Royal Air Maroc has signed an agreement to join the Avios loyalty platform.
The news was flagged on our forum over the weekend, with a link to PDF details of the Avios Investor Seminar which took place last week.
This confirms that RAM has signed a binding Memorandum of Understanding to join Avios, although no date has been given as to when this is likely to happen.
Avios is operated by the International Airlines Group, the parent company of British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling.
It has gradually been signing up new airlines to its loyalty platform, with Flybe replacing its Rewards4All loyalty scheme with Avios in 2014 (see news October 2014), and Kulula and Meridiana also adopting the Avios currency.
As non-IAG carriers, members of the loyalty programmes of these three carriers are not able to use the “Combine my Avios” scheme in which BA, Iberia and the Avios Travel Rewards Programme participate, but they do enjoy benefits including the ability to earn and redeem Avios on partner airline flights and other non-airline services.
It is likely that Royal Air Maroc will offer a similar scheme, using Avios as the “currency” within its Safar Flyer programme.
IAG says that it holds a 4 per cent market share of the international African market, but that "Avios in partnership with Royal Air Maroc will increase this to 14 per cent, surpassing that of Air France-KLM".
For more information on the Avios schemes of non-IAG carriers, click on the links below:
Mark Caswell
