This morning I flew Royal Air Maroc from Doha to Casablanca, a flight that was operated by one of their new 787 aircraft. This flight was ~7 hours and covered 3,500 miles, so is roughly the same distance as a London to New York flight, as a point of comparison.
As I wrote about earlier, Royal Air Maroc has an odd business class product on this plane, which I can’t make sense of. Ultimately it’s nice to have a flat bed seat, though this has to be the most poorly designed “new” business class seat I’ve ever experienced.
What very pleasantly surprised me about Royal Air Maroc was the soft product.
We all have expectations coming into flights, often unfounded. For whatever reason I didn’t think service would be especially friendly. I also figured the meal service would be rather limited, given that the flight departed at 1AM and landed at 7AM. I figured there would be a small snack after takeoff, and then breakfast before landing.
Well, I was wrong on both counts. The flight attendant working business class was extremely charming and friendly. While she wasn’t the most polished or attentive between meals, she provided sincere hospitality and warmth, which I loved.
As far as the meal service goes, well, it was possibly the most extensive I’ve had in business class on a late night redeye. It was actually almost too extensive, since it cut into the ability to sleep on a fairly short redeye.
Service began with drinks and canapés.
That was followed by an appetizer, which rather oddly consisted of two types of salad.
That was followed up by the main courses served off a cart.
Then there was a cheese cart.
Then there was a dessert cart.
And then after that there was a tea and liqueur cart.
Then breakfast was served before landing.
The food quality was excellent, and as I said above, the meal service was perhaps too extensive.
The one huge weakness of the flight was that they didn’t have proper duvets, but rather just thin sheet-like blankets similar to what you’d get in economy. First world problems, I know…
Bottom line
All things considered, Royal Air Maroc exceeded my expectations. I’d fly them in a heartbeat between the US and Morocco, which is roughly the same length. While I know they’re an Avios partner airline, I wish they’d actually join an alliance, as has been rumored for a long time.
Have you flown Royal Air Maroc? If so, what was your experience like?
Looks a lot nicer then when RHoNYC flew from JFK to CMN
Wonder if this will end like the China Eastern ordeal -- RAM will e-mail to apologize for the thin blanket and providing you too much food.
Really glad to have these reports.
The seats are almost as if they think it'll be easier to get out of the window seat if you are elevated.
We flew Royal Air Moroc in coach round trip JFK-Casablanca about 10 years ago (was supposed to be business class, but surprise! Aircraft swap for a plane with NO big class. Um, row 4, really?!?!). In each case, I was wedged next to someone obese who snored the whole way / children screaming as if they were being tortured. Probably not the airlines fault (except the equipment swap, which was clearly baiting and switching), but...
We flew Royal Air Moroc in coach round trip JFK-Casablanca about 10 years ago (was supposed to be business class, but surprise! Aircraft swap for a plane with NO big class. Um, row 4, really?!?!). In each case, I was wedged next to someone obese who snored the whole way / children screaming as if they were being tortured. Probably not the airlines fault (except the equipment swap, which was clearly baiting and switching), but 2 of the worst flights I can recall. Just awful, would never fly them again. I fly a lot for work, and the fact that these flights stick out as so awful should be telling.
The country of Morocco was lovely (especially Fez and the Sahara desert), but the airline was a must miss.
The Moroccan people are extremely warm and hospitable so no surprise it showed on your flight.
That said the one flight I took w them many years ago dahkla to casa was horrendous.
I know it's a quick turnaround for you but if you ever have the time, chefchaoun and Marrakech are incredible.
Jeez. That's one calorie laden flight right there. Looks great
For a time last year I flew frequently between London and Casa, and I found RAM great every time. However, they did do weird things like unplanned stops in Marrakech on the way to Ourzazate, and some colleagues had issues with missing bags, but i never had a problem with them, and I agree that the cabin crew were genuinely charming and real, even if the ground service can be a bit haphazard. 4* sounds about right (and better than I initially expected)
Wow...The food looks great. Did you spend most of that 7 hour flight eating? Hope you were able to catch some Z's!! The RTW journey continues...
@Imperator Likewise. My colleagues advise me to avoid RAM like the plague (horror stories of 12+ hour delays...), but this report is giving me pause. Might have to check them out. To some places in sub-Saharan Africa, flying RAM is often the cheapest option by far.
Wow. I really blew this prediction as I was expecting the AT flights to be borderline wretched.
This is where Ben's quest to try some of the more unique business class products is paying off. Royal Air Maroc has a lousy reputation amongst my colleagues; having another, more positive perspective is very beneficial.
Please post photos of flight attendants, with their permission.
That's the best part of the soft product on internationAL product.
Looks like they have a strong soft product and a stupid hard product, right?
Royal Air Maroc is a 4-star Airline rated by Skytrax