• 

  Royal Air Maroc

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  AT/RAM

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Year Founded:

  1953

  Alliance:

  oneworld

  CEO:

  Abdelhamid Addou

  Hub(s):

  Casablanca Airport

  Country:

  Morocco

Having attended a celebration of Royal Air Maroc’s membership in the oneworld alliance, it was time to fly back home. As I was traveling as a guest of Royal Air Maroc, I flew in business class on a Boeing 737-800 via Casablanca.

Departing Lagos

At this point, I should mention that as guests of Royal Air Maroc, Simple Flying did not get the ordinary passenger experience leaving Lagos. While the departure experience won’t apply to the average passenger, the in-flight experience should be relatable.

I gave my checked bag to a Royal Air Maroc staff member before leaving the hotel. This was the last I’d see of the bag until arriving in Frankfurt. Our party was then driven from the hotel to the airport in a convoy with what appeared to be armed police.

Rather than driving to the main terminal at Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport, our convoy took us to the airport’s executive terminal. We waited landslide while our boarding passes were reprinted in the main terminal and then driven over to us while bags were checked in.

The passport checks to leave the airport were completed while I sat in a comfy chair with a cup of coffee. I could certainly have gotten used to this! As the flight was boarding, a minibus drove around the airport to the executive terminal to collect us, and we undertook the security check.

Boarding the flight

The bus then drove us around to the aircraft, where we were the last to board. The business class cabin on this flight was full, and with a generous carry-on allowance, we were forced to play a collective game of Tetris to fit everything in. This wasn’t helped by the fact that the first overhead bin on the left of the plane is smaller due to the tapering of the fuselage, nor the fact that my under-seat bag had to be stowed as I was in an exit row.

Speaking of seating, I was in 1F, a seat that I had chosen online before the flight, and that would be the same seat for my onward connection to Frankfurt. Being in the front row meant more than enough legroom, though I found it slightly annoying not to have my bag readily available under the seat in front of me.

Royal Air Maroc’s business class cabin on the Boeing 737 consists of three rows of four seats, two on either side of the aisle. A&F are window seats while S&E were aisle seats.

There are no seatback tray tables in the business class cabin, even behind the bulkhead row. Every seat had a table in the outside armrest, while the armrest between passengers was around 5-6 inches wide and contained a mini table for drinks. According to SeatGuru, the business class seats have a width of 21-inches and a pitch of 36-inches. While it wasn't the newest product in the sky, it was a welcome improvement on the typical European business class where the middle seat of economy class seats is left empty.

Before too long, the aircraft was pushing back and taxiing to the runway. While we received a water cannon salute when we arrived on the same plane (with oneworld branding to celebrate the event), this was not the case for our departure.

The in-flight service

Shortly after departure, the cabin crew came around the cabin and asked everybody if they would like their breakfast served straight away or around an hour before landing. I opted for the first choice and was swiftly presented with a tray containing,

• A croissant
• A pain au chocolate
• A yogurt
• A bowl of fruit
• Jam and honey
• Cutlery and table wear

A warm omelet dish shortly complemented this. The pastries came across as slightly overdone from the outside, though both were still warm inside and seemed to be cooked perfectly. Meanwhile, the yogurt was good enough that I wished there were two on my tray.

The omelet was a different story. Firstly, broccoli with an omelet for breakfast? Though I ate it, it didn’t seem to fit the meal. The omelet itself was nothing to write home about. It contained cheese which wasn’t bad, though the egg part was bland and rubbery. Overall, the meal achieved its purpose. The crew brought warm bread around for the jam and honey. Note: you cannot fit the whole pot of jam in a single bread roll without it going everywhere.

As a drink, I opted for a coffee. I thought that this would be an easy choice, though I was quickly presented with an entire array of different coffee pods. Being overwhelmed with choice, clueless, and tired, I sheepishly asked for the one that tasted most like a regular coffee. I was brought the coffee in a cup, alongside some creamer. Unfortunately, the coffee seemed to have some oily film on the surface, though I dutifully drank through two cups.

Having worked up at around 02:30 to travel to the airport, I had resolved to power through the flight, get some work done and not sleep. However, fairly soon after the first meal service was finished, I realized I couldn’t fight my tired eyes despite the repeated coffees. (After all, I’d managed around six hours of interrupted sleep over 48 hours. I reclined my chair, being sure that it wouldn’t bother the passenger sitting behind me (who happened to be oneworld CEO Rob Gurney), and promptly fell asleep for the best part of two hours.

I woke up around an hour from Casablanca, and not a moment too soon. Departing Lagos, all I could see from the window was darkness. However, the sun quickly rose, and I was able to see the incredible scenery from the Sahara Desert to the Altas Mountains.

For most of the flight, the screens on the Royal Air Maroc Boeing 737 only displayed moving maps. Closer to Casablanca, the black and white silent film His Trysting Place featuring Charlie Chaplin was shown on the screens. The airline also offers a service that allows passengers to stream TV shows and movies on their own devices, though the viewing options are limited.

Given the fantastic scenery flying over Africa, I would highly recommend booking a window seat if traveling on the Lagos-Casablanca leg. However, the Casablanca-Lagos leg is a red-eye flight with not much to be seen.

Arriving in Casablanca

Before long, the aircraft was descending, preparing to land at Casablanca’s Mohammed V International Airport. It was exciting to see the surrounding area, as my previous two flights were at the airport after sunset.

The flight taxied to a gate with a jetbridge. At the front of the aircraft, business class was the first to leave the flight. As mentioned in my previous Royal Air Maroc review, a staff member stood in the aisle to ensure that the plane was de-boarded in groups from front to back.

Given the nature of our trip, we were met at the gate by a Royal Air Maroc employee who would escort us to the Le Zénith lounge. To reach this facility, we had to first follow signs for connecting travelers.

En route, we had to pass serval checkpoints. The first checked that we indeed had a boarding pass for our onward connection. Next, individuals seemingly studied for forged documents by examining passports with magnifying glasses.

Finally, we had to pass through another security check. There was a significant line for the security check, and despite many different lanes existing, only one was open for all passengers. There appeared to be no fast-track queue for passengers with tight connections or premium passengers though our guide escorted us to the front of the line, much to the annoyance of those waiting patiently.

Before we knew it, we were back in the lounge, awaiting our separate connecting flights. A review of the lounge will follow shortly. My first experience with Royal Air Maroc's business class product was a positive one, and I look forward to flying with the airline again given a chance.

The flight details

Flight AT554 from Lagos (LOS) to Casablanca (CMN) was operated by a Boeing 737-800 registered as CN-RGJ. The ten-year-old aircraft was scheduled on the flight due to its oneworld livery. Flight AT554 was due to depart Lagos at 05:10 and land in Casablanca at 09:45. According to data from FlightRadar24.com, the flight actually left at 05:26, landing five minutes late at 09:50.

Simple Flying flew with Royal Air Maroc as a guest of the airline.

Have you flown in business class with Royal Air Maroc? How did you find the experience? Let us know what you think and why in the comments!