Moroccan flag carrier Royal Air Maroc launched direct flights from Casablanca to Tel Aviv yesterday. However, the airline didn't stop with the route launch. Today Royal Air Maroc went a step further and announced a new codeshare partnership with Israeli carrier El Al.

Morocco agreed to establish diplomatic relations with Israel in December 2020. Both countries closed their borders due to the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in late 2021. Now that borders have reopened, the airlines are establishing their route networks, alongside adding new connections such as Royal Air Maroc's Casablanca-Tel Aviv service.

Launching Casablanca-Tel Aviv

Yesterday (March 13th, 2022), Royal Air Maroc launched flights between Casablanca's Mohamed V International Airport (CMN) and Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV). The airline used a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner to serve the four-and-a-half-hour flight on its inaugural operation. The airline marked the maiden service on the route, with a delegation of Moroccan economic operators and cultural personalities conveyed on the first service.

Initially, Royal Air Maroc will operate flights four times a week departing Casablanca on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, though five weekly flights are planned shortly. Flights will depart from Casablanca at 23:55, touching down in Israel at 06:15 the following day. The return leg leaves Tel Aviv an hour later, touching back down in Casablanca at 12:10, around 12 hours after its departure.

Commenting on the new link, Royal Air Maroc's CEO Hamid Addou remarked,

"We are pleased to inaugurate this direct link to Tel Aviv, the first in the history of [Royal Air Maroc]. We offer our customers direct flights between the two countries in less than five hours and a unique travel experience to aboard our planes."

Morocco-Israel Competition

According to data from Cirium, Royal Air Maroc is one of four airlines flying between the two nations in March, with the other three all being based in Israel. Interestingly, Royal Air Maroc is the only one flying from Casablanca, while El Al, Arkia, and Israir are all flying to and from Marrakesh.

Royal Air Maroc will be working much closer with El Al in the coming years. Today, the airline announced and launched a codeshare agreement with the Israeli flag carrier. The deal will connect both airlines' networks through connections between Tel Aviv, Casablanca, and Marrakesh. Right now, the primary focus of the agreement is seamless connections. However, both airlines plan to expand the deal in the future to include more convenient links and an optimized customer experience.

On the partnership, Avigal Soreq, CEO of EL AL Israel Airlines, commented,

"We welcome the partnership between the two official flag carriers of both Morocco and Israel. This collaboration is a great accomplishment that has been achieved in a relatively short time since the Abraham Accords established official relations. For Israelis, this is a significant improvement of having the option to travel to attractive destinations in Morocco and elsewhere in Africa. Israelis see Morocco as a preferred tourist destination, and we are confident the public in Morocco will also be drawn to Israel for all it has to offer as an attractive tourist destination.”

What do you make of Royal Air Maroc's Casablanca-Tel Aviv launch? What about the El Al codeshare? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!