{"id":580138,"date":"2025-05-08T11:30:39","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T11:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wacoca.com\/tour\/580138\/"},"modified":"2025-05-08T11:30:39","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T11:30:39","slug":"royal-regal-%c2%b7-royal-air-maroc-business-class-%f0%9f%87%aa%f0%9f%87%ac-cairo-to-marrakech-via-casablanca-%f0%9f%87%b2%f0%9f%87%a6-trans-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wacoca.com\/tour\/580138\/","title":{"rendered":"Royal &#038; Regal? \u00b7 ROYAL AIR MAROC Business Class \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddec Cairo to Marrakech via Casablanca \ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\udde6 Trans Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title = \"Royal &amp; Regal? \u00b7 ROYAL AIR MAROC Business Class \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddec Cairo to Marrakech via Casablanca \ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\udde6 Trans Africa\"   width=\"580\" height=\"385\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gk3i3NLIE5I\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<br \/>\nRoyal &#038; Regal? \u00b7 ROYAL AIR MAROC Business Class \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddec Cairo to Marrakech via Casablanca \ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\udde6 Trans Africa<br \/>\n<br \/>\nToday we are going to take a look at\u00a0<br \/>\nwhat seems to be Africa\u2019s most ambitious\u00a0\u00a0 forward looking airline, by a long shot.<br \/>\nWelcome to Cairo, I arrived yesterday on\u00a0\u00a0 an Egyptair flight from Kuwait and stayed at the\u00a0<br \/>\nLe Meridien on site which again, I can\u2019t praise\u00a0\u00a0 highly enough. They have scheduled shuttles to\u00a0<br \/>\ntake you to terminal 2 and 1 which they\u2019re not\u00a0\u00a0 connected to. I inadvertently missed the shuttle\u00a0<br \/>\nby like a minute. Next would be there in 10\u00a0\u00a0 minutes, no problem. They gave me a car instead.<br \/>\nAnyway, after this very quick ride we are here at\u00a0\u00a0 Terminal 2 which was closed in 2010 for a 3 year\u00a0<br \/>\nfull renovation and when I tell you it is a much\u00a0\u00a0 nicer experience than Egyptair\u2019s terminal 3,\u00a0<br \/>\nthat is not an overstatement. Oh by the way,\u00a0\u00a0 today we are flying Royal Air\u00a0<br \/>\nMaroc to Marakech via Casablanca.\u00a0 Before we get into all of that though, let\u00a0<br \/>\nme welcome any of you that might be new to\u00a0\u00a0 the channel, my name is Kevin. I\u2019m here to\u00a0<br \/>\ngive you a self-funded and honest look at\u00a0\u00a0 some of the best- and some of the not so\u00a0<br \/>\nbest- airlines and hotels in the world,\u00a0\u00a0 which I\u2019ve been bringing to you full time for the\u00a0<br \/>\npast four years. Check out my hundreds of videos,\u00a0\u00a0 scan the QR code or click the link\u00a0<br \/>\nin the description to learn more\u00a0\u00a0 about the channel. This pleasantly\u00a0<br \/>\nuncomfortable journey, begins now.\u00a0 Terminal 2 is a bit of an odd layout.\u00a0<br \/>\nYou get dropped off on the left,\u00a0\u00a0 check in in what I assume is the newer part\u00a0<br \/>\nof the building, and then go upstairs and\u00a0\u00a0 head across the street to the terminal itself.\u00a0<br \/>\nKind of like the \u201cterminal 2\u201d in Hong Kong.\u00a0 Check in was very easy and quick with little\u00a0<br \/>\nmore than a couple of smiles and a \u2018have a nice\u00a0\u00a0 flight\u2019. As we head to the departures hall, let\u00a0<br \/>\nme just mention one odd quirk of security here.\u00a0\u00a0 They stopped every male passenger and took\u00a0<br \/>\nthe heads of our razors. Not a huge problem,\u00a0\u00a0 but not something I\u2019ve seen before anywhere,\u00a0<br \/>\nincluding here in Cairo on previous occasions.\u00a0 The departures hall has a few\u00a0<br \/>\nlounges on offer- oddly enough\u00a0\u00a0 there\u2019s an Egyptair lounge which is\u00a0<br \/>\nvery unsure of it\u2019s identity- odd\u00a0\u00a0 since I thought all of their flights\u00a0<br \/>\nwere out of Terminal 3. Either way,\u00a0\u00a0 we are heading to the very pleasant Ahlen Lounge\u00a0<br \/>\nwhich was included with my business class ticket.\u00a0 It\u2019s hard for me to look at this lounge and not\u00a0<br \/>\nlaugh just a little because it seems as if it\u2019s\u00a0\u00a0 in a different world from other\u2019s I\u2019ve visited\u00a0<br \/>\nin Cairo. Whatever they\u2019re doing in this lounge\u00a0\u00a0 needs to be duplicated across the airport.<br \/>\nSo, Royal Air Maroc is a government owned\u00a0\u00a0 carrier which was first founded in\u00a0<br \/>\n1953, beginning services in 1957.\u00a0 By the 60s they were a prominent regional\u00a0<br \/>\ncarrier connecting North and West Africa to\u00a0\u00a0 France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland.<br \/>\nThe biggest three changes in the airline over\u00a0\u00a0 the years though were much more recent. First of\u00a0<br \/>\nall was a big shift in their outlook in the early\u00a0\u00a0 2000s to try to create Casablanca as a transit hub\u00a0<br \/>\nin addition to serving expat and tourism markets.\u00a0 In 2020 they joined the Oneworld\u00a0<br \/>\nAlliance and honestly after that point\u00a0\u00a0 is when things have really gotten interesting.<br \/>\nSo, in 2030, the World Cup will be hosted jointly\u00a0\u00a0 by Spain, Portugal and Morocco and in preparation\u00a0<br \/>\nfor that, the government is expanding the\u00a0\u00a0 airport in Casablanca to a capacity of 35 million\u00a0<br \/>\npassengers per year from it\u2019s current 14 million.\u00a0 In 2023, the airline announced a wild expansion\u00a0<br \/>\nplan to double the size of it\u2019s fleet within\u00a0\u00a0 10 years. But then just five months after that,\u00a0<br \/>\nthey literally doubled down and announced they\u2019d\u00a0\u00a0 increase their fleet to 200 aircraft, from\u00a0<br \/>\nit\u2019s current 50 by 2037. So, needless to say,\u00a0\u00a0 there is a lot of growth and change coming\u00a0<br \/>\nfor Royal Air Maroc and Morocco at large.\u00a0 These days, RAM has a northwest African and\u00a0<br \/>\nEuro centric network with a few connections\u00a0\u00a0 to the middle east, North America, Asia\u00a0<br \/>\nand even Sao Paulo. As you\u2019d imagine,\u00a0\u00a0 they have a large presence in\u00a0<br \/>\nFrance and francophone countries.\u00a0 Ok, let\u2019s get on board. Boarding was a\u00a0<br \/>\nbit haphazard, but at least was on time.\u00a0 I was greeted as I stepped on board and\u00a0<br \/>\nsettled into what turned out to be the\u00a0\u00a0 most uncomfortable seat in this configuration\u00a0<br \/>\nI\u2019d ever been in. It reminded me of the First\u00a0\u00a0 class seats on Eurostar. The upper part of\u00a0<br \/>\nthe seat back is angled so far back it\u2019s\u00a0\u00a0 just really uncomfortable. My notes were\u00a0<br \/>\n\u201cSupremely uncomfortable seat. Very short\u00a0\u00a0 and shallow cushion and very intrusive\u00a0<br \/>\nlumbar made the headrest too far away.\u201d\u00a0 If you\u2019re enjoying the video and would like to\u00a0<br \/>\nsupport the channel there are many ways you can\u00a0\u00a0 do so. A quick like on the video and subscribe\u00a0<br \/>\nhelps videos with the algorithm. You could join\u00a0\u00a0 my Youtube Memberships to get early access to some\u00a0<br \/>\nvideos and access to all of my Community Posts or\u00a0\u00a0 you could check out my Patreon where I post the\u00a0<br \/>\nmost and can help out if you have travel related\u00a0\u00a0 questions. Whatever you do, thanks for doing it.<br \/>\nBesides the comfort, it is a pretty standard seat\u00a0\u00a0 but lacks any sort of modern amenities such as\u00a0<br \/>\noutlets, in flight entertainment and the like.\u00a0 This flight is a heck of a lot longer than I\u00a0<br \/>\nwould have guessed before I booked it. First,\u00a0\u00a0 I think the span of North Africa is simply\u00a0<br \/>\nmuch wider than we or at least I imagine.\u00a0\u00a0 But then also the entirety of the flight\u00a0<br \/>\nis over the Mediterranean in order to avoid\u00a0\u00a0 Algerian airspace. In total, 5.5 hours.<br \/>\nPre departure drinks- water or lemon\u00a0\u00a0 juice- were passed around, the safety\u00a0<br \/>\nbriefing began and we got on our way.\u00a0 Passed by some very sad and dusty\u00a0<br \/>\nEmbraers on the way to the runway.\u00a0 Service sprung into action just\u00a0<br \/>\nas we passed over Alexandria.\u00a0 Normally, I would show you the amenities and\u00a0<br \/>\ncomfort items now but, well, there were none.\u00a0 Oh wait, here is our ity bity little wet blanket?<br \/>\nBreakfast service was just about as\u00a0\u00a0 dry as the human service.<br \/>\nThe crew were simply stone\u00a0\u00a0 faced for the entirety of the flight, quickly\u00a0<br \/>\ngetting through the service and then retreating\u00a0\u00a0 for the rest of the flight. Not once did they pass\u00a0<br \/>\nthrough to check for drinks later in the flight.\u00a0 For the food itself. THe breaks were okay,\u00a0<br \/>\nthe fruit was okay, but that omelette was\u00a0\u00a0 the worst of why eggs on planes suck. My\u00a0<br \/>\nbest comparison is that it had the exact\u00a0\u00a0 same texture of McDonald\u2019s folded egg patties.<br \/>\nBathrooms were clean on a basic level but were\u00a0\u00a0 rarely checked by crew throughout the flight.<br \/>\nI\u2019ll let you enjoy a bit of the incredible\u00a0\u00a0 views on the way as we passed by Spain\u00a0<br \/>\nand Gibraltar. The first scenes are from\u00a0\u00a0 Palma de Mallorca and then soon after\u00a0<br \/>\nof the Rock and Strait of Gibraltar.\u00a0 Once we were over the African\u00a0<br \/>\ncontinent again, we were following\u00a0\u00a0 the coast southwards and soon found\u00a0<br \/>\nourselves in our final descent.\u00a0 A gorgeous day here in Casablanca we\u00a0<br \/>\nboarded a dedicated business class\u00a0\u00a0 bus that took us to the international terminal.\u00a0 From there, I had a really long walk to make\u00a0<br \/>\nmy way over to the small domestic terminal.\u00a0 I was confused by the transit process here.\u00a0<br \/>\nThere were transit immigration desks but they\u00a0\u00a0 weren\u2019t staffed. I kinda just stood there for a\u00a0<br \/>\nlittle bit, then tried to peek my head through.\u00a0\u00a0 I saw a security guard and asked if I was meant to\u00a0<br \/>\npass and he said yes, he checked my boarding pass\u00a0\u00a0 and allowed me into the Domestic terminal.<br \/>\nSomething I\u2019ve never seen before and for\u00a0\u00a0 the life of me cannot understand, is our\u00a0<br \/>\nwholly domestic flight from Casablanca to\u00a0\u00a0 Marrakech- every passenger on it, whether\u00a0<br \/>\nconnecting or originating in Casablanca,\u00a0\u00a0 needed to pass through immigration in Marrakech.<br \/>\nIf anyone knows why this is, I\u2019d be curious\u00a0\u00a0 to know- especially since it was one of\u00a0<br \/>\nthe slowest immigration lines I\u2019ve been\u00a0\u00a0 in in quite a long time, considering all\u00a0<br \/>\ndomestic passengers were in it as well.\u00a0 Royal Air Maroc has a very small lounge here and\u00a0<br \/>\nsoon enough boarding was called for our flight.\u00a0 This would be on an ATR 72 turboprop which is\u00a0<br \/>\nsuch a strange experience in business class.\u00a0\u00a0 For ATRs you board in the back of the plane but\u00a0<br \/>\nthe business class seats are still the first\u00a0\u00a0 couple or rows. Granted, they\u2019re the exact same\u00a0<br \/>\nseats, but there is a curtain and everything.\u00a0 ATRs are one of my least favorite aircraft\u00a0<br \/>\nto fly because they\u2019re never comfortable,\u00a0\u00a0 but at least the flights are always short.\u00a0<br \/>\nBulkhead seats had decent legroom here though.\u00a0 In the air, we were given a few cookies and a soft\u00a0<br \/>\ndrink service, landing in Marrakech soon after.\u00a0 So, given the mediocre food,\u00a0<br \/>\nmediocre service on the first\u00a0\u00a0 flight- the second flight was fine and\u00a0<br \/>\nthe uncomfortable seat with no features,\u00a0\u00a0 I can\u2019t think of a reason to\u00a0<br \/>\nrank them above a four for now.\u00a0 So, I really do hope you enjoyed this trip report\u00a0<br \/>\ntoday, if you did, please be sure to click that\u00a0\u00a0 like button and subscribe with notifications on so\u00a0<br \/>\nyou don\u2019t miss out on my twice weekly videos. I\u2019ll\u00a0\u00a0 see you next time from the sublime Datai Langkawi.\u00a0<br \/>\nThanks as always for watching until the end.<br \/>\n<br \/>\nJoin me for this double trip report and flight review on Royal Air Maroc in Business Class from Cairo to Marrakech via Casablanca on RAM\u2019s 737 and ATR72. They may have Royal in their name, but I\u2019m not too sure if I got the royal treatment on board. Take a watch and see for yourself. <\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/c\/THEFLIPFLOPTRAVELLER  \u2190 My Patreon <\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\ude4b\ud83c\udffc\u200d\u2642\ufe0f All About The Channel &#038; Me: https:\/\/bit.ly\/tfft_welcome<br \/>\n\ud83c\udf0d My VENMO Tip Jar: @kevin_tfft<br \/>\n\ud83c\udf0e My AMAZON Page: https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/shop\/theflipfloptraveller<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udcb8 Price Paid<br \/>\nTotal Fare: $426.50 USD<br \/>\nClass: Business Class<br \/>\nRoute: CAI-CMN-RAK<\/p>\n<p>\u270b\ud83c\udffc Videos &#038; Playlists You Might Enjoy<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Business Class Trip Reports\" width=\"770\" height=\"433\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/videoseries?list=PL83ZLLu2Le8Mm3u70ZRx3uTaSv3UYEtFo\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Middle East Flight &amp; Hotel Videos\" width=\"770\" height=\"433\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/videoseries?list=PL83ZLLu2Le8O0BBNvfT1mnrCiwpHV90NW\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udcfd\ufe0f My Next 5 Videos<br \/>\n10 May: The Datai Langkawi<br \/>\n15 May: Impressively Bare: Iberia Express Marrakech to Madrid<br \/>\n17 May: The Flying Bakery: KLM Business Class from Madrid<br \/>\n22 May: Feeling Blue: KLM Business Class to Dubai<br \/>\n24 May: The Westin Langkawi<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f My Ad Policy<br \/>\n-Every scored review I produce (of a flight, hotel or anything else) will be based on an entirely self-funded experience which I paid for via published rates\/fares.<br \/>\n-I will never endorse a product, company or site that I do not actively use. If and when I endorse a product, it will be clearly disclosed and will be relevant to the channel from a brand I likely couldn&#8217;t live without.<br \/>\n-For sponsorship inquiries, please refer to the email address published on the About tab of my channel. <\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udfb6 Background Music in This Video<br \/>\n\u201cZariz\u201d by Nadaz<br \/>\n\u201cRumba de Shapira\u201d by Ofer Ronen<br \/>\n\u201cVem do Saara\u201d by Joca Perpignan<\/p>\n<p>\u21aa  Video Chapters  \u21a9<br \/>\n0:00 Heading to the Airport<br \/>\n00:35 Cairo Terminal 2 Check In<br \/>\n02:10 Departures &#038; Ahlein Lounge<br \/>\n03:31 Our Aircraft &#038; Gate<br \/>\n04:18 Boarding<br \/>\n05:10 Cabin &#038; Seat Tour<br \/>\n06:45 Off We Go<br \/>\n10:26 Meal Service Begins<br \/>\n11:34 Gorgeous Sights in Flight<br \/>\n15:45 Transiting in Casablanca<br \/>\n16:39 Domestic Departures &#038; Lounge<br \/>\n17:55 My Flight to Marrakech<br \/>\n21:45 The Flip Flop Score<\/p>\n<p>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 wouldn\u2019t otherwise be publicly accessible, in fact, the hotels and airlines have no idea about my visit and that&#8217;s the way I like it!<\/p>\n<p>#royalairmaroc     #businessclass   #tripreport<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Royal &#038; Regal? \u00b7 ROYAL AIR MAROC Business Class \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddec Cairo to Marrakech via Casablanca \ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\udde6 Trans Africa Toda<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":580139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[4829,342259,27187,90168,29953,342262,106182,66753,342263,131352,45839,342265,50,99518,243563,115039,342261,342260,56686,5373,342264,342256,342257,342258,74492,307826,99519,99520,41685,41178,52,53,51],"class_list":{"0":"post-580138","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hotels","8":"tag-agora-hotel-alliance","9":"tag-air-morocco","10":"tag-business-class","11":"tag-business-class-flight-review","12":"tag-business-class-trip-report","13":"tag-cai","14":"tag-cairo","15":"tag-casablanca","16":"tag-cmn","17":"tag-egyptair","18":"tag-flight-review","19":"tag-flying-to-morocco","20":"tag-japan-hotel-reviews","21":"tag-jeb-brooks","22":"tag-josh-cahill","23":"tag-marrakech","24":"tag-morocco-air","25":"tag-morocco-airlines","26":"tag-nonstop-dan","27":"tag-oneworld","28":"tag-rak","29":"tag-ram","30":"tag-royal-air-maroc","31":"tag-royal-air-morocco","32":"tag-sam-chui","33":"tag-self-funded","34":"tag-tfft","35":"tag-the-flip-flop-traveler","36":"tag-trip-report","37":"tag-wingin-it","38":"tag-52","39":"tag-53","40":"tag-51"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wacoca.com\/tour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wacoca.com\/tour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wacoca.com\/tour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wacoca.com\/tour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wacoca.com\/tour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=580138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wacoca.com\/tour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580138\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wacoca.com\/tour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/580139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wacoca.com\/tour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=580138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wacoca.com\/tour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=580138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wacoca.com\/tour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=580138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}