Moroccan Royal Airline (MRA) is planning to invest up to $25 billion to quadruple its current fleet size from 50 aircraft to a whopping 200 over the next ten years.
The announcement was made by the company’s CEO, Abdelhamid Addou, during the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Marrakech.
Addou stated that the primary objective behind this ambitious aircraft acquisition plan is to position Morocco as a global hub. The country aims to transform Casablanca into a modern aviation center with substantial capacity, especially as Morocco secured the rights to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
This decision marks a significant acceleration in the airline’s previous fleet expansion plans, which originally spanned a 15-year timeline. Prior to 2019, the airline had a fleet of 60 aircraft.
However, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on travel demand, MRA made adjustments by retiring 10 of its aircraft, including long-term leased planes, and selling others that had spent many years in service.
Since 2020, the Moroccan government has provided approximately AED 6 billion ($660 million) in support to the airline. In contrast, MRA reported profits of AED 156 million (approximately $15 million) in 2018 but began facing losses in 2019, amounting to AED 131 million.
These losses were further exacerbated by the pandemic, with a staggering AED 3.8 billion in 2020 and AED 2.7 billion in 2021.
MRA’s acquisition strategy will target both wide-body and medium-body aircraft, according to the CEO.
He also announced that by year-end, the airline will open the door for international companies to submit their offers for aircraft purchases. Addou stated, “We will approach all of our partners, banks, and major companies to finance these deals.”
He added, “We will transition from 50 to 200 aircraft, which is a substantial increase for us, but we are very confident that we will achieve this goal.”
The majority of MRA’s current fleet comprises Boeing aircraft and rival Airbus is vying to secure an order for one of its models, as stated by Hadi Akoum, Deputy Head of Sales for Africa and the Levant at the European aircraft manufacturing company, in a December 2022 interview with “East Economy.”
