It has often been thought that Royal Air Maroc's destiny was intrinsically linked to that of Air France, due to strong historical ties. Today, RAM is proving that it has been able to free itself from these ties, and is preparing to join the oneworld alliance, a move that will benefit the Moroccan airline at a time when it is in the throes of an economic crisis. Qatar Airways is on its way out. RAM should join the alliance mid 2020 according to the official press release. It will bring 34 new destinations and 21 countries to the oneworld network, enabling the alliance to extend its empire to 1,069 airports in 178 countries and territories.
Among the leading airlines in Africa and the Mediterranean basin, Royal Air Maroc has one of the largest fleets in the world on the continent with 54 aircraft, including eight long-haul aircraft. Having just celebrated its sixtieth anniversary last October, Royal Air Maroc carries more than seven million passengers a year, with traffic up by an average of 10 % over the last three years.
While Africa and Europe account for the majority of air routes operated from the hub of Casablanca - which generates 40% of the airline's total traffic - Royal Air Maroc's network spans four continents. In Africa, it includes 43 destinations, 12 of which are domestic. Royal Air Maroc also maintains a major network in Europe with 25 routes including Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Nice, Paris, Strasbourg and Toulouse in France, as well as Brussels and Geneva for French-speaking countries. Paris Orly is in fact RAM's second most important base, with almost 800,000 seats a year available from the Paris airport.
The African and European network is linked to some long-haul routes to the Americas: Montreal, New York, Washington in the North and Brazil in the South, with several weekly flights to Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. A new route between Casablanca and Miami will be added from April 2019. The long-haul network also includes a number of routes to destinations in the Gulf, in particular Doha, Jeddah and Riyadh. In total, the carrier offered more than 11 million seats year-on-year in 2017, albeit with a relatively low load factor of 65% on average.
The company's strategic positioning in the Mediterranean Basin and Africa meant that a coveted partner by alliances, in particular by oneworld, which will be able to consolidate its presence in this part of the world. Indeed, the Moroccan airline will become the first full member of the alliance on the African continent; oneworld currently has only one affiliate member in Africa, Comair, a subsidiary of British Airways based in South Africa.
" We are delighted to welcome RAM to oneworld, as Africa is one of our most important markets. the world's last great region in which we did not yet have a fully-fledged member. We couldn't afford not to be present in a market that is predicted to be one of the most dynamic in the world over the next few decades."Alan Joyce, CEO of Qantas and current Chairman of oneworld, acknowledged this.
Royal Air Maroc fleet
54 aircraft, including
3 Boeing 767-300
5 Boeing 787-800
31 Boeing 737 -800
6 Boeing 737-700
4 Embraer 90
6 ATR72
