nkob

you have a heavy day today
greetings

JapesUK

This is really odd… according to the board I’m in the right place

And the room is empty




Expertflyer seat map says the plane is almost full. Why do I feel I’ve missed a trick somewhere along the way?

nkob

thats marokko

JapesUK

Hmm, board shows two gates.. guess I chose badly

JapesUK

AT410
RAK-CMN
CN-COJ

The mystery of the empty gate is solved, there is a gate for domestic departures and a different gate for international transfers. I’m sure that makes sense to someone somewhere.

With about twenty minute to departure we were led towards our plane which is this ATR-72. When we neared the plane it was clear that the hold was pretty full and a few minutes before departure in a complete reverse of a BA flight, they were bringing bags on board to put in the overhead lockers!




Seat 1C for both flights today. The seat feels narrow and lumpy, however there’s plenty of leg room. There is the standard bag, shopping menu, and safety card in the seat pocket.






With the exception of the row 1 leg room I can see no difference in the seats whatsoever between business and economy.



A greatly appreciated Pre-departure beverage was offered with a choice between mint, orange, or water.



By 13:00 we were taxiing and the crew member took his seat at the front. The lady in 1F had a plethora of bags on the seat next to her and on her lap. Odd, considering 1F is an emergency exit. Off the ground at 13:07 for a very short hop to Casablanca.



Once we were up in the air another drink was offered from a choice of water, juice, coffee, or tea. I picked orange juice and coffee and both were served and cleared well before 13:30. After that there was no further sign of the crew until landing.



A really rocky ride down and the pilot was struggling to keep it level all the way to landing but we were eventually on the ground at 13:45.



One of the joys of this plane is that the steps are at the rear so in business class you get to be last off the plane.

JapesUK

And the first, and last, sign of any premium experience, there is a business class bus to take you to arrivals ahead of the standard coach. I would have missed it had not the lady ahead of me peeled of in its direction.

Arrivals was painless and I was quickly land side. I exited into this barriers runway with everyone lining the sides holding up signs. Once I cleared the runway I was approached by four beggars and taxi touts almost back to back - welcome to Casablanca!

JapesUK

Now the fun begins. My boarding pass that was issued in Marrakech this morning state T1. Having arrived into T2 I walked along the outside of the airport to the T1 entrance, cleared security and off to the departure gates.

Computer says no, gate agent who has very little English point me at information. The information desk then send me back to exactly where I started! Apparently T1 is the ‘old way’

I think I’ve finally found a company with worse IT than BA! On another note, the Covid mask requirement stated at check in was also spurious.

Some pictures from my extended wander back and forth

JapesUK

And finally to the departure lounge which is not only much nicer and more spacious than Marrakech, it has a shop!





In my excitement at finding a shop I didn’t notice that there is also a lounge! It’s not much of a lounge but compared to the rest of the departures area, I’ll take it.

JapesUK

Some pictures of the departure area taken as I left the lounge to go to the gate. When I arrived this area was completely jammed with people.








Boarding, aka loading the bus, commenced with forty minutes to departure. Knowing the score now I asked if there was a business bus and yes, there is, and it is definitely going first, it has the coach blocked in

JapesUK

AT413
CMN-RAK
CN-COF

The boarding was a bit of a farce with both buses waiting for the plane to be ready then everyone boarding at once. No big deal given the passenger load on these ATR72s is something like 80 people, just made it a bit awkward. This is one of those planes where boarding business first actually makes sense as the door is at the rear and you have to walk the length of the plane.




Everyone is on board with 20 minutes to departure and the baggage has just arrived. The sound of the first bags going into the hold and scraping across the floor of the cargo bay is horrendous, some seriously scratched bags coming off this flight! Pre-departure drinks were a choice of lemon juice or water.




As we waited I noticed the bulkhead could do with a clean. Here’s a picture sure to trigger more than one FTer




We were off the ground almost exactly on time and the pilot released the crew five minutes into the flight. The first thing the crew member at the front did was to ask everyone what they wanted to drink. There were no hot drinks available and the choice given was lemon, water, coke, sprite. I pushed the envelope and asked for an orange juice which came with the same biscuit assortment as earlier.



We then did not see the crew again until the seatbelt signs came on just before landing at which point they collected up the glasses and biscuit plates.




After another bumpy rolling descent we were on the ground at 17:43 and it was a very short taxi to the remote stand for 17:46

Would I fly Royal Air Maroc again? Domestic business, not a chance, abysmal value for money. This was not a cheap return flight, pricing was similar to BA domestic business. It did serve its purpose both in terms of experiencing the product and for the 80 TP I wanted to help reach Gold Guest List before my upcoming string of reward bookings. I’d give international a go, if the price was right, but I’d not choose RAM by default.

JapesUK

There was no business bus this evening but last on first off the coach and through to a completely empty arrivals again.

TOP TIP: Do not do a there and back flight in Morocco, security get thoroughly suspicious!!! It took me exactly half an hour from presenting my passport to being sent on my way. There are now at least two security agents and their supervisor who are intimately familiar with Tier points, flyertalk, trip reports, and English lunacy

In the end I think it was the trip report that tipped the balance when they read the intro days ago, that and the fact I’m leaving tomorrow!

Taxi driver was waiting exactly where they said he would be and it was a thirty minute drive back to the hotel with traffic being heavier than this morning and the driver being completely fearless and exploiting every little gap. It never felt dangerous but it was hair raising at times with the sheer mass of carefree motorcyclists on the road.

That has been a bit more of an adventure than I expected and it is most definitely beer o’clock!

JapesUK

Far too lazy right now to get up for a better photo but it seems the entertainment team
are channelling… something… this evening



Edit: their uptown funk, obvious really

atcodave

Japes, I�ve noticed from a few pictures that beer glasses have no condensation, which I always feel is a good sign in a hot country! Did you wipe the glasses or was the beer as tepid as the food?

JapesUK

You’ll definitely not get brain freeze from the beer that’s for sure. I’d say it’s cooler than the food and warmer than a Brit would like

JapesUK

The final buffet pictures unless breakfast throws any surprises