It’s always nice to see more nonstop service to interesting destinations. Along those lines, we have reason to believe that Delta will shortly be announcing a new route to Africa, and we know what it is.
In this post:
Delta will fly to Marrakech, Morocco
While there’s not an official announcement yet, Delta is expected to shortly announce a new route between Atlanta (ATL) and Marrakech (RAK).
The always in-the-know @xJonNYC hinted at this yesterday…
DL: rumors going around of a possible long haul route announcement Friday.
— JonNYC (@xjonnyc.bsky.social) February 26, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Think ex-ATL to Africa-ish
— JonNYC (@xjonnyc.bsky.social) February 26, 2025 at 8:17 PM
…and well, it doesn’t take a whole lot to read between the lines.
"New Zealand took both first and second place on the rankings, with second place going to Queenstown Airport… However, on the other end of the spectrum, Marrakech Airport came in last place, although still with a relatively okay score of 7.58. It was preceded by Bergamo and Rome Fiumicino.."
— JonNYC (@xjonnyc.bsky.social) February 27, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Interesting that you'd pull that out, is it a hint about the new Delta Atlanta-Africa announcement that's coming?
— garyleff.bsky.social (@garyleff.bsky.social) February 27, 2025 at 5:00 PM
We should learn all the details soon (probably tomorrow), including when the route will launch, which plane will be used, and what frequencies will be like. I would guess we’re looking at a winter seasonal, 3x weekly service with a Boeing 767, but that’s just because that’s exactly what United operates to Marrakech.
This will be Delta’s sixth destination in Africa, complementing flights to Accra (ACC), Cape Town (CPT), Dakar (DSS), Johannesburg (JNB), and Lagos (LOS).
How this fits into the competitive landscape
Delta is obviously following United’s lead here. This past winter, United launched a 3x weekly seasonal route to Marrakech out of Newark (EWR), using a Boeing 767, and that route will be resuming this coming winter season.
With Delta also expected to announce flights to Marrakech, it means that American will be the only one of the “big three” US carriers to not fly to Morocco (well, or Africa at all, for that matter). That’s a bit ironic, since Royal Air Maroc is part of oneworld, so American actually has a partner in Morocco, unlike Delta and United.
Funny enough, in 2020, American was supposed to launch a route from Philadelphia (PHL) to Casablanca (CMN) using a Boeing 757. That was expected to launch in June 2020, but never ended up coming to fruition, initially due to reduced demand resulting from the pandemic, and then due to American retiring its 757s (and 767s, and A330s… man, American is a shell of its former self).
Regardless, it’s cool to see more nonstop transatlantic flights to Marrakech. Historically, Casablanca has been used as the long haul gateway to Morocco, presumably largely for political reasons, and for business and connecting traffic. However, for point-to-point leisure traffic (which is what US carriers are going after), Marrakech is of course where it’s at.
Bottom line
Delta is expected to shortly announce a new route between Atlanta and Marrakech. We don’t yet know the launch date, frequencies, or aircraft type used, but we should find out very shortly, and I’ll of course update the post when we know. As usual, we’re seeing United lead the way with international expansion, and Delta following along…
What do you make of Delta launching Marrakech flights?
This expected route will disrupt the transpacific JV between ANA & UNA. It’s a game changer. -Tim Dunn
How dare you insult and make fun of Tim ? He’s very influential and respected. In fact, there are so many people that desperately want to read what he writes that I’m pretty sure he will start his own blog. You can subscribe and become a Dunner. I mean, why wouldn’t he ? If you are so influential and you haven’t been banned from anywhere and if a lot of respected people engage in discussions...
How dare you insult and make fun of Tim ? He’s very influential and respected. In fact, there are so many people that desperately want to read what he writes that I’m pretty sure he will start his own blog. You can subscribe and become a Dunner. I mean, why wouldn’t he ? If you are so influential and you haven’t been banned from anywhere and if a lot of respected people engage in discussions with you, there’s nothing else you should do but start the most successful aviation blog of all time right ? Right Tim ?
Air Transat currently flies from Montreal to Marrakech.
Delta just copying United as always.
Was United copying Delta when they launched service to Dakar ?
you got that considerably backward - but I know you that.
“But I know you that.”
Tim Dunn, y’all. Doesn’t even proofread his own BS.
honestly a little surprised that the UA service has Atlanta so spooked, perhaps the uptrend in Morocco demand is stronger than I initially assumed.
American should launch JFK or PHL to Morocco too. And then there's some onward connectivity on Royal Air Maroc.
Delta's gone some incredibly long stretches between adding year-round longhaul flights, to anywhere other than a partner hub. I think Melbourne is the first one, in years. Will be exciting if this flight turns out to follow it up.
Guessing it's probably going to be another seasonal though, as implied here in the article. Better than the zillionth flight to Amsterdam, Paris, or Korea though.
let’s see if there is any announcement at all tomorrow, but especially if it involves Africa.
Let’s be clear that Delta has been in Africa far longer than United has. United might have expanded the idea of going seasonally to North Africa and that is what could be attractive to Delta for service next winter. Clearly all of the big three need to find places to fly widebodies during the winter. Delta‘s growth in...
let’s see if there is any announcement at all tomorrow, but especially if it involves Africa.
Let’s be clear that Delta has been in Africa far longer than United has. United might have expanded the idea of going seasonally to North Africa and that is what could be attractive to Delta for service next winter. Clearly all of the big three need to find places to fly widebodies during the winter. Delta‘s growth in Australia and New Zealand is specifically because it is counter seasonal to Europe.
Let’s also remember that Delta has received 25 new A350s and 339s in 24 and 25 combined and has specifically said that the A35K will be the Spring board for ultra long haul flights. Any sense that Delta is being conservative in its growth will disappear fairly quickly over the next year and a half
it is worth noting that industry data shows that Delta is the fastest growing of the three US mega carriers in the first quarter
about your A35K ultra long haul comment, do you see them returning to Singapore directly from LAX? That's the one route I really want and need.
How realistic are all the LAX/SEA-SIN and/or HKG rumors? Seems like people think it could really happen
not until DL steps up both their hard and soft products. which they better get their sh** together and figure out by the A35K launch
"How realistic are all the LAX/SEA-SIN and/or HKG rumors? Seems like people think it could really happen"
Who, other than Tim Dunn on various aviation forums?
Not to say that it couldn't or won't happen, just that no one from Delta, nor even people like JonNYC or Ishrion (who so often have credible leaks) have mentioned a thing about either one. In fact, when Bastian was directly asked what new routes the more-capable A350-900s...
"How realistic are all the LAX/SEA-SIN and/or HKG rumors? Seems like people think it could really happen"
Who, other than Tim Dunn on various aviation forums?
Not to say that it couldn't or won't happen, just that no one from Delta, nor even people like JonNYC or Ishrion (who so often have credible leaks) have mentioned a thing about either one. In fact, when Bastian was directly asked what new routes the more-capable A350-900s and the incoming A350-1000s will permit, his answers were India and Saudi Arabia. Nothing about a return to Hong Kong nor Singapore. Yet listening to this guy, you'd be on pins and needles thinking that they were imminent.
Ed did explicitly say they were looking to expand "further into the Pacific". I have also seen people on Flyertalk, as well as a Delta employee on reddit (take with a grain of salt) claim that both SIN and HKG were in the talks, with SIN even potentially being the launch route for the A35K. Either way, expanding into Asia is a long, multi-year process that they need to think out cautiously (e.g. they do...
Ed did explicitly say they were looking to expand "further into the Pacific". I have also seen people on Flyertalk, as well as a Delta employee on reddit (take with a grain of salt) claim that both SIN and HKG were in the talks, with SIN even potentially being the launch route for the A35K. Either way, expanding into Asia is a long, multi-year process that they need to think out cautiously (e.g. they do not have the hard or soft product at the moment to compete with Asian carriers and Delta's premium pricing). My point is, these discussions are taking place right now behind closed doors, and things should be slowly revealed over the next 2-3 years.
A.net seems to have a lot of discussion on it.
Are you saying that all those posters are Tim Dunn sock puppet accounts? The discussion there seems pretty organic.
Of course, it's all just armchair speculation and stuff. That's why I asked, didn't assert it was actually happening.
I truly have to laugh at the outsized influence that some people think I have in the aviation industry ....hmmm maybe I really do have that much influence?
The biggest clue against a TPAC route is that, by announcing anything now, it is undoubtedly a winter (northern hemisphere) route.
I think TPAC routes will come but maybe for a 2026 summer launch... perhaps the first with the 35K.
I wouldn't bet against an India...
I truly have to laugh at the outsized influence that some people think I have in the aviation industry ....hmmm maybe I really do have that much influence?
The biggest clue against a TPAC route is that, by announcing anything now, it is undoubtedly a winter (northern hemisphere) route.
I think TPAC routes will come but maybe for a 2026 summer launch... perhaps the first with the 35K.
I wouldn't bet against an India flight - which has heavy winter seasonal peaks - as well as RUH
and I think DL will announce several routes from the eastern US to Asia when Russia airspace restrictions are dropped - which could very well happen within months.
I have no idea what might be announced tomorrow but the addition of 9 ex-Latam 359s to the longhaul fleet due to conversions to DL standard configurations plus the 25 new 359s and 339s in 2024 and 25, DL has a lot of longhaul capable capacity coming online.
if DL can make good money flying international, they will keep adding. Right now, the economics are favorable for international growth for all carriers. DL just happens to be in the best position in the industry with new generation and ultra long haul capable aircraft.
“I truly have to laugh at the outsized influence that some people think I have in the aviation industry ....hmmm maybe I really do have that much influence?”
Of course you do. A loooooot of people think that, and they are right. I mean, wouldn’t it be funny if someone with all that influence was banned from both the industry and the community? Actually, it happens all the time. Silly industry and community.
Rest...
“I truly have to laugh at the outsized influence that some people think I have in the aviation industry ....hmmm maybe I really do have that much influence?”
Of course you do. A loooooot of people think that, and they are right. I mean, wouldn’t it be funny if someone with all that influence was banned from both the industry and the community? Actually, it happens all the time. Silly industry and community.
Rest assured, everyone here pays a lot of attention to what you write. Everyone here considers your thoughts very insightful. I’m pretty sure that anyone who thinks that you are the only one interested in what you have to say need to seek mental treatment.
How can I have been banned from so many sites and still have so much influence?
thank you for your part to make sure I stay top of everyone's mind - including your own
Yeees !! You’re so influential ! And you’re not the only person that thinks that’s true !
Even where you haven’t been outright banned, you have been publicly dismissed and deemed irrelevant. Brett Snyder, Cranky Flier, has publicly said he refuses to engage with you since your “discussions” are pointless and devolve into “argument loops”.
JonNYC has also publicly called you out with a direct insult. He is very respected and widely followed in the industry, facts which must drive you crazy.
If you honestly think you’re that insightful, fair,...
Even where you haven’t been outright banned, you have been publicly dismissed and deemed irrelevant. Brett Snyder, Cranky Flier, has publicly said he refuses to engage with you since your “discussions” are pointless and devolve into “argument loops”.
JonNYC has also publicly called you out with a direct insult. He is very respected and widely followed in the industry, facts which must drive you crazy.
If you honestly think you’re that insightful, fair, and admired, you should start your own blog. According to you, it will be widely as read and followed. Of course you won’t, since you know you’re not respected. You’ll continue your existence in the comments section of more respected analysts.
Oh that beautiful place inside a very special head called Timmyland. In Timmyland, Tim walks along all those respected people as an equal, when in reality he can’t even serve a cup of coffee to them and say hi. It must be tough living in Timmyland.
Must be driving you crazy that JonNYC clearly has leaks from Delta. ;)
Best not to proudly parade how great Delta is at keeping secrets when they clearly leak to Jon as well.
But we'll find out.
Come on ! You’re not being fair with Tim. I’m pretty sure that Jon is dying with jealousy of Tim. In fact, I’m pretty sure that Jon’s dream is to have the reach and credibility that Tim has in the community. I get so happy when I see a DL or UA related post, because that means that we’ll get a very balanced and well thought analysis by Tim, which by no means at all comes from the mind of a very sick and delusional person. We’re so lucky to read Tim for free !!
of course we'll find out.
I don't want anyone at any airline leaking anything and I don't want anyone begging someone to spill the planes.
and some of the "scents" are part of filings that aren't entirely secret.
Nobody else brought up DL’s size relative to UA, but, since you did, UA is larger than DL across the Atlantic, larger than DL across the Pacific, larger than DL to Latin America, is the largest airline in the world, has the best hubs in the northeast, west coast, and Midwest.
UA profits are on par with DL’s while facing significantly more competition than DL, without the *four* fortress hubs DL has (either at...
Nobody else brought up DL’s size relative to UA, but, since you did, UA is larger than DL across the Atlantic, larger than DL across the Pacific, larger than DL to Latin America, is the largest airline in the world, has the best hubs in the northeast, west coast, and Midwest.
UA profits are on par with DL’s while facing significantly more competition than DL, without the *four* fortress hubs DL has (either at the airport or in the metro area), and without billions extra in credit card revenue.
You bring up DL’s 20-25 new widebodies without mentioning UA has almost 200 787s on order, including the IGW versions with even longer range.
Again, you’re the one who brought up UA in some kind insecure, defensive way. Nobody else did.
If you’re going to do it, then bring up all the facts, not just one random one you cherry picked.
yes, and UA is substantially smaller than AA and DL in the domestic market.
why, other than your arrogance, do you think that the international market is so much more valuable since DL manages to generate more revenue and profits?
no, UA's profits are not comparable to DL's. they are about 80% of DL's
and UA has MUCH higher market share in its coastal hubs than DL does in its coastal hubs plus IAH
...
yes, and UA is substantially smaller than AA and DL in the domestic market.
why, other than your arrogance, do you think that the international market is so much more valuable since DL manages to generate more revenue and profits?
no, UA's profits are not comparable to DL's. they are about 80% of DL's
and UA has MUCH higher market share in its coastal hubs than DL does in its coastal hubs plus IAH
UA's market share in IAD, EWR, SFO and IAH is higher than DL's in ATL, DTW, MSP and SLC - and UA's coastal hubs have much higher revenue.
UA's high fares are due to its market dominance of its coastal hubs.
The only one that is insecure is you that clings to clearly false information while continuing to parrot realities that only exist in your own mind.
and DL's 339 and 359 fleets are very close to the same size as UA's 787 fleet.
UA's widebody fleet is boosted by its use of 30 year old 777-200s for domestic use, something AA and UA manage to do with narrowbodies.
You do realize that DL has larger average domestic gauge than UA even with UA's 365 seat 777s?
and DL doesn't clog up valuable airspace with fake 50 seat jets that are imposters for real 2 cabin jets.
aren't you glad you started throwing mud?
You’re the one who brought up UA, nobody else. No surprise that you’re acting like the victim.
UA in no way dominates its coastal hubs. Yes they’re large in SFO but OAK/SJC are significant draws for travelers. Same with IAD and DCA/BWI, IAH and HOU, ORD and MDW, EWR and JFK/LGA. DL has no other large commercial airport at four of its hubs.
And compare profits in Q1 vs Q4 to get an...
You’re the one who brought up UA, nobody else. No surprise that you’re acting like the victim.
UA in no way dominates its coastal hubs. Yes they’re large in SFO but OAK/SJC are significant draws for travelers. Same with IAD and DCA/BWI, IAH and HOU, ORD and MDW, EWR and JFK/LGA. DL has no other large commercial airport at four of its hubs.
And compare profits in Q1 vs Q4 to get an idea of UA’s trajectory and how much UA is on par with DL, without the billions extra when UA’s credit card agreement catches up to the ones with DL and AA.
And domestic capacity? With 500 deliveries coming up over a 5 year period, you think UA won’t be catching up quickly, all while maintaining its international lead? All of UA’s domestic deliveries are significantly larger than the other narrowbodies currently flying domestically.
You sure give a lot of credit to the domestic 777s that make up 15-20 planes out of the 1000+ mainline fleet.
And the CRJ-550s? DL is just now entering that pool, copying UA. It’s only a big deal when UAX flies them?
And international isn’t as important? You, yes you, are the one that brought it up in the first place by saying DL is bigger than UA in Africa.
There you go again Mark, always bringing a big gun to Timmy’s lil’ knife fight!
you and Mark both don't get that it was actually Ben that through a small piece of meat into the circle so that he can watch the "dogs" fight.
And I always love it when he does.
and, yes, it is well documented that UAL's share of the local market revenue in IAD, EWR and SFO is larger than most of DL's interior US hubs and the total market revenue in those hubs is...
you and Mark both don't get that it was actually Ben that through a small piece of meat into the circle so that he can watch the "dogs" fight.
And I always love it when he does.
and, yes, it is well documented that UAL's share of the local market revenue in IAD, EWR and SFO is larger than most of DL's interior US hubs and the total market revenue in those hubs is larger than DTW, MSP and SLC
The notion that UA is some competitive underdog is complete hogwash.
DL is actually the scrappy dog that has pushed itself from #3 in NYC to now #1 by flights, tied with US in total boardings, and will be challenging UA's revenue size from NYC when DL starts JFK to Asia flights - which will happen in the next few years.
And DL is the scrappy dog that overtook B6 in BOS and AA in LAX.
DL uses the CRJ550s in EAS markets; so, yes, DL copied UA in using them to free up 76 seat RJs to the full DL limit for RJ's - which happens to be larger than UA's allowance - because of the 80 717s that DL bothered to put into service over a decade ago - and added on with 65+ A220s.
I didn't say that DL was bigger to Africa - although they are. I said, factually, that DL started service to Africa before UA.
and, I could honestly care less about the oneupsmanship that is so much a part of the mindset UA fans. because it comes from UA's execs - and is bred in UA's DNA.
When UA is the highest revenue, highest market cap, most profitable airline and beats other US carriers in customer service metrics, then let us know.
Why are you looking at UA’s share in EWR, IAD, and SFO? You clearly know you should be looking at market share in EWR/LGA/JFK, IAD/DCA/BWI, and SFO/OAK/SJC.
Is it that you’re so focused on and that when they dominate ATL, DTW, MSP, and SLC they are actually dominating the whole metro area since they have no crosstown airports to worry about? You should change your mindset to look at it from UA’s point of...
Why are you looking at UA’s share in EWR, IAD, and SFO? You clearly know you should be looking at market share in EWR/LGA/JFK, IAD/DCA/BWI, and SFO/OAK/SJC.
Is it that you’re so focused on and that when they dominate ATL, DTW, MSP, and SLC they are actually dominating the whole metro area since they have no crosstown airports to worry about? You should change your mindset to look at it from UA’s point of view, so you’ll see what it looks like to face significant competition in the metro area if every hub.
And you keep touting that DL has more flights than UA in NYC. That proves the opposite of what you’re trying to say. DL is inefficient compared to UA in NYC. They run more regional flights and have smaller average gauge. They have to split their operation between two hubs, one of which is restricted by a perimeter rule.
It’s why UA can make RAK work from EWR when DL can’t make it work from JFK. DL will lose out on the high yielding local traffic in NYC, going for the lower-yielding ones who are willing to connect. It’s also why UA can make more markets work from EWR than DL can from JFK.
And you talking about DL’s winning position of launching NYC-Asia in “a few years”? They didn’t even bother applying for JFK-HND, a route they almost definitely would have been granted. Unable to make a flight work from their primary northeast hub or one of the largest business centers in the world?
What do you think UA will be doing when Russian airspace reopens and they have over 100 787s, working their way up to 250 of them?
i see they're just pulling random cities out of their ass now. nothing for SIN, BKK, SGN, HKG, PEK, but yes let's chase UA like a dog and do exactly what they do
Why not JFK?
I get the power of the ATL hub, but isn't there more direct demand between JFK and Africa.
Delta is so conservative with their growth, anytime they do something new, it's super uninteresting. But I guess that's what makes money for them.
If you want a real premium service you can already fly JFK-RAK one stop on AF or less premium but direct from EWR.
The one-step routing from ATL is clearly to get high yields on DL metal from all of those that don't live in NY region.
Safe money grubbing once UA has "explored" the market.
JFK is slot-controlled. ATL is not.
and DL at ATL can siphon off most of the connecting traffic that other carriers might carry via a NYC airport through ATL at much better economics.
How do you think Delta or any airline ever launches any new service from JFK lol
Slots can be re-purposed by swapping out their schedule and they can also apply for more slots.
ItThis is the kind of flight where I would guess the split nature of the NYC hub makes a difference. If you want the entire Delta network to have access to a flight (including Northeast passengers that are willing to take a a two hour connecting flight), ATL it is