What is the FLEET of the Largest Airline in Morocco, Royal Air Maroc in 2021?
Tags: Aviation Industry, History, Africa, Morocco, Airlines

What is the FLEET of the Largest Airline in Morocco, Royal Air Maroc in 2021? Junaid 3 days ago·4 min read

Boeing 747–400 of Royal Air Maroc, currently used by the Morocco Government, ImageSource: WikiCommons

Commonly known as RAM or Royal Air Maroc, the national airline of Morocco, a country situated in the north-westernmost part of the Maghreb region off North Africa. This airline, which is currently owned by the Moroccan government, operates an extensive domestic and international network to Africa, Asia, Europe and to parts in North and South America as well.

Before we head on to, the types and fleet the airline consists, let us go over the Brief History of the RAM.

The airline was founded in 1947 and began its flight operations in 1949, using Junkers Ju 52s, a transport aircraft designed and manufactured by the German aviation company Junkers.

After the Moroccan government purchased a 67.73 percent share in the airline, it changed its name to Royal Air Maroc (RAM) and quickly grew to 16 flights in 1958, consisting of four DC-4s, three DC-3s, seven Bretagnes, and two C-46s.

As the airline grew and new domestic networks in both, Europe and North Africa were established, Royal Air Maroc took deliver of its first Boeing aircraft, the Boeing 727, in 1970, launching additional routes and forming a subsidiary airline, Royal Air Inter, for its domestic network.

Junkers Ju52 shown above initially used by RAM in 1949, ImageSource: WikiCommons

With the gradual expansion and replacement of aircrafts, RAM also purchased a Boeing 747–200B in 1978, and the airline had 3,583 workers by 1980. During this period, as the industry progressed with transatlantic routes and new generation aircrafts, RAM’s fleet consisted of Boeing 737’s, 747’s, and 707’s, and in 1986, Royal Air Maroc was the first and only African airline to introduce the Boeing 757 into service, connecting major cities in North and South America to its hub, Casablanca.

As the aviation industry evolved, with the introduction of fuel-efficient aircrafts and an increase in the number of passengers due to rising fuel prices, many of the older four generation aircrafts were replaced by airlines. RAM, on the other hand, not only replaced, but ordered twenty new Generation Boeing 737, and replaced the ageing Boeing 747 with leased Boeing 767’s.

Royal Air Maroc also achieved the most profitable year following ten long run years in 2012, by restrutring the fleet, reducing the number of employees, and removing ten medium haul aircrafts.

As of 2018, the airline operated ninety four destinations across the world and also decommissioned the sole Boeing 747-400 in its fleet.

Fleet

Royal Air Maroc has formerly operated various aircrafts, ranging from Boeing 707’s to Boeing 747’s, Airbus A310’s to A330’s, ATR-42’s, and many more older aircrafts.

However, as of 2021, Royal Air Maroc’s fleet includes largely of six ATR-42s, which they ordered and took on behalf of its subsidiary in 2011 and 2009.

The airline also owns a large number of new generation Boeing 737s, twenty-eight of which are Boeing 737-800s and the remaining two are Boeing 737 MAX-8s.

These two Boeing 737-MAX-8s were grounded immediately following the two fatal MAX accidents in 2019, and they had only accumulated seventeen hours before being consigned to storage.

One of the 4 Embraer 190 aircraft of RAM, ImageSource: WikiCommons

RAM’s fleet also includes nine newly fuel-efficient Boeing 787 dreamliners, five of which are Boeing 787–8 and the remaining four are Boeing 787–9. Both variations are identical, however the -9 version is twenty feet longer than the -8, resulting in increased passenger capacity.

Following the airline’s affiliation in the OneWorld Alliance, these aircrafts will assist RAM in connecting long-distance routes such as Casabalanca — NewYork, Paris, and many more destinations.

Rest of the fleet of the airline, consists of four Emraer 190 aircrafts, having a passenger capacity of ninety-right. Royal Air Maroc, also converted one of its Boeing 767–300(BCF) passenger aircraft into a frieghter in 2018, replacing a Boeing 737(F), which was later withdrawn from its service in 2018.

As of 2021, Royal Air Maroc’s fleet consists of fifty-nine aircraft, forty-eight of which are in service and eleven of which are parked.

Please let me know what other airlines’ fleets you’d want to learn about.