Paris and Baku.

Her father usually flies aboard a similar aircraft registered as EZ-A777. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov believes seven is a lucky number.

Two other customised Boeing 737-700s, registered as EZ-A007 and EZ-A700, are usually used by Serdar Berdimuhamedov, but are occasionally used by the elder Berdimuhamedov also.

Self-styled "Leader of the Nation" Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, left, and his son, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, know the only way to fly is "Berdi-class" (Credit: Turkmen state media).

Gurbanguly and his daughter Oguljahan seem attached to their planes as they both attended events in Samarkand, Paris and Baku, but flew separately. And it seems that the plane Oguljahan is flying aboard is probably for her personal use since the registration number does not contain any sevens.

Opulence versus wretchedness

While the Berdimuhamedov family enjoys the opulent settings of their customised planes on flights abroad, down on the ground in Turkmenistan the situation is increasingly grim.

For nearly a decade, Turkmenistan has been caught in an economic crisis.

According to the government,  most people are earning between $200-400 per month, but that is based on the state’s exchange rate of 3.5 manat to one US dollar.

The black market rate is around 20 manat to one dollar, though fluctuations have at times driven the rate closer to 30 manat.

Privately-owned stores and bazaars sell their goods at prices closer to the black market exchange rate, so in these places 350 manat is worth about $17.50 not $100.

State stores sell goods at government-subsidised prices, but supplies are limited, and demand is so high that these stores often quickly run out of goods.

The average citizen of Turkmenistan faces frequent shortages of basic goods such as flour, cooking oil and sugar.

Queues for bread have become common, even in the capital Ashgabat, and even with rationing in effect there is rarely enough bread for all customers.

There are reports of people rummaging through trash bins, searching for something they might be able to sell or eat. Elderly people and children have been caught begging in cities around Turkmenistan.

Turkmen authorities do not provide figures on unemployment, but even several years ago, there were reports that joblessness could be as high as 60% and in recent years there have been significant workforce cuts at plants and factories, as well as among state employees.

There are no reports of new enterprises opening in Turkmenistan which is why hundreds of thousands of Turkmen have left for countries such as Turkey, Russia or even neighbouring Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, looking for work.

The average Turkmen citizen also contends with electricity, heating and water shortages that strike for brief periods at least several times during the year.

Turkmenistan’s first president, Saparmurat Niyazov, certainly had a better lifestyle than anyone else in the country, but what he enjoyed doesn’t compare with the luxuries of his successor, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

Berdimuhamedov senior has sports cars that cost well in excess of $1mn, he has appeared on state television sailing on his yachts in the Caspian Sea, he wears expensive suits… The list goes on and on.

Most Turkmen citizens could not really conceive of the sort of life he has led.

Now he is passing all of this on to his children, one of whom is already the president, with the other headed for a high government post.

“Berdimuhamedov Airlines” is probably here to stay for many years, yet it is only one obvious symptom of the family rule that sees the Berdimuhamedovs living fabulous lives, while most of Turkmenistan’s citizens dread what tomorrow might bring.