Air Burkina
IATA ICAO Callsign
2J VBW BURKINA
Founded1967 (1967)
HubsOuagadougou Airport
Frequent-flyer programCelestair
Fleet size4
Destinations9
Parent companyGovernment of Burkina Faso
HeadquartersOuagadougou, Burkina Faso
Websitewww.air-burkina.com

Air Burkina SA is the national airline of Burkina Faso, operating scheduled services from its main base at Ouagadougou Airport[1] to one domestic destination, Bobo-Dioulasso, as well as regional services to Togo, Benin, Mali, Niger, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal and Ghana. From 2001 to 2017, the airline was majority owned by an AKFED/IPS consortium, but is now back in government ownership, with reports that a new investor is being sought.[2][3]

History

The airline was established on 17 March 1967 under the name Air Volta, while the country was called the Republic of Upper Volta. Its name changed after Upper Volta was renamed Burkina Faso in 1984. It was originally part owned by the Burkinabé government, part by Air France and part privately held. It purchased its first aircraft, an Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante, in 1978, and added a second, a Fokker F28, in 1983.[4]

Over the years, the airline has had serious debt problems, reaching a deficit of one billion CFA francs in 1992 (approx. €1,500,000). In part to address its debt problem, the Burkina Faso government privatised Air Burkina on 21 February 2001, transferring 56% of the shares to the AKFED/IPS consortium, part of the Aga Khan Development Network.[1] At that time, the government retained 14% of shares.[4] In 2001, following Air Burkina's privatisation and the liquidation of Air Afrique, the airline's debt had largely been alleviated and it was predicting an annual revenue of around 3.5 billion CFA francs (more than €5,000,000).[4][5]

The company saw a general strike in 2002, when workers demanded a 25% wage increase. In the resulting conflict, the director-general of Air Burkina was forced to resign.

In August 2013 press reports said that the majority shareholder, AKFED & IPS, will be called in for talks by the Government after its most recent Council of Ministers meeting resolved to discuss the airline's financial state. According to the Burkinabé Ministry of Infrastructure & Transport, a report presented to government claimed the Burkinabé national carrier "faces a difficult financial and economic situation."[6] In May 2017 it was announced that the government had taken over the management of Air Burkina, following the signing of a contract of management cessation with AKFED, with the sale of shares to be made at a symbolic franc.[2] There were also reports that a new investor was being sought.[3]

Corporate affairs

Shareholders

The airline is currently (May 2017) owned by the Government of Burkina Faso.[2]

From 2001 to 2017, the company has been majority owned by an AKFED/IPS consortium, and was therefore a member of the Celestair alliance of African airlines.[7]

Financial and other business figures for Air Burkina are not fully available, as the company was privately owned until 2017. In the absence of the accounts, some information has been made available, usually in the press, as shown below:

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Turnover (CFA bn) 25
Profits (CFA m)
Number of employees 262 254 230
Number of passengers (000s) 160 17 129 107.6
Passenger load factor (%)
Number of aircraft (at year end) 5 3 3 2 2
Notes/sources [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

Head office

Air Burkina is headquartered in the Air Burkina Building (French: Immeuble Air Burkina) in Avenue de la Nation, Ouagadougou.[14][15]

Destinations

Air Burkina serves the following destinations (as of May 2017):[16]

Hub
Future
Terminated route
City Country IATA ICAO Airport Refs
Abidjan Ivory CoastABJDIAPPort Bouet Airport
Accra GhanaACCDGAAKotoka International Airport
Bamako MaliBKOGABSModibo Keita International Airport
Bobo-Dioulasso Burkina FasoBOYDFOOBobo Dioulasso Airport
Cotonou BeninCOODBBBCadjehoun Airport
Dakar SenegalDSSGOOYBlaise Diagne International Airport
Lomé TogoLFWDXXXLomé-Tokoin International Airport
Niamey NigerNIMDRRNDiori Hamani International Airport
Ouagadougou Burkina FasoOUADFFDThomas Sankara International Airport

Codeshare agreements

Air Burkina has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:[17]

Fleet

Current fleet

As of October 2023, the Air Burkina fleet consists of the following aircraft:[18][19]

A Bombardier CRJ200 (foreground) and an MD-87 of Air Burkina, seen at Ouagadougou Airport in December 2012
Air Burkina fleet
Aircraft In Service Passengers Notes
C Y Total
Boeing 737-500 1 132 132 Wet-leased from Via Air
Embraer E-175 1 12 60 72 [20]
Embraer E-195 2 12 92 104
Total 4

Historical fleet

The airline has operated various aircraft in the past, including 2 Bombardier CRJ200s, 2 McDonnell Douglas MD-87s, 3 Fokker F28s and 2 Embraer E-170s.[21]

Notable pilots

References

  1. 1 2 Flight International 27 March 2007
  2. 1 2 3 "B/Faso gov't takes over Air Burkina management". Journal du Cameroun.com. 12 May 2017. Archived from the original on 28 May 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Air Burkina prend son envol avec le gouvernement burkinabè (French)". VOAAfrique. 12 May 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 "Air Burkina Set to Extend Its Network". Panafrican News Agency. 26 February 2001. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  5. ↑ African Economic Outlook: Burkina Faso (PDF) (Report). African Development Bank and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2003. p. 93. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  6. ↑ "Ouagadougou mulls Air Burkina's future with AKFED". ch aviation. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  7. ↑ Felix, Bate; Nyambura-Mwaura, Helen; Coulibaly, Loucoumane (7 June 2012). Fletcher, Pascal; Macdonald, Alastair; Waterman, Will (eds.). "Pan-African airline dream faces tough take-off". Reuters. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  8. ↑ "Notre historique (Our History)" (in French). Air Burkina. Archived from the original on 18 September 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  9. ↑ "Profile of Air Burkina". AirValid. Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  10. ↑ "Air Burkina profile at AFRAA". Archived from the original on 2015-06-10. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
  11. ↑ "Annual Report 2014". African Airlines Association. 2014. Archived from the original on 2016-03-23. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
  12. ↑ AFRAA Annual Report 2015 (Report). African Airlines Association. 28 August 2016. pp. 12, 69. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  13. ↑ "Air Burkina News". Air Burkina Inflight Magazine. Vol. 2016, no. 3. A To Z Brand Solutions for Air Burkina. 2016. pp. 62, 67. Archived from the original on 29 December 2016. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  14. ↑ "Contact-us." Air Burkina. Retrieved on 19 October 2009.
  15. ↑ "Contactez-nous." Air Burkina. Retrieved on 8 December 2011. "Agence Centrale Ouagadougou 29, Av. de la Nation Immeuble Air Burkina 01 BP 1459 Ouagadougou 01"
  16. ↑ "Air Burkina English » Our network". www.air-burkina.com. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  17. ↑ "Profile on Air Burkina". CAPA. Centre for Aviation. Archived from the original on 2016-11-02. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
  18. ↑ "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World: 7. October 2019.
  19. ↑ "Air Burkina English » Our fleet". www.air-burkina.com. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  20. ↑ "Air Burkina on course to add first E170 shortly". ch-aviation. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  21. ↑ "Fokker 28 Fleetlist".
  22. ↑ InterAfrique (2017-05-17). "Zenab Issa Oki Soumaïne, la première commandante de bord tchadienne". InterAfrique/Rebranding Africa Media (in French). Retrieved 2020-04-21.
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