Royal Air Maroc Business Class for 2-3 (Summer 2022)
With more and more people booking flights these days, award space has become tough to find this summer (and cash fares have jumped). With that in mind, I wanted to flag an often forgotten way to get to Europe in business class.
Yes, Royal Air Maroc is an easy way to get to Morocco and other African destinations. If that fits your goals for this summer, get to booking! However, it can be a really useful option to Europe as well.
Now, let's get into!
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Straight To The Points:
Routes: IAD/JFK/YUL-CMN
Operating airline: Royal Air Maroc
Class of service: Business class
Dates: June 2022 - September 2022
Seats available: 2-3
Cabin layout: 1-2-1 or 2-2-2
Book with (per person, nonstop one-way):
- *American AAdvantage: 57,500 miles
- British Airways Executive Club: 62,000 Avios
- 40% transfer bonus from Amex through May 15
- Cathay Asia Miles: 61,000 miles
- Etihad Guest: 44,000 miles
- Iberia Plus: 62,000 Avios
- 40% transfer bonus from Amex through May 15
- JAL Mileage Bank: 42,000 miles (80,000 miles round-trip)
- Qantas Frequent Flyer:
- YUL: 61,200 points
- IAD/JFK: 75,000 points
*No surcharges
Taxes/fees (per person):
- One-way: $5.60 (~$52 from YUL)
- Round-trip: ~$89 (~$116 from YUL)
- Surcharges:
- One-way: ~$187
- Round-trip: ~$373
The taxes/fees can vary a bit depending on which program you use to book.
Bank transfer partners:
- American: Bilt, Marriott
- British Airways: Amex, Capital One, Chase, Marriott
- Citi via Qatar Privilege Club
- Cathay Asia Miles: Amex, Bilt, Brex, Citi, Capital One, Marriott
- Etihad Guest: Amex, Capital One, Citi, Marriott
- Iberia: Amex, Chase, Marriott
- JAL: Marriott
- Qantas: Amex, Brex, Citi, Capital One, Marriott
Let me know if you book and how you did it!
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DISCLAIMER: Please be aware that the COVID-19 situation and the resulting travel restrictions could prevent you from traveling. Additionally, please make sure you understand the cancellation/redeposit and change fees required before booking with a particular program.
Travel Restrictions and Requirements
With travel restrictions changing by the day, please take a look at the US embassy site for your destination. Here's a link to Morocco to get you started.
Flight Experience
Currently, the flights to/from JFK and YUL have Royal Air Maroc's newest business class cabin. It's a simple 1-2-1 reverse herringbone layout so each seat will be lie-flat, have direct aisle access, and plenty of privacy.
If you fly to/from IAD or MIA, the flights currently have the older 2-2-2 business class cabin. The seats are still lie-flat but only the middle seats are guaranteed aisle access with no one needing to step over you.
Regardless of which aircraft type, Royal Air Maroc has gotten solid marks for its inflight food and beverage options as well as friendly crew members.
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Available Dates
You can find seats for 2-3 people in business class on the following dates. Most dates will have space for 3 people. If you want to travel in June, Montreal (YUL) will be your best bet.
JFK-CMN 1-2-1
July: 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16-23, 25-27, 29, 30
August: 2, 4-14, 16-18, 20, 22, 24, 25, 28-30
September: 1, 2, 4-6, 8-11, 17, 20, 24
CMN-JFK
July: 3, 4, 6-8, 12, 14, 18-22, 25-31
August: 1-5, 8-19, 21-31
September: 1-4, 7-9, 13, 29, 30
IAD-CMN 2-2-2
July: 9, 10, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 22-25, 27, 30, 31
August: 1, 3, 4, 6-8, 10-15, 17, 18, 20-22, 26, 28, 29, 31
September: 3, 7, 11, 18, 25
CMN-IAD
July: 6, 7, 14, 29
August: 3, 8, 10, 12, 13, 17-19, 24-29
September: 1-3, 7, 9, 19, 21, 23, 26, 28
YUL-CMN 1-2-1
June: 4, 5, 6, 11-29
July: 2-6, 8, 9, 11-13, 16-20, 23-28, 30, 31
August: 1-5, 7-11, 13-18, 20-31
September: 1-26, 28-30
CMN-YUL
June: 2, 3, 5-10, 12-30
July: 2-6, 8-15, 18, 20, 21, 23, 25-30
August: 2, 3, 8, 9, 15-17, 23, 24, 28-31
September: 4-14, 16-24, 26-30
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Best Ways To Book
American: No Surcharges, Great Award Rate To Europe
If you have 57,500 American miles (or Bilt points to transfer), this will be the best way to keep the cash portion to a minimum. You won't need any additional miles to connect to Europe.
Please note that you may not see award space with a connection from Casablanca to a European destination. In this case, you'll want to call American to book.
Etihad: Great Nonstop Award Rate w/ Surcharges
If you have Amex, Capital One, or Citi points, I like 44,000 Etihad miles one-way even with the surcharges. If you want to connect, the additional miles you'll need is based on a distanced-based award chart. You will have to call to book.
Asia Miles: Solid Rate To Europe, Book Online
Asia Miles shows connections to at least some European cities so you could use 61,000 miles and avoid a phone call. You can transfer points from Amex, Bilt, Brex, Citi, Capital One.
British Airways: Option For Chase Points or 40% Amex Transfer Bonus
If you have Chase points, British Airways is an option at 62,000 Avios. I will note that their online search platform didn't show space so you'll have to call to book. British Airways has a distance-based award chart so connections will require more Avios.
If you have Amex points, you can take advantage of the 40% transfer bonus. This could be a good option if you already have some Avios and/or you're connecting to a destination in Europe.
Make sure you compare Asia Miles, BA, and Etihad before transferring points if you'll be using Amex points.
You can use GCmap to calculate flight distance.
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How To Book
I think searching with American is easiest if you want to see your options.
- Go to AA's site
- Select Advanced / Multi-city search (just click this link)
- Select Redeem miles
- Select One way or Round trip
- Enter From & To cities
- Select departure date(s)
- Choose the number of passengers
- Select Class as Business/First
- Click Search
- If you're searching for a nonstop, select Calendar then sort by nonstop.
- Once you know which dates have Finnair space, you can run a search from your home airport if you're not booking nonstop
Airline Contact Numbers
- American: 800-433-7300
- Asia Miles: 833-933-2244
- British Airways: 800-452-1201
- Etihad: 877-690-0767
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Final Thoughts
If you've traveled recently, you might have noticed that airports are busier and flights are full. That trend is expected to continue into the summer months which has led to some steep cash fares and restricted award space.
I know many of you are looking for a way to get to Europe during the summer months, esp. those with kids on break, so this is a great way option.
Happy Booking!
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