Royal Air Maroc and Air Algérie: The Figures Show Two Airlines No Longer Playing in the Same League
Air Algérie still carries more passengers than Royal Air Maroc. But as soon as one looks at the distances travelled, the strength of the African network, current capacity or punctuality, the comparison takes on an entirely different complexion.
At first glance, Air Algérie retains the advantage. According to the latest annual report by the African Airlines Association (AFRAA), the Algerian airline carried 7.857 million passengers in 2024, compared with 7.376 million for Royal Air Maroc. A difference of just under 500,000 travellers, or approximately 6.5%.
On Bladi.net : Air Algérie Struggles to Compete with Royal Air Maroc in African Market
But the composition of this traffic already tells a different story. Air Algérie carried 2.570 million passengers on its domestic market, more than double the 1.189 million recorded by RAM. On regional traffic, the situation is completely reversed: Royal Air Maroc reached 1.483 million travellers, compared with just 387,000 for its Algerian rival. RAM thus carries nearly four times as many passengers on this segment.
The difference becomes even clearer when AFRAA no longer simply counts travellers, but measures the capacity offered across the entire network. In 2024, Royal Air Maroc generated 22.32 billion available seat-kilometres (ASK), compared with 15.35 billion for Air Algérie. This indicator combines the number of seats offered with the distances travelled: RAM shows an advantage of around 45% here.
The contrast is even more striking with revenue passenger-kilometres (RPK), which measure the distance actually travelled by passengers. Royal Air Maroc reached 17.19 billion RPK, compared with 11.29 billion for Air Algérie, a difference of more than 52%. Air Algérie therefore carries 6.5% more passengers than RAM, but the Moroccan airline generates 52% more passenger-kilometres. These two figures alone sum up the difference between the two airlines’ models.
RAM moves ahead in capacity
The trend is also reflected in current flight schedules. Data from global aviation specialist OAG place Royal Air Maroc fourth among African airlines in terms of capacity in August 2026, with 868,100 scheduled departing seats, compared with 825,900 for Air Algérie, in fifth place. The Algerian airline is nevertheless growing faster year on year, with an increase of 16.8%, compared with 13.2% for RAM.
This difference is also due to the positioning of the two carriers. Royal Air Maroc uses Casablanca as a hub between Africa, Europe and the Americas and belongs to the oneworld alliance. Its weight in regional African traffic is one of the clearest signs of this: with nearly 1.5 million travellers on this segment in 2024, it is far ahead of the 387,000 recorded by Air Algérie.
Another indicator directly affects passengers. Between June 1 and July 20, 2026, a Flightright study reported by Le Figaro shows that 18.30% of Royal Air Maroc flights departing from France were delayed by at least fifteen minutes, compared with 42.68% for Air Algérie. Over the same period and using the same calculation method, the Algerian airline’s delay rate was therefore more than twice as high.
On Bladi.net : Royal Air Maroc punctuality beats Air Algérie in France
In terms of passenger numbers, the two airlines remain close, and Air Algérie even retains a slight advantage. But as soon as the comparison focuses on the reach of the network, the distances travelled, the airline’s weight in Africa, the capacity placed on the market and punctuality observed in France, Royal Air Maroc is now operating on a different scale. This is where the trajectories of the two airlines are truly beginning to diverge.
