Crisscrossing continents: OBG talks to Driss Benhima, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Royal Air Maroc

What are some of the main challenges to reducing costs and improving productivity?

BENHIMA: The global downturn of 2009-11 affected Royal Air Maroc, much as it did other international carriers. To ride out the recession and climbing oil prices, we needed to make a major transformation and, as a national carrier, we faced stiff competition from lowcost airlines. Cost-cutting was our main strategy for sustaining our business model. Our open skies agreement positioned us to better benefit from the European market but at the same time exposed us to fierce competition, pushing us to focus on providing the best cost and quality to our customers. We focused on our core business and outsourced activities like catering and maintenance, and saved money by closing some sales agencies and building our online presence.

How do you evaluate the current condition of the kingdom’s air travel infrastructure?

BENHIMA: For air transport to grow and prosper, it is imperative that the National Airport Authority provide a reliable hub with infrastructure that meets international standards. We have seen positive changes in leadership recently that suggest the authority is more aware of the industry’s needs and challenges.

With peak season we face some challenges and difficulties. Casablanca’s Mohammed V International Airport has capacity for only 7m passengers per year. In peak season, for one month, 1m passengers transit the airport. The facility is clearly limited, and we need to develop it by adopting new technology and building infrastructure to handle even more travellers.

What is the potential for freight transport?

BENHIMA: Morocco aims to become a high-level cargo logistics hub for the region thanks to its strategic geographical position. To meet growing demand, mainly from high value-added sectors, Royal Air Maroc has planned an ambitious expansion of the fleet and the network. The firm will acquire freighters and invest in product development for new niches. The company’s fleet development plan also provides for the acquisition of wide-bodied aircraft. These capacities will help the growth of cargo activity on passenger flights.

To make Royal Air Maroc Cargo a leader of the region, the plan is to strengthen its hub in Casablanca, with new African destinations operated by freighters. In the meantime, the development of a bimodal product, the “trucked flight”, will allow Morocco to operate on new routes from European destinations to Africa or the Americas. Agreements are being discussed with other major firms to both share capacity and provide end-to-end cargo transport from Asia to Africa or the Americas, making Casablanca an essential location.

What can be done to improve air connectivity between Morocco and new markets?

BENHIMA: Thanks to our geographical location, we are well placed to connect Africa with the US and Europe. To do that, in addition to a better airport, we need strong partnerships that maximise the advantages of our strategic geographical position.

Partnership is key to developing our network. We are already discussing possibilities with other airlines. These partnerships would allow us to strengthen our network and reach more destinations. There are three distinct markets we need to serve: the Moroccan domestic market, where we do well; the intra-African market, which is not sufficiently developed and which we must set up agreements to serve; and the international market, connecting Africa with the rest of the world. The last is a highly competitive market with many players.

Liberalisation in Africa would be good for passengers, but it must be considered in multinational terms. I believed a pan-African air company was a good idea, so we should dig deeper and examine the real reasons why it failed. We have to think about the value of a multinational airline operating in a free market. If air connectivity is not sufficiently offered throughout Africa, it could limit economic growth across the continent.