Morocco Savvy

Flying Paris to Marrakech is good for its profile, but Aigle Azur makes more money on flights to other parts of Morocco.

“Marrakech is a showcase for us,” Aigle Azur’s boss, Méziane Idjerouidène, tells French trade magazine TourMag this week. “The flights from Paris aren’t making us a lot of money.”

Competition on the route, the magazine says, is “ferocious”. Other low-cost airlines that fly between Paris and Marrakech include Atlas Blue, Jet4You, Corsair and Axis Airways.

Flights in and out of Casablanca are much more profitable, Idjerouidène says, as are seasonal routes into Fes and Tangier. Much of Aigle Azur’s business is coming from Moroccan immigrants who live in France but return home regularly to visit family.

Aigle Azur is adding Paris Orly to Rabat from the end of this month. The airline also flies from Paris to Agadir and Oujda.

Moroccan budget airline Jet4You starts new services from Lyon and Marseille to Casablanca - a one-way ticket starts at 44 euro.

The new routes, which will be inaugurated on March 30, are the first low-cost services into Casablanca airport from what the French call “the province”.

Other budget carriers do fly from regional airports in France, but only to Moroccan destinations like Marrakech and Oujda.

Jet4You is the first independent low-cost airline in Morocco, owned by Moroccan business men, banks and the biggest European tour operator, TUI. The airline started operations last summer. It’s main rival Atlas Blue is owned by the Moroccan state through its flag carrier Royal Air Maroc.

Virgin Megastores are coming to Morocco - the first will be opened at Casablanca airport’s new terminal.

After Mohamed V Airport, more branches of the record and home entertainment stores will open in Rabat, Marrakech, Tangier and Casablanca city center.

There are Virgin Megatores all around the world, from the company’s home base in the UK to Kuwait, Australia, Greece and Japan. The shops in France and the Middle East are owned by French group Lagardere, who will license the brand and store concept in Morocco to the owners of the Label Vie supermarket chain.

The opening of large-floorspace record and electronic entertainment stores is quite a risky venture. Morocco’s music and software market is dominated by counterfeit products, while the worldwide trend for entertainment is moving away from high-street stores to internet download services.

The Moroccan Megastores will probably follow the example of the French outlets, and carry more diverse products like books, magazines, mobile phones and electronic gadgets. The Virgin Megastore at Casablanca airport will also have a coffee shop.

It’s unclear when the first store opens.

Royal Air Maroc is increasing the number of existing flights into Tangier, while adding Barcelona to Tangier to its timetable.

From June, Royal Air Maroc will fly direct from Barcelona to Tangier three times a week. The new route is the airline’s contribution to efforts aimed at establishing Tangier as a tourist destination “in its own right,” a Royal Air Maroc official tells Le Matin today.

Part of the same effort is the increase in the number of flights from Paris to Tangier from 3 to 6 flights per week in April, and to 10 flights per week from June.

Royal Air Maroc will add more flights between Tangier and Casablanca, connecting smoothly to its flights to and from New York and Montreal.

The Moroccan carrier announced its new services at a meeting to promote Tangier’s candidacy for the Expo 2012 fair. 

Budget airline Clickair joins the low cost market between Spain and Morocco, which is also good news for Eastern European tourists.

The Spanish budget airline Clickair has announced that it will start services from Barcelona to Casablanca and Marrakech from April 1.

Clickair will also start flying between Barcelona and Moscow from May 1, opening a cheap corridor for Russian visitors to Morocco. The airline already connects Eastern European cities like Bucarest, Budapest, Prague and Warsaw to Barcelona.

The airline, which is partly owned by Spanish flag carrier Iberia, started operating last May.

• Clickair joins Atlas Blue, Easyjet and Spanair in the market

Regional Air Lines and Royal Air Maroc are doubling the number of flights into Essaouira from April 1.

Regional Air Lines, the domestic airline that codeshares some of its routes with Royal Air Maroc, will fly Casablanca to Essaouira four times per week from that date.

A special weekend fare of 600 dirham (US$70) return will allow passengers to fly into Essaouira on Friday or Saturday and back to Casablanca on Sunday or Monday.

The timetable for the Essaouira route has been changed to accommodate better connections for passengers who fly into Casablanca on Royal Air Maroc. 

At the same time, Royal Air Maroc will double the number of its services between Paris and Essaouira to four flights per week. Fares on this route will be around 300 euro (US$390) return, taxes and supplements included.