Royal & Regal? ยท ROYAL AIR MAROC Business Class ๐ช๐ฌ Cairo to Marrakech via Casablanca ๐ฒ๐ฆ Trans Africa
Today we are going to take a look atย
what seems to be Africaโs most ambitiousย ย forward looking airline, by a long shot.
Welcome to Cairo, I arrived yesterday onย ย an Egyptair flight from Kuwait and stayed at theย
Le Meridien on site which again, I canโt praiseย ย highly enough. They have scheduled shuttles toย
take you to terminal 2 and 1 which theyโre notย ย connected to. I inadvertently missed the shuttleย
by like a minute. Next would be there in 10ย ย minutes, no problem. They gave me a car instead.
Anyway, after this very quick ride we are here atย ย Terminal 2 which was closed in 2010 for a 3 yearย
full renovation and when I tell you it is a muchย ย nicer experience than Egyptairโs terminal 3,ย
that is not an overstatement. Oh by the way,ย ย today we are flying Royal Airย
Maroc to Marakech via Casablanca.ย Before we get into all of that though, letย
me welcome any of you that might be new toย ย the channel, my name is Kevin. Iโm here toย
give you a self-funded and honest look atย ย some of the best- and some of the not soย
best- airlines and hotels in the world,ย ย which Iโve been bringing to you full time for theย
past four years. Check out my hundreds of videos,ย ย scan the QR code or click the linkย
in the description to learn moreย ย about the channel. This pleasantlyย
uncomfortable journey, begins now.ย Terminal 2 is a bit of an odd layout.ย
You get dropped off on the left,ย ย check in in what I assume is the newer partย
of the building, and then go upstairs andย ย head across the street to the terminal itself.ย
Kind of like the โterminal 2โ in Hong Kong.ย Check in was very easy and quick with littleย
more than a couple of smiles and a โhave a niceย ย flightโ. As we head to the departures hall, letย
me just mention one odd quirk of security here.ย ย They stopped every male passenger and tookย
the heads of our razors. Not a huge problem,ย ย but not something Iโve seen before anywhere,ย
including here in Cairo on previous occasions.ย The departures hall has a fewย
lounges on offer- oddly enoughย ย thereโs an Egyptair lounge which isย
very unsure of itโs identity- oddย ย since I thought all of their flightsย
were out of Terminal 3. Either way,ย ย we are heading to the very pleasant Ahlen Loungeย
which was included with my business class ticket.ย Itโs hard for me to look at this lounge and notย
laugh just a little because it seems as if itโsย ย in a different world from otherโs Iโve visitedย
in Cairo. Whatever theyโre doing in this loungeย ย needs to be duplicated across the airport.
So, Royal Air Maroc is a government ownedย ย carrier which was first founded inย
1953, beginning services in 1957.ย By the 60s they were a prominent regionalย
carrier connecting North and West Africa toย ย France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland.
The biggest three changes in the airline overย ย the years though were much more recent. First ofย
all was a big shift in their outlook in the earlyย ย 2000s to try to create Casablanca as a transit hubย
in addition to serving expat and tourism markets.ย In 2020 they joined the Oneworldย
Alliance and honestly after that pointย ย is when things have really gotten interesting.
So, in 2030, the World Cup will be hosted jointlyย ย by Spain, Portugal and Morocco and in preparationย
for that, the government is expanding theย ย airport in Casablanca to a capacity of 35 millionย
passengers per year from itโs current 14 million.ย In 2023, the airline announced a wild expansionย
plan to double the size of itโs fleet withinย ย 10 years. But then just five months after that,ย
they literally doubled down and announced theyโdย ย increase their fleet to 200 aircraft, fromย
itโs current 50 by 2037. So, needless to say,ย ย there is a lot of growth and change comingย
for Royal Air Maroc and Morocco at large.ย These days, RAM has a northwest African andย
Euro centric network with a few connectionsย ย to the middle east, North America, Asiaย
and even Sao Paulo. As youโd imagine,ย ย they have a large presence inย
France and francophone countries.ย Ok, letโs get on board. Boarding was aย
bit haphazard, but at least was on time.ย I was greeted as I stepped on board andย
settled into what turned out to be theย ย most uncomfortable seat in this configurationย
Iโd ever been in. It reminded me of the Firstย ย class seats on Eurostar. The upper part ofย
the seat back is angled so far back itโsย ย just really uncomfortable. My notes wereย
โSupremely uncomfortable seat. Very shortย ย and shallow cushion and very intrusiveย
lumbar made the headrest too far away.โย If youโre enjoying the video and would like toย
support the channel there are many ways you canย ย do so. A quick like on the video and subscribeย
helps videos with the algorithm. You could joinย ย my Youtube Memberships to get early access to someย
videos and access to all of my Community Posts orย ย you could check out my Patreon where I post theย
most and can help out if you have travel relatedย ย questions. Whatever you do, thanks for doing it.
Besides the comfort, it is a pretty standard seatย ย but lacks any sort of modern amenities such asย
outlets, in flight entertainment and the like.ย This flight is a heck of a lot longer than Iย
would have guessed before I booked it. First,ย ย I think the span of North Africa is simplyย
much wider than we or at least I imagine.ย ย But then also the entirety of the flightย
is over the Mediterranean in order to avoidย ย Algerian airspace. In total, 5.5 hours.
Pre departure drinks- water or lemonย ย juice- were passed around, the safetyย
briefing began and we got on our way.ย Passed by some very sad and dustyย
Embraers on the way to the runway.ย Service sprung into action justย
as we passed over Alexandria.ย Normally, I would show you the amenities andย
comfort items now but, well, there were none.ย Oh wait, here is our ity bity little wet blanket?
Breakfast service was just about asย ย dry as the human service.
The crew were simply stoneย ย faced for the entirety of the flight, quicklyย
getting through the service and then retreatingย ย for the rest of the flight. Not once did they passย
through to check for drinks later in the flight.ย For the food itself. THe breaks were okay,ย
the fruit was okay, but that omelette wasย ย the worst of why eggs on planes suck. Myย
best comparison is that it had the exactย ย same texture of McDonaldโs folded egg patties.
Bathrooms were clean on a basic level but wereย ย rarely checked by crew throughout the flight.
Iโll let you enjoy a bit of the incredibleย ย views on the way as we passed by Spainย
and Gibraltar. The first scenes are fromย ย Palma de Mallorca and then soon afterย
of the Rock and Strait of Gibraltar.ย Once we were over the Africanย
continent again, we were followingย ย the coast southwards and soon foundย
ourselves in our final descent.ย A gorgeous day here in Casablanca weย
boarded a dedicated business classย ย bus that took us to the international terminal.ย From there, I had a really long walk to makeย
my way over to the small domestic terminal.ย I was confused by the transit process here.ย
There were transit immigration desks but theyย ย werenโt staffed. I kinda just stood there for aย
little bit, then tried to peek my head through.ย ย I saw a security guard and asked if I was meant toย
pass and he said yes, he checked my boarding passย ย and allowed me into the Domestic terminal.
Something Iโve never seen before and forย ย the life of me cannot understand, is ourย
wholly domestic flight from Casablanca toย ย Marrakech- every passenger on it, whetherย
connecting or originating in Casablanca,ย ย needed to pass through immigration in Marrakech.
If anyone knows why this is, Iโd be curiousย ย to know- especially since it was one ofย
the slowest immigration lines Iโve beenย ย in in quite a long time, considering allย
domestic passengers were in it as well.ย Royal Air Maroc has a very small lounge here andย
soon enough boarding was called for our flight.ย This would be on an ATR 72 turboprop which isย
such a strange experience in business class.ย ย For ATRs you board in the back of the plane butย
the business class seats are still the firstย ย couple or rows. Granted, theyโre the exact sameย
seats, but there is a curtain and everything.ย ATRs are one of my least favorite aircraftย
to fly because theyโre never comfortable,ย ย but at least the flights are always short.ย
Bulkhead seats had decent legroom here though.ย In the air, we were given a few cookies and a softย
drink service, landing in Marrakech soon after.ย So, given the mediocre food,ย
mediocre service on the firstย ย flight- the second flight was fine andย
the uncomfortable seat with no features,ย ย I canโt think of a reason toย
rank them above a four for now.ย So, I really do hope you enjoyed this trip reportย
today, if you did, please be sure to click thatย ย like button and subscribe with notifications on soย
you donโt miss out on my twice weekly videos. Iโllย ย see you next time from the sublime Datai Langkawi.ย
Thanks as always for watching until the end.
Join me for this double trip report and flight review on Royal Air Maroc in Business Class from Cairo to Marrakech via Casablanca on RAMโs 737 and ATR72. They may have Royal in their name, but Iโm not too sure if I got the royal treatment on board. Take a watch and see for yourself.
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๐ธ Price Paid
Total Fare: $426.50 USD
Class: Business Class
Route: CAI-CMN-RAK
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10 May: The Datai Langkawi
15 May: Impressively Bare: Iberia Express Marrakech to Madrid
17 May: The Flying Bakery: KLM Business Class from Madrid
22 May: Feeling Blue: KLM Business Class to Dubai
24 May: The Westin Langkawi
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๐ถ Background Music in This Video
โZarizโ by Nadaz
โRumba de Shapiraโ by Ofer Ronen
โVem do Saaraโ by Joca Perpignan
โช Video Chapters โฉ
0:00 Heading to the Airport
00:35 Cairo Terminal 2 Check In
02:10 Departures & Ahlein Lounge
03:31 Our Aircraft & Gate
04:18 Boarding
05:10 Cabin & Seat Tour
06:45 Off We Go
10:26 Meal Service Begins
11:34 Gorgeous Sights in Flight
15:45 Transiting in Casablanca
16:39 Domestic Departures & Lounge
17:55 My Flight to Marrakech
21:45 The Flip Flop Score
This is NOT a promotional video. I pay for all of my flights and hotels (and I always tell you how much!) so I can be as honest and impartial as possible. I do not receive any special treatment that wouldnโt otherwise be publicly accessible, in fact, the hotels and airlines have no idea about my visit and thatโs the way I like it!
#royalairmaroc #businessclass #tripreport
27 Comments
Do you review in this case 5 hours of flight footage before deciding on the clips to use for this video?
Marrakech looks wonderful. Will we be seeing a hotel review?
Well, you should try the business class on a long haul flight with the 787-9, itโs a completely different experience! But you should think at the same time that the business class on a 737 offered by royal air maroc is 100 time better than the business class on a short/medium haul flight offered by the European Carrier, they donโt even have a business class seat!
Totally agree about the lounges. I was in Cairo a couple of weeks ago and the EgyptAir lounges felt like a collection of 15 year old well used office furniture thrown into a room with a couple of portable appliances . It felt like it was put 5 minutes ago and could be on the back of a truck and gone 5 minutes later.
But waitโฆ women get to keep their razors? Interestingโฆ
Travel soooooooo overrated ๐๐๐๐
Always until the end, including the ads! Cheers Kevin!
Great choice for musicโ as always!
Loved the route choice. Service looks indeed somewhat underwhelming. I'm curious how the AT longhaul service on the 787 to the US, Canada and Brazil is in comparison
Royal Air Maroc going to buy 200 more jets? I think they've been smoking too much of the local stuff.
Was the pre-departure drink "lemon juice" or "Lemon mint" because the lemon mint on RAM is excellent!
Boringโฆโฆโฆโฆlook at your competing guys!!!
16:50 I Have no idea. i woill have to ask next time.
Ranked the same level as Qantas. Oh the shame ๐ข
that egg omelet is huge, looks like 4 eggs? And its plain, I think McDonald's is better lol
15:30 A380 using boarding stairs at remote gate? ๐ง
Surprise they put business class on ATR, it's more design for full Econ, have the luggage in front for weight balance and board from the rear
17:06 to explain, basically you traveling from Cairo will go trough the real immigration in Marrakech because you transited in Casablanca. The passengers from Casablanca will go through immigration but they will simply check their id and boarding pass, they will not ask them questions or anything like that.
3:02 The current fleet of Royal Air Maroc consists of 53 aircraft โบ
at least both landings were perfect ๐
Pros: excellent views which were highlighted, rare city pair review of an airline not from the ME3! Cons: very annoying music and speeding up of take off and landing. Good job. โStone faced crewโ โeggs that suckโ ๐
Good review and good company in Africa
how terrible is RAM! food is bad, worn out cabin etc. avoid it!
inequality in CAI airport ๐ฎ
My personal experience with RAM is a hit or miss, business class food was consistently good, the service comes always with an attitude and niceness doesnโt last the entire flight, it degrades with every mile flown ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐
In regards to why passengers in domestic flights undergo immigration in Marrakech.
Itโs mainly a combination of the airport layouts, specifically smaller Moroccan airports (Marrakech, Agadir, Fes) not having separate facilities for domestic arrivals, so all passengers go through passport control and either get their passport checked based on where they came from (inside Morocco, or began their journey abroad and transited in CMN).
There is something somewhat similar the other way around where if your journey consist of domestic flight and then intl flight, you undergo exit check at the originating airport rather than the transit airport. (eg. From Marrakech to DXB via CMN, you undergo exit checks in Marrakech)
i agree with you my friend, la RAM is one of the worst airline company, bad food mad customer service
If you did not figure it out because of passengers like you that has connecting flight and did not go through immegration in Casablanca.
That phone ringing during takeoff made me reach for popcorn ๐ฟfor this vid. ๐. They should've been given at least ๐ฉด๐ฉด๐ฉด