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The year 2019 ended well for the Moroccan national company: rewarded last November by the Association of African Airlines for its good governance, the company also announced the date of its official entry into the international alliance Oneworld , which will take place next March. For RAM, the coming year will be a pivotal year: that of confirming its good performance.
AFRAA Awards
Last November, the Association of African Airlines (AFRAA) held its 51st annual general meeting in Mauritius. A meeting organized each year to facilitate synergies between the players in a growing African aviation sector.
The forum brings together African airlines, civil aviation authorities and several players in the field such as IATA – the International Air Transport Association – and AFCAC – the African Civil Aviation Commission. In short, a great summit dedicated this year to the theme of “success in an integrated and interconnected Africa”. Two days of forums, debates and meetings after which several prizes were awarded. However, this year, Royal Air Maroc was successful with the awards for the best company in the “Global Operations” and “Best improved financial results” categories.
Rewards that crown the development of the company: the historic airline of the kingdom, Royal Air Maroc has long struggled to exist outside its Moroccan pre-square. But for the past few years, the company has been riding on the meteoric growth of the African airline and has gradually established itself as an essential company in trade between Europe, America and Africa. The company now serves 100 destinations and in 2018 its turnover amounted to 1.57 billion euros.
“We are extremely proud of this international recognition,” said Royal Air Maroc President and CEO Hamid Addou. “This consecration prompts us to redouble our efforts to achieve a single African market for air transport, which will eliminate protectionist barriers in order to lead to a boom in air traffic in our continent, carried mainly by African companies. A statement that illustrates the ambitions of the group’s management: to make RAM one of the leading African companies and to make Morocco the hub of air transport on the continent. But the challenge is significant, as the competition is now fierce in the African sky.
The OneWorld alliance
For this, the company can rely on its integration into the Oneworld alliance: after approving the arrival of RAM a year ago, the members of the airline alliance voted for the official integration of the company as of March 31, 2020. Royal Air Maroc will thus be the first African airline to become a full member of Oneworld, while its regional subsidiary Royal Air Maroc Express will become an associate member of the alliance.
Royal Air Maroc will thus join airline giants such as American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Iberia, Qantas and Qatar Airways in the third largest alliance of airlines in the world. A new status which should allow the company to improve its services while accelerating its development. Since December 2018, Oneworld members have audited and validated the Moroccan company’s security systems as well as its reservation system, which now meets the standards of other companies in the alliance. At the same time, RAM has launched a vast training program for the benefit of all its teams in contact with customers (call centers, commercial agencies, personnel on board and present during stopovers).
Driven by the growth and development of the company in recent years, this integration process has been rather easy for RAM according to the words of its CEO Hamid Addou: “Between the invitation and the official integration, we will have taken 15 months to be an integral part of the prestigious Oneworld alliance, when the average of the integration process goes from 18 to 20 months. This is largely due to the fact that our systems were at a higher level which facilitated their alignment with those of the Alliance. “
The company, founded in 1957, has therefore undergone a significant transformation in recent years. But the main challenge for the company is now ahead of it: in a particularly competitive sector – African air transport, RAM will have to maintain itself at the highest level and keep the competition at bay. 2020 should therefore be the year of confirmation for Royal Air Maroc.
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