Morocco national carrier plans flights to five East African destinations
Moroccan national carrier, Royal Air Maroc (RAM) recently announced plans to launch flights to five East African cities just two years after it commenced its Casablanca-Nairobi operations.
Othman Baba, Country Manager for RAM, said the move, which was inspired by its Nairobi operations, formed part of RAM’s efforts to take back a share of the intra-African aviation transport, which, as it stood, was controlled by foreign interests, reports Business Daily.
Last year RAM joined the 23-member Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), and has said that it will ride on the continental aviation framework in order to speed up regulatory approvals. So far, it is the only North African airline running direct flights between Nairobi and Ndjamena in Chad.
As RAM celebrated its 33rd flight on its Nairobi-Casablanca route on April 26, Baba commented: “We will be extending operations in East Africa in the short-term with new destinations like Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Harare (Zimbabwe), Kigali (Rwanda), Maputo (Mozambique) and Khartoum (Sudan).
“With more than 30 destinations in West Africa, it is only natural that RAM has decided to spread into East Africa to sustain its African strategy and underscore Kenya as a regional business hub and gateway.”
Baba said exploring new destinations for its clientele had been RAM’s mission ever since it was formed over 60 years ago.
In 2016 the airline began its Kenyan foray with two weekly flights and since has adjusted its schedule to three weekly flights.
RAM, together with Ethiopian Airways, SAA, Kenya Airways and EgyptAir are collectively referred to as Africa’s Big Five.
In a continent where state carriers have been accused of exorbitant fares that drive Africans to foreign airlines, RAM said its key success point remained its low ticket prices.
Baba said that RAM had, over the years, managed to maintain strict control over its cost structure and processes, thus resulting in lower ticket price and cargo tariffs, especially within the last 15 years.
source: Tourism Update
