Royal Air Maroc in talks for 200 Boeing, Airbus, Embraer jets

Royal Air Maroc is evaluating bids from Airbus SE, Boeing Co. and Embraer as it looks to place an order for almost 200 jets by September.

About two thirds of the 188 planes that the airline aims to order will be narrowbody jets, with the remainder long-haul widebodies offering no more than 350 seats, Chief Executive Officer Abdelhamid Addou said in an interview in Dubai. The carrier is also looking for 30 regional jets as part of the larger narrowbody purchase, he said.

The airline has already ordered 12 aircraft and is now looking to add more to expand its fleet. Morroco’s national carrier is studying offers that it received from planemakers last month, and will see next “what will be the schedules of deliveries and what conditions we can get,” Addou said. 

Whatever the order, not all aircraft will arrive in time to meet surging demand, and the airline will bridge the gap with leased planes, Addou said. 

The North African carrier now runs a mixed fleet of regional, short-haul and long-distance aircraft, including Embraer 190s, the Boeing 737-800 and the bigger 787 Dreamliner. There are no Airbus SE jets in its current fleet, according to the carrier’s website.