British Airways has announced a new codeshare agreement with Royal Air Maroc, under which the UK-based airline will open up new routes across Morocco including Casablanca and Agadir.
This is British Airways’ first African codeshare and it is intended to offer customers more choice of services between Heathrow and Marrakesh. The new agreement will take effect on February 20 and codeshare flights will operate from that date.
In addition, it will also offer daily access to Royal Air Maroc’s hub in Casablanca, which is not currently served directly by British Airways. Casablanca also serves as the hub for connections onto other Royal Air Maroc destinations, including Abidjan in the Ivory Coast, Freetown in Sierra Leone and Agadir in Morocco.
Chris Fordyce, British Airways’ head of Alliances, said: ‘We are delighted to be partnering with Morocco’s flagship airline, Royal Air Maroc to create our first African codeshare agreement.
‘Not only will this codeshare agreement give our customers the choice of more flights to Africa’s biggest tourist destination, Morocco, it will connect our extensive global network to new destinations in Africa.’
Hamid Addou, Royal Air Maroc’s CEO, adds: ‘This new Code-share with a prestigious company, British Airways, confirms Royal Air Maroc’s major role as a key player connecting Africa to the rest of the world. We are very pleased with this cooperation, which will foster our traffic development and ease the access to both our companies’ networks on both ends. Thanks to this code-sharing agreement, Royal Air Maroc offers its passengers access to additional destinations across Great Britain and a better customer journey, through optimised connections and end-to-end check-in operations, with international assistance at airports served by the two companies.’
Both Royal Air Maroc and British Airways’ customers will be able to earn loyalty points when flying on either carrier. Members of the British Airways Executive Club can earn Avios on their British Airways booking including eligible codeshare flights, British Airways said.
BY Lee Fletcher – February 17, 2020
