Royal Air Maroc is set to become the newest member of the oneworld Alliance. We learnt that the airline would become the first African member back in 2018, however, we now have a date!

Royal Air Maroc will join the 21-year-old alliance on the 1st of April this year. And no, that's not an April fools day joke. The alliance announced the news earlier today. RAM's joining date comes following a 15-month implementation period where the airline has been adapting to fit in with the oneworld alliance's policy. The alliance will celebrate the occasion with a celebration in March.

What's changing?

One of the biggest changes that passengers will immediately notice is new reciprocity of their frequent flyer status. Royal Air Maroc offers the Safar Flyer frequent flyer program, which has over 1 million members who will benefit from April 1st.

Platinum members of the program will become oneworld Emerald members. Emerald is the top tier of the program, offering first class lounge access, first class check-in, priority boarding and fast track at select airports.

Gold cardholders will receive Saphire status with the alliance. This gives access to business class lounges and check-in with some other perks included. Last but not least, Silver cardholders will receive the alliance's Ruby status with other member airlines. Meanwhile, members of other alliance airlines will receive the benefits on Royal Air Maroc flights from April 1st.

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Both carriers are members of the oneworld Alliance. Photo: oneworld

More flight opportunities

As a result of the airline's membership of the alliance, passengers will also be able to benefit from more flight opportunities. The airline already offers codeshare flights with five other members of the alliance. These are American Airlines, Iberia, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian and S7 Airlines. However, as a result of its membership, more names are expected to join this list in time. American Airlines is even launching its first African flight in order to serve Royal Air Maroc's hub in Casablanca.

As a result of the airline's addition, the oneworld alliance will serve 39 new destinations and 23 new countries. These are all part of Royal Air Maroc's 100+ destinations across 50+ countries. All of these flights will be added to the alliance's 'oneworld Explorer' and 'Global Explorer' around the world tickets.

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The airline will join others such as British Airways in the alliance. Photo: Getty Images

Speaking of the confirmed joining date, oneworld CEO Rob Gurney said:

“We are honoured and delighted to welcome Royal Air Maroc into the alliance, adding our first full member in the fast-growing African continent. The quality service and global network offered by Royal Air Maroc will position oneworld as the preferred alliance in Africa, where Casablanca is a leading global financial centre,”

What will Royal Air Maroc's addition to the oneworld alliance mean to you? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!