Royal Air Maroc Can Open Up US West Coast To Africa West Coast With New LA Flight

Intro

I don't think I have ever heard such exciting news coming out of Africa, as this is less about Royal Air Maroc adding flights to Los Angeles, but the connecting traffic that could come out of this new route.

The Details

The flag carrier of Morocco, Royal Air Maroc, has just requested permission from the DOT to begin serving flights from Casablanca to Los Angeles, California. As per the request, the airline is stating that it intends to launch flights to Los Angeles as of June 2026, just in time for the World Cup being held in Mexico/USA.

Royal Air Maroc 787

While there are no set aircraft or scheduling announced yet, I would presume that the airline will utilize a Boeing 787-9 for this route, with the potential for the -8 if demand isn't as high as predicted. However, I think it will be...

Bigger Than Just A Route

While most people would look at this and see that this is a very simple route addition, which should have been done years ago, this has the potential to be far more than just a route. Why? Well, this will be the first African route being served from the West Coast of the United States, opening up a realm of possibilities. Additionally, when you look at the number of destinations RAM serves from Casablanca to the west coast of Africa, they are in a very strategic position to open up this market.

However, they must do something right here. See, most of their 20+ daily routes to West Africa depart around 10 pm-1 am. If they can schedule their LAX service to depart around 10:30 pm and arrive in Casablanca around 6:30 pm, they will cut out all the long layovers in Europe and provide reasonable connection times to countless destinations. We are talking about most of the African West Coast being connected easily to the United States West Coast...

What a huge deal that would be... Obviously, this all comes down to optimal aircraft utilization and the ability to gain those evening slots at LAX, as they are primarily reserved for TPACs.

Final Thoughts

Royal Air Maroc has just requested permission to fly from Casablanca to Los Angeles beginning in 2026. While this might be a simple route on paper, this could open up a monopoly on the West Coast of the United States to the West Coast of Africa. With the American Airlines connections through Los Angeles, and the RAM connections in Africa, this is an exciting time for those in both regions...