(Photo: April 21, 2024, rebroadcast of sermon Free from Idolatry on YouTube. We are not insinuating that the pictured 7X jet is Moore’s idol.)
Televangelist Keith Moore’s ministry Faith Life International has purchased a third jet following a fundraising campaign featuring a fundraising goal of $10 million.
The used Dassault Falcon 7X jet acquired by Moore’s ministry was listed for sale at $17.5 million on the website AircraftVx. A new model would have cost $60 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration disclosed the purchase when it certified the jet in May.
The jet’s original tail number was N1902C, but has been changed to N37KM.*
Tail numbers are the aircraft equivalent of license plates for cars. When ministries purchase a jet, the ministry founder’s initials are frequently used in the tail number.
In addition to the Falcon 7X, Faith Life International also owns a Dassault Falcon 900 EX (tail number N7KM) and Raytheon 390 (tail number N8PJ) jets. Pastor Moore is a licensed pilot and certified to fly all three jet models; however, both Falcon jets require an additional pilot in the cockpit.
Comparing Private Aircraft to Commercial Airlines
Moore serves as pastor of churches in Sarasota, Florida and Branson, Missouri. Most of his flights are between these cities. The plane ticket comparison site Kayak finds flights as low as $268 from Sarasota to Springfield-Branson National Airport with most tickets costing between $424 and $449.
According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the average American air fare for 2023 was $382. For the $10 million Moore’s ministry was raising, they could purchase 26,178 airplane tickets.
Creflo Dollar’s New Gulfstream G550
After televangelist Creflo Dollar asked for 200,000 donors to give $300 each to fund the purchase of a new $65 million Gulfstream G650 jet, he faced an immediate backlash due to critical international news coverage.
Instead of purchasing the Gulfstream G650, Dollar’s property holding company World Heir acquired two used jets: a Gulfstream G-IV (tail number N878SM) and a Learjet 60 (tail number N978SM), which was sold recently.
Trinity Foundation searched for but didn’t find any example of Dollar disclosing to his congregation World Changers Church International and TV audience the recent purchase of a 2010 Gulfstream GV-SP (also known as G550) with the tail number N600JD.
Aircraft Shopper Online reports the sale price for the Gulfstream G550 was listed at $18,650,000. The FAA certified the jet on June 17th.
Dollar is not a licensed pilot.
* Update: The article originally reported, “While the jet’s current tail number is N1902C, the ministry has reserved the tail number N37KM.” The FAA has completed the changer over to the new tail number.