American Airlines and Royal Air Maroc set date for new partnership
American Airlines and Royal Air Maroc have a Boxing Day present for travelers, launching their new codeshare partnership ahead of the U.S. carrier's first foray into Africa.
The carriers will begin codesharing on certain routes across each others networks on Dec. 26, American said Friday. Routes covered include Royal Air Maroc's between the U.S. and Casablanca (CMN) as well as onward service to Marrakech (RAK) in Morocco, and select American routes in the U.S.
The codeshare will expand to additional routes in 2020, including Royal Air Maroc service to Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire (ABJ), Lagos, Nigeria (LOS), and Luanda, Angola (LAD).
Sign up for the free daily TPG newsletter for more airline news!
A codeshare allows one airline, American for example, to sell flights operated by another carrier, Royal Air Maroc let's say, under its own flight number. This facilitates connections and allows airlines to artificially expand their route maps without adding new service.
The partnership is expected to grow further when American begins flights between Philadelphia (PHL) and Casablanca in June. The route will be American Airlines' first ever to Africa.
Royal Air Maroc is also on track to join Oneworld with American in 2020. The airline will be the alliance's first in Africa.
Related: American seeks bigger Africa presence with Royal Air Maroc codeshare