Recent developments
As of March 2013, Royal Air Maroc (RAM) operated an all-Boeing fleet. RAM placed an order for nine Boeing 737 Next Generation in October 1996; the first of these aircraft the airline took possession of, in July 1998, was a Boeing 737-800, making the carrier the first scheduled one outside the United States to take delivery of this model. RAM received its first Boeing 737-700 in April 1999. In March 2001, RAM placed orders for 20 new Boeing 737NGs plus two wide-bodied Boeing 767-300ERs in a deal worth about US$1.4 billion. That same year, RAM became a new Airbus customer when it bought four Airbus A321s. In January 2002, the airline took delivery of its first Boeing 767-300ER.
After the carrier's Board of Directors agreed to buy a number of Boeing 787s on 29 July 2005, a memorandum of understanding for the acquisition of these aircraft was signed with Boeing on 31 Jul the same year. The deal, worth US$650 million and including five Dreamliners, was confirmed in early November that year, with initial delivery slated for October 2008. The purchase contract was signed in December 2005, and also included an aircraft of the type on option. Following an over-US$100 million-worth contract that was signed in February 2006, these aircraft will be powered with General Electric GEnx engines. Boeing delivered RAM first Dreamliner in December 2014.
RAM was the launch customer for the ATR 72-600, when it took delivery of two of these aircraft, on behalf of its regional subsidiary RAM Express, in August 2011. The carrier had placed an order for four aircraft of the type in March 2009, along with two ATR 42-600s.
In September 2018, RAM retired its sole Boeing 747-400.[60] In December 2018, RAM took delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX 8 and Boeing 787-9.[61]
In August 2023, RAM signed a $300 million long-term lease contract with Air Lease Corporation for five Boeing 737 aircraft, including four new Boeing 737 MAX 8s and one Boeing 737-800 which are expected to be delivered in 2024.
Future plans
In June 2013, RAM's CEO indicated that the airline was seeking new generation aircraft as a replacement for its ageing fleet, adding that the carrier will need some 20 to 30 new aircraft by 2020, and that the Boeing 787 was being considered for long-haul routes, whereas the Airbus A220, the Airbus A320neo, the Boeing 737 MAX, and Embraer E-Jet E2 families were all being considered for medium-haul flights. A contract for the lease of four Embraer E190s was signed in mid 2014; the carrier took delivery of the first of these aircraft in November the same year.
As of 2023, the airline Royal Air Maroc is preparing to launch a call for tenders for new single-aisle and wide-body aircraft, in order to respond to the increase in tourism and strengthen the role of Casablanca as a hub for sub-Saharan Africa. The airline's CEO declared on 13 June 2023 to the Bloomberg agency that RAM is “putting the final touches” to a call for tenders for the purchase of new long and medium-haul aircraft, and plans to raise debt to help finance these acquisitions.[62]
