Kenya Airways, Royal Air Maroc rediscover lost love with new codeshare

December 7, 2022 in Business, Companies, Travel & Tourism by Editor

Flag carriers Kenya Airways KQ, and Moroccan counterpart Royal Air Maroc RAM, have revived a codeshare agreement that went dormant in 2019, setting the stage for additional connectivity between north-west Africa and eastern and western Africa. The two carriers signed a new codeshare agreement December 6, under which the partners will distribute each other’s traffic beyond their immediate hubs.

Kenya Airways will give Royal Air Maroc passengers onward connections to Nairobi, Zanzibar, and Johannesburg while Royal Air Maroc will pick KQ traffic from points like Ghana and Dakar to Casablanca, Marrakech and other destinations on RAM’s international network.

The codeshare will also offer seamless connections between Nairobi and Johannesburg, two of Africa’s major and tourist havens Marrakech and Zanzibar.

“This partnership strengthens our connectivity to the East and South of the African continent, thanks to a long-standing reliable partner, Kenya Airways. It will enable our passengers to reach Nairobi and Johannesburg, two important economic and financial capitals, as well as Zanzibar, a popular tourist destination,” said Royal Air Marco chief executive and chairman Abdelhamid Addou.

Royal Air Maroc was a signatory to a proposed African Airline Alliance in it and Kenya Airways, Air Mauritius, South African Airways, and Rwandair, were the initial participants. The proposal was unveiled on the sidelines of Africa Aviation Day in September 2018, in Mauritius. Besides rationalising capacity, the alliance would have partly addressed the problem of poor intra-African connectivity, which has often forced passengers to exit the continent before flying back in through a European on Mid-eastern hub.

RAM subsequently launched a service between Casablanca and Nairobi under a 2016 Codeshare, but it was suspended in 2019, leaving everything in limbo.

“We are very happy to see this partnership reactivated as it will provide our travelers with improved connectivity options between our two hubs, Nairobi and Casablanca. Our customers will be able to enjoy the financial center of Casablanca and the tourist destination of Marrakech,” said Julius Thairu, KQ’s Chief Commercial and Customer Officer in comments on the revival of the cooperation

Royal Air Maroc currently operates three weekly frequencies to Accra (Ghana) from Casablanca and will add three flights through its codeshare with KQ to Nairobi (Kenya) linking Accra to Johannesburg (South Africa) and Zanzibar (Tanzania).

KQ currently operates seven weekly flights between Nairobi and Accra, as part of an enhanced service that also offers onward fifth freedom access between Ghana and Senegal on two flights a week. This new partnership will enable it to offer three flights per week to Casablanca and Marrakech, via Accra.