I took a trip to North Africa this past month and had the opportunity to fly Royal Air Maroc Business Class from Casablanca (CMN) to Tunis (TUN). For the route, Royal Air Maroc uses a 737-800 which features the new Boeing Sky Interior. Unlike in Europe, where business class is the standard coach seat with the middle seat blocked, Royal Air Maroc has a true business class cabin with a 2-2 configuration.

These seats are comparable to what Legacy Carriers in the United States use, but with more leg room and a foot rest. There is no seatback inflight entertainment screens, but there are power outlets and Wi-Fi.

Prior to boarding the flight, I visited the Royal Air Maroc lounge which was very unimpressive and could use a lot of improvement. Boarding began about 40 minutes before departure. They have designated lane for business class passengers to allow boarding anytime during the process. The boarding process seemed to take quite a long time and the flight attendants even stopped a few passengers to check a bag because they weren’t adhering the carry-on policy (Not sure why the gate agents were not handling this aspect).

Finally, as boarding neared completion, the flight attendant brought around a choice of water or juice for the predeparture beverage. They also brought around newspapers, which were only in French and Arabic. Once catering was complete and the plane ready for departure, we pushed back from the gate and taxied to the runway.

Once airborne, the flight made announcements about the flight and then began preparing for the meal service. With the flight only being 2.5 hours and approximately 1,000 miles, I was unsure what to expect. The flight attendant passed out a menu which had two options for the meal and a list of beverages. I was quite thirsty assumed they would take beverage orders shortly.

Over the next 30 minutes, the flight attendant was in the galley preparing food and never once returned to the business class cabin. When she appeared, it was with a cart containing the entire meal option, but no beverages. Passengers were aske their meal option and quickly the sliced beef and Thai sauce was gone (I got the last dish).

As I was given my food, I asked for a glass of wine and water, to which she responded yes, but continued serving meals. About 15 minutes later, she had dispensed all meals to business class passengers and returned to the galley to get a large bottle of water. I was given a small glass which I quickly drank. The flight attendant never returned to refill the water.

Finally, when picking up the meal dishes about 20 minutes later, I inquired about a refill of my water and a glass of wine to which she responded yes and continue to clean up table wear from other business class passengers. After completing that, she finally brought out my glass of wine, but no refill of the water.  The flight attendant remained in the galley for the next 20 minutes or so and I later learned there was another flight attendant just sitting in the jump seat the whole time doing nothing.

About 1.5 hours in the flight, she walked through the cabin with a cheese cart and I asked again about a water and wine refills. Unfortunately, they never happened and 30 minutes later, the pilot announced our arrival into Tunis and the end of cabin service. Overall, I was very unimpressed with the cabin service and found the meal to be below average. While Royal Air Maroc has a comfortable business class seat, their service leaves much to be desired.