Royal Air Maroc 787 Business Class: The 787-8 Seat Problem

Royal Air Maroc flies four different business class configurations on its Dreamliners, and the one built specifically for the airline is the one to avoid. One Mile at a Time’s Ben Schlappig calls the 787-8’s seat his least favorite flat-bed business class product in the world. For oneworld travelers routing to Africa or Europe through Casablanca, which 787 shows up on your flight decides most of the experience.

Why This Comparison Matters

Royal Air Maroc is a oneworld member, so its business class is one of the ways oneworld points and status can get travelers across the Atlantic to Morocco and onward. Schlappig flew the 8-hour-25-minute Casablanca to Miami flight on the 787-8 and published initial impressions ahead of a full review. He had just flown the airline’s 737-800 business class from Malaga and came away impressed. The long-haul flight, he writes, “wasn’t nearly as pleasant.”

What Makes It Different

Per Schlappig, the 787-8 cabin has 18 seats across three rows in a 2-2-2 layout. Schlappig calls them “top/bottom seats,” and they top his list of the worst business class seats. His complaints are specific:

• Storage: there is almost none, beyond a small cubby behind the seat you have to contort to reach.
• Tray table: it kept falling off the side armrest.
• Privacy: when one seat reclines, one passenger is basically on top of the other. His travel companion asked whether the seats were broken.
• Connectivity: there was no Wi-Fi, and entertainment was only “okay.” The airline plans to install Starlink as of 2027.

The catering was better. Lunch opened with canapés, Laurent-Perrier Brut was the champagne, the wine list included Moroccan bottles, and the mains included a beef tajine with prunes, dried apricots, and almonds. His verdict on the food: “nothing amazing, but also wasn’t half bad.” The pre-arrival meal on a flight over eight hours was rather modest.

The Catch / Who It’s For

Service was the other weak point. Schlappig found the crew friendly but entirely reactive: no glass refills, no clearing of plates, and a requested glass of wine arrived 15 minutes later, after the main course was finished. The menu promoted dine on demand, but everyone was served at the same time without being asked. Mattress pads were stored in the overhead bins, and the crew never mentioned them, so no passenger used them.

There is a case for flying it anyway. Schlappig says he would take this product over what else is offered in North Africa, and would pick it over his Air Algerie business class flight “any day.” The flight was on time, and he says the food may have improved since he last flew the airline in 2019. Travelers flying solo should know that sitting next to a stranger in these seats would be “downright awkward,” in his words, when one person wants to sleep and the other doesn’t.

Source: One Mile at a Time

Content created with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy.