Royal Air Maroc has launched a tender to buy new planes as Morocco's flagship carrier, one of Africa's largest, expands to meet growing travel demand, CEO Abdelhamid Addou said on Thursday. "The tender has been launched on April 15," Addou told Reuters. RAM plans to quadruple its fleet within a decade as the country prepares to co-host the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal. Such large-scale tenders are usually not made public to preserve confidentiality. In October, Addou said RAM was seeking to buy 200 planes, mostly medium haul ones with long and short haul aircraft, to compete in a growing African market. RAM connects some 50 African airports with a fleet of 52 airplanes, mostly Boeing. Addou previously said RAM's plan helps to meet Morocco's goal of attracting 17.5m tourists by 2026 and 26m by 2030. Last year, Morocco reported record tourist arrivals of 14.5m.<br/>
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Moroccan flag-carrier Royal Air Maroc has reinforced an engine maintenance partnership with French aerospace firm Safran, extending the capabilities of its Casablanca facility. The facility, Safran Aircraft Engine Services Morocco, was established 25 years ago. It specialises in the servicing of CFM International CFM56 powerplants, used on the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 families. While formally inaugurating an extension to the Nouaceur site, in the vicinity of Casablanca’s Mohammed V airport, the two sides unveiled a provisional agreement enabling an increase in shop visits from 70 to 100 by 2026. “Beyond extension of the Casablanca site, this agreement will strengthen our expertise in the aeronautical industry,” says Royal Air Maroc chief Abdelhamid Addou. As part of the plan the venture will recruit 100 personnel over the next two years, taking its workforce to 350. Local academic partnerships will support the development of MRO specialist knowledge in the country. Safran Aircraft Engines president Jean-Paul Alary says the facility has become a “reference” in its global maintenance network, in terms of “operational excellence, innovation capacity and reduction of its carbon footprint”.<br/>