Morocco’s flag carrier Royal Air Maroc (RAM), will allow its passengers to resell their tickets through a partnership with the world’s first Resale-as-a-Service platform Fairlyne.
Unlocking resale for the travel industry
Founded in Paris two years ago, Fairlyne is the world’s first Resale-as-a-Service platform, allowing airlines and travel companies to deliver an efficient ticket resale experience while generating incremental revenue. Fairlyne has recently secured $3 million to fund the development of the program. Fairlyne Co-Founder and CEO Gilles de Richemond said;
“We realized that travel customers were willing to resale their bookings, and meanwhile, no-shows represent a lucrative opportunity for travel operators – if they could offer customers who couldn’t make it the chance to resell in advance. So, we built a platform which can be integrated into any operator’s consumer-facing channels providing customers with a seamless resale experience. The incremental revenue from no-shows can be significant.”
The service significantly eases the process of reselling tickets in the travel industry. Through its white-label product, airlines and tour operators can add resale to their distribution, giving customers more flexibility and a unique chance to sell their non-refundable tickets.
Royal Air Maroc partnered with Fairlyne to implement the resale service in the next three to six months. It will allow its non-refundable customers to sell their tickets on the airline’s direct channels and avoid losing all their money in case of a no-show. Airlines have strict no-show policies, so the platform will give customers a chance to retrieve their funds if they fail to travel. Fairlyne Co-founder and CPTO, added;
“Almost every sector, from clothing to cars to jewelry, has formalized ways for brands to facilitate customers reselling their products. The main reason that travel hasn’t been part of this trend, and why travel operators are missing out, is that the technology hasn’t been there for something which can be complicated. Fairlyne is the turnkey solution that addresses this gap and opens incremental revenue streams for our travel partners.”
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The Moroccan government has revealed plans to quadruple the national carrier’s fleet to operate at least 200 aircraft by 2037. RAM currently has 52 aircraft and will acquire up to 150 more in the next 15 years as part of a long-term fleet development strategy.
Earlier this week, the Moroccan carrier and the government signed a contract to confirm the fleet expansion plans. Although the types of aircraft to be acquired were not disclosed, RAM currently has a variety of narrow and widebodies, including 30 Boeing 737-800s, five B787 Dreamliners, and six ATR72-600s, to mention a few.
The expansion program is part of Morocco’s plans to boost tourism around the country. The government intends to establish Morocco as a leading global tourist destination and attract over 17.5 million visitors. This will create about 100,000 jobs and enhance the contribution of tourism to the region’s socio-economic development.
RAM will develop various air links by opening new international and intra-continental routes to boost the number of inbound tourists. Domestic air travel will also be enhanced as the airline plans to launch up to 46 new services. Additionally, by increasing capacity, stakeholders intend to make Casablanca Mohammed V Airport (CAS) a major African hub.North Africa has significantly recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, with passenger demand exceeding 2019 levels. North African states want to harness the momentum and boost their air transport markets.RAM was recently recognized as the leading African carrier operating flights to Senegal. It started serving the West African nation in 1958, and the Casablanca-Dakar route has become one of its most essential. According to a recent report by the Senegalese CAA, RAM now holds a share of about 15% of the country’s passenger and cargo transport market.
Morocco’s neighboring state Algeria has also announced plans to boost the national carrier’s capacity in the next five years. Air Algérie already has a solid order for 15 new aircraft, which the government will finance. The deal is expected to boost the country’s air traffic by 50%.
Source: simplelfying.com