Royal Air Maroc, one of Africa’s leading and fastest growing airlines will join oneworld®, adding that Royal Air Maroc will thus be first African airline and the third Arab airline member besides Royal Jordanian and Qatar Airways to join the alliance.
Royal Air Maroc is expected to be implemented into oneworld in mid-2020, when it will start flying alongside some of the biggest and best brands in the airline business. Its regional subsidiary Royal Air Maroc Express will join as a oneworld affiliate member at the same time.
Its election as a oneworld member designate was announced as the Chief Executives of the alliance’s 13 current member airlines gathered in New York for their year-end Governing Board meeting, just weeks before the alliance celebrates the 20thanniversary of its launch.
oneworld Governing Board Chairman Alan Joyce, Group CEO of Qantas, says: “We’re pleased to welcome Royal Air Maroc to oneworld. Africa is the last major region where oneworld does not have a full member airline – and has one of the fastest predicted air travel growth rates over the next few decades. Royal Air Maroc will deliver greater value for more customers worldwide as we expand our alliance network to a new region.”
oneworld CEO Rob Gurney notes: “When we unveiled our new membership platform oneworld connect in June, we said that in the future oneworld would target as full members large airlines that have a significant presence in the alliance’s prime target market, providing connections between the world’s leading business centres. Royal Air Maroc is growing into a truly global airline, with its home base Casablanca to be developed into Africa’s leading aviation gateway while also consolidating its place as Africa’s number one financial centre.”
Royal Air Maroc CEO Abdelhamid Addou says: “Royal Air Maroc is excited and honored to have been invited to become oneworld’s wings of Africa. We look forward to completing our flight on board speedily and smoothly so that we can offer the services and benefits of the world’s best airline alliance to our customers and across our own network as soon as possible. We will be flying alongside the finest collection of air carriers in the skies, while at the same time making it easier for people all over the world to reach our historic and beautiful part of the world. This undoubtedly represents one of the most significant landmarks in our airline’s 60-year history and on our journey to establish Royal Air Maroc as the leading airline of Africa.”
Royal Air Maroc is today the largest unaligned carrier in Africa – with a transformational strategy well underway to develop it quickly into a truly global airline and the continent’s leader in terms of both size and quality.
Under its ambitious five-year plan, it plans to expand its fleet significantly, carrying 13 million passengers a year across a global network serving 121 destinations in 68 countries. This will add another 15 destinations and nine countries to the alliance network–giving the alliance a total of 1,084 destinations in 187 countries and territories.
Three established oneworld member airlines – British Airways, Iberia and Qatar Airways – currently serve three destinations in Morocco between them: Casablanca, Marrakech and Tangier.