Kangala Air Express (KAE, Ouagadougou) has added Burkina Faso's first B737, a B737-700(BBJ), the company announced. The move follows the company's request for proposals to acquire a B737 in quick-change configuration for passenger and cargo services.
“With a VIP cabin, private master suite, and intercontinental range, this BBJ allows us to offer executives, institutions and private clients a travel experience defined by comfort, discretion, and reliability, connecting West Africa to the world, non-stop,” the company said.
The 1998-built Boeing aircraft, registered as XT-AKD (msn 29024) between late June and early July, departed White Plains on July 7 and arrived at Ouagadougou the following day after a stop at Dakar Blaise Diagne International. The aircraft's last known cabin configuration comprised 12 seats.
This BBJ1 was previously registered in the United States as N480CH and owned by real estate development company Crescent Heights, operating out of Miami Opa-Locka.
Kangala Air Express' VIP fleet now comprises the newly inducted BBJ1, a GIV, and a GIV-SP. Both Gulfstream Aerospace aircraft are deployed on charter operations, including missions for heads of state in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, and the de facto sovereign state of Somaliland.
The company further operates a Beech 1900D and planned to return an ATR72-500, currently in long-term storage, to service. Kangala Air Express further launched an RFP for a widebody freighter, seeking a B767, an A330, or an equivalent aircraft under a wet-lease or full-charter arrangement.
Kangala Air Express' BBJ1 is the only active Boeing aircraft on the Burkina Faso register. A B727-100 and a B727-200(RE) operated by Burkina Faso air force (Force Aérienne de Burkina Faso) in VIP roles for the government have been stored at Ouagadougou since 2015 and 2020, respectively.
