Business Traveler, April 2020
A P R I L 2 0 2 0 b u s i n e s s t r a v e l e r u s a c o m 1 8 snowcapped peaks in a swirl of hues that mix well with the local drapey fashions donned for striking selfie shots Due to Instagram as well as Moroccos relatively long lasting stability its commitment to protecting and buoying tourism and the North African Kingdoms interest in bridging business enterprise between Africa and Europe the country has been seeing some good years Tourism arrivals counted 13 million in 2019 up 52 percent from the previous year and contributing 816 billion to the countrys economy CONTEMPORARY CARPETS Expanded airline service too has contributed to Moroccos upward trajectory Europe remains ever close and affordable with lift from Easyjet and now Ryanair British Airways Lufthansa KLM and Air France also offer direct and non stop flights from key gateways in Europe From the US Morocco is back in play with new and expanded service from Royal Air Maroc RAM and the first ever nonstop flight by American Airlines to the African continent Royal Air Maroc now offers non stop service to Casablanca from Miami as well as Boston New York JFK and Washington Dulles It runs a codeshare with American Airlines to shuttle passengers beyond Casablanca to other destinations in Africa And it recently joined the oneworld alliance which brings together 13 airlines and enables RAM to access more than a dozen new hubs as well as 1035 destinations in 164 countries Currently RAM operates 100 air routes 80 to international airports of which half are in Europe 32 in Africa and five are in the Middle East Royal Air Maroc is a premier African carrier and their hub in Casablanca is perfectly situated to offer customers convenient connections between North America and over 40 destinations throughout Africa said Vasu Raja Americans senior vice president of network strategy in a statement about the new service With Royal Air Marocs upcoming entry into the oneworld alliance and our recently announced service between Philadelphia and Casablanca we are committed to creating more opportunities for our customers to visit unique destinations in Africa The codeshare agreement allows Americans customers much easier access to more remote destinations in Africa including Abidjan Cote dIvoire ABJ Accra Ghana ACC Lagos Nigeria LOS Luanda Angola LAD Monrovia Liberia ROB American Airlines will fly nonstop from Philadelphia to Casablanca seasonally starting June 4 through Sept 8 2020 on three flights a week running about 75 hours in flight time Gone are the days travelers would have to take up to 40 hours to get from the US to Casablanca on pond and puddle jumps between inconvenient gateways punctuated with long layovers
You must have JavaScript enabled to view digital editions.
