São Paulo – Airline Royal Air Maroc will increase its presence in Brazil starting in May. The company will have three flights per week between Casablanca, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, a number that will go up to four per week in September, according to information by the company’s director general in Brazil, Mehdi Yaalaoui. He told ANBA that besides increasing the number of flights, in December Royal Air Maroc will begin to fly to Brazil with a new aircraft, the Boeing 787.
According to Yaalaoui, the inclusion of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil’s flight frequency should increase in 33% ticket availability in the company’s flights. The replacement of aircraft will expand the number of seats available in 17%. The inclusion of Rio, says the executive, is “obviously” related to the Summer Olympics to be held by the city in August. This, however, is not the only reason to increase participation in the Brazilian market. He said that flying to Rio is a way to provide service to a higher number of Brazilians travelling abroad and to foreigners that come to Brazil.
“Approximately 75% of the passengers in our flights are Brazilians, a very high percentage in comparison to the routes we operate in Europe or Africa. It’s something amazing. Rio is a much requested destination and to include it in this route is a way of bringing more clients from other countries”, said Yaalaoui.
Yaalaoui said that the company hasn’t yet felt the effects of Brazil’s economic downturn. “There’s been a decline in the frequency of passengers in the sector, but here we haven’t seen that yet. We kept for 2016 practically the same price of 2015. One year ago, our minimum price was approximately USD 750 (per ticket) with the dollar listed at BRL 3. Today, our minimum price is USD 520 with the dollar at BRL 4.10, approximately”, he said. That is, around a year ago, a round-trip ticket cost BRL 2,250 and today it costs BRL 2,132, in a rough calculation.
In December, Boeing 767 will be replaced by the 787. The new aircraft can carry up to 273 passengers. The current one carries 240. The inclusion of Rio de Janeiro and the replacement of aircraft could bring the company to achieve the highest number of passengers carried since the beginning of its operations in the country in 2013. This year, 60,000 passengers should travel with the company. Last year, it were 42,000, and in 2014, 30,000.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
