Royal Air Maroc (RAM) was the second-largest operator between Africa and the US and Canada in 2019 by total seats. That year, it served five destinations, including Boston and Miami. However, its ‘core three’ – JFK, Montreal, and Washington – are all that remain. We delve into Montreal to Casablanca, an important market for the carrier because of the French connection.

Royal Air Maroc's capacity to the US and Canada in 2019 was second only to Ethiopian Airlines, data from OAG confirms, but more than Delta, EgyptAir, and South African Airways. If non-stop seats are looked at, RAM would be number-one. This is because Ethiopian Airlines’ westbound services are all one-stop because of Addis Ababa’s hot-and-high situation that limits aircraft performance.

Royal Air Maroc 787
In 2021 and 2022, RAM will serve JFK, Montreal, and Washington from Casablanca. All three are currently operating. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

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RAM nearly doubled in size

RAM's strong position to the US and Canada was very much helped by seat capacity almost doubling since 2015. This was driven by the arrival of Casablanca to Washington Dulles in 2016 and both Boston and Miami three years later.

Until 2016, its route map comprised only New York JFK and Montreal. The Quebec city was (and remains) the carrier’s only destination in Canada. This is primarily because of the 'French connection', and it is driven by the Moroccan and wider North and West African diaspora in Montreal.

Royal Air Maroc to the USA and Canada
Three additional routes account for the big growth since 2016. Image: Simple Flying using data from OAG Schedules Analyzer

Montreal had an 83% seat load factor

RAM had 240,000 round-trip seats between Casablanca and Montreal in 2019, second only to JFK with 264,000. The Canadian route had just shy of 200,000 passengers in total, according to booking data obtained from OAG Traffic Analyzer. This means an approximate seat load factor of 83% – more than the average across its whole network.

As you would expect from the Francophone link, Montreal had the highest number of point-to-point passengers, at approximately 106,000 round-trip (53% of the total). This helps to explain why Air Canada launched Montreal-Casablanca in 2016.

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RAM used the B747-400 to Montreal until 2018. It had a 492-seat layout, with 476 in economy. Photo: Abdallah via Wikimedia.

Delving into Montreal

It is estimated that over 90,000 Montreal passengers (45%) connected over RAM's Casablanca hub. Indeed, the airline carried more people between Montreal and North and West Africa than any other. The largest country-level origin and destination (O&D) was Casablanca to other Moroccan cities, followed by Tunisia and Egypt.

Where did RAM's passengers to/from Montreal go in 2019? These were the top-15 O&Ds. Notice the two in Europe and one in the Middle East. Montreal-Casablanca-Lisbon is 20% longer than a non-stop would be; for Beirut, just 10%. Image: OAG Mapper.

Montreal to Tunis was RAM's largest O&D, with approximately 12,000 passengers, followed by Marrakesh, Agadir, Cairo, and Dakar. RAM was the largest indirect operator between Morocco and the Tunisian capital, which Tunisair currently flies twice-weekly non-stop using the A330.

Have you ever flown RAM? Let us know in the comments.