Air Burkina
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]
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Founded | 1967 | ||||||
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Hubs | Ouagadougou Airport | ||||||
Frequent-flyer program | Celestars | ||||||
Fleet size | 5 | ||||||
Destinations | 9 | ||||||
Parent company | Government of Burkina Faso | ||||||
Headquarters | Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso | ||||||
Website | www |
History
The airline was established on 17 March 1967 under the name Air Volta. 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]
Business trends
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 | |
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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 | ABJ | DIAP | Port Bouet Airport | ||
Accra | ACC | DGAA | Kotoka International Airport | ||
Bamako | BKO | GABS | Senou International Airport | ||
Bobo-Dioulasso | BOY | DFOO | Bobo Dioulasso Airport | ||
Cotonou | COO | DBBB | Cadjehoun Airport | ||
Dakar | DSS | GOOY | Blaise Diagne International Airport | ||
Lomé | LFW | DXXX | Lomé-Tokoin Airport | ||
Niamey | NIM | DRRN | Diori Hamani International Airport | ||
Ouagadougou | OUA | DFFD | Ouagadougou Airport | ||
Codeshare agreements
Air Burkina has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:[17]
Fleet
Current fleet
As of October 2019, the Air Burkina fleet consists of the following aircraft:[18][19]
Aircraft | In Service | Passengers | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Y | Total | ||||
Embraer E-170 | 2 | 12 | 56 | 68 | [20] | |
Embraer E-175 | 1 | 12 | 60 | 72 | [21] | |
Embraer E-195 | 2 | 12 | 88 | 100 | [21] | |
Total | 5 |
Historical fleet
The airline has operated various aircraft in the past, including two Bombardier CRJ200s, two McDonnell Douglas MD-87s and 3 Fokker F28s.[22]
Notable Pilots
- Zenab Issa Oki Soumaïne was Chad's first female pilot and flew for Air Burkina.[23]
References
- Flight International 27 March 2007
- "B/Faso gov't takes over Air Burkina management". Journal du Cameroun.com. 12 May 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
- "Air Burkina prend son envol avec le gouvernement burkinabè (French)". VOAAfrique. 12 May 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
- "Air Burkina Set to Extend Its Network". Panafrican News Agency. 26 February 2001. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
- 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.
- "Ouagadougou mulls Air Burkina's future with AKFED". ch aviation. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
- 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.
- "Notre historique (Our History)" (in French). Air Burkina. Archived from the original on 18 September 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
- "Profile of Air Burkina". AirValid. Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
- "Air Burkina profile at AFRAA". Archived from the original on 2015-06-10. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
- "Annual Report 2014". African Airlines Association. 2014.
- AFRAA Annual Report 2015 (Report). African Airlines Association. 28 August 2016. pp. 12, 69. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
- "Air Burkina News". Air Burkina Inflight Magazine. Vol. 2016 no. 3. A To Z Brand Solutions for Air Burkina. 2016. pp. 62, 67. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
- "Contact-us." Air Burkina. Retrieved on 19 October 2009.
- "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"
- "Air Burkina English » Our network". www.air-burkina.com. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
- "Profile on Air Burkina". CAPA. Centre for Aviation. Archived from the original on 2016-11-02. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
- "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World: 7. October 2019.
- "Air Burkina English » Our fleet". www.air-burkina.com. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
- "Air Burkina on course to add first E170 shortly". ch-aviation. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
- "Air Burkina adds maiden E175 shortly". ch-aviation. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
- InterAfrique (2017-05-17). "Zenab Issa Oki Soumaïne, la première commandante de bord tchadienne". InterAfrique/Rebranding Africa Media (in French). Retrieved 2020-04-21.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Air Burkina. |
- Air Burkina (in French)
- Air Burkina Fleet