Cheap Flights to Morocco: Jet4you Offers Cheap Flights to Morocco

Interview with Karim Baina, President or Jet4you

You have been involved in the tourism sector for almost ten years now. Seeing that Morocco is remodeling its national tourism vision on the 2020 tourism vision, how will you promote tourism in Morocco and what is your vision and role as a private operator in the tourism strategy?

As you have mentioned, ten years ago I started working with the Federation of Tourism. The target that was then set for 2010 was 10 million tourists. By 2010, Morocco has welcomed around 9.5 million tourists, which means that it reached 95% of the initial target in terms of volume. Two months ago, a new tourism strategy involving the airline transport was proposed and aims for Morocco to welcome around 20 million tourists by 2020.

As for the role Jet4you plays in this strategy, the company was part of the 2010 plan and will continue to be a dominant player for the 2020 plan by attracting even more tourists and being able to transport them from Europe to the main Moroccan tourist attractions. New resorts will be available soon in northern Morocco – Saidia, Nador, Agadir, Essaouira – and Jet4you will be an active participant in transporting tourists to these new destinations.

As for our clientele, it varies depending on the destinations. Around 70-80% of the passengers using the routes between Italy and Morocco are Moroccans residing abroad, whereas on the French market only 30-35% of the traffic is made up of Moroccans residing abroad, the rest of the passengers being mostly tourists and businessmen (30% of the overall trafic). Our biggest market is the French one and this is the reason why our company established charter contracts with major French operators such as Nouvelles Frontières.

Will you continue to grow?

Absolutely, it is in line with our company strategy. Jet4you is part of TUI Travel PLC, which is the leading European group in tour operating and also in transporting tourists in the Mediterranean area. The group is comprised of seven airlines and 160 aircrafts and focuses on offering travelling packages to various destinations, including Morocco.

What is your perspective on the Moroccan aviation sector? How do you react to the crisis and the rising oil prices?

Jet4you was created right after the liberalization agreement signed between the Kingdom of Morocco and the European Community, which was in late 2005, so our company was the first low-cost airline to operate from Casablanca, the most important Moroccan air base. This is one of the company’s strong points: it was created as a result of the Open Skies Agreement and it was the first to liberalize the sky between Morocco and Europe. The first customers to benefit from the agreement were the Moroccans residing abroad who, before the creation of Jet4you, would come home only once a year, as there was little choice between the national airline of Morocco and its European counterparts.

Others would not be able to afford an expensive airline ticket, so they would come by land. People now enjoy the alternative of flying that provides better quality, comfort and security. One can say that Jet4you has democratized air travel. Afterwards, of course, other airlines have seized this opportunity and we now have several low-cost carrier colleagues operating from/to Morocco.
This translates into an increased competition on the air transport market and a greater number of available seats to the benefit of the customers who enjoy special rates at a fraction of the initial cost before the signing of the Open Skies Agreement.

How do you assess the impact of the crisis on the company?

The crisis struck around 18 months ago. The air transport is always the first sector to be affected by an international economic crisis, but also the first to come out of it when growth is being recorded.

The Moroccan airline industry has been, of course, suffering from this recession for the last fifteen months, especially since the increased competition resulted in lower prices for the airline tickets. Coupled with the rise in oil prices – $ 100 per barrel in the coming weeks – the recession seriously impacts the carriers. As a result, there will be an increase in the flight rates that will be integrated in the final cost of the ticket so as to distribute the cost to the end customers.

Where does Jet4you stand in relation to Royal Air Maroc, the flag carrier airline of Morocco?

The Open Skies Agreement signed between Morocco and the European Community has ultimately developed the Moroccan airline industry and, consequently, the national operator had to adjust to this new situation. Being the first low-cost airline in Morocco, Jet4you was in direct competition with the flag carrier for several destinations, but it was able to secure market shares and even gain leadership on certain routes. For instance, Jet4you was the first low-cost carrier to operate between Belgium and Morocco, so the national airline had to adapt accordingly.

What is your development strategy for the future?

Our company will remain faithful to the direction followed by TUI Travel PLC and will continue to develop the tourist transport industry in Morocco and also sign agreements with other tour operators that are part of the group or not.

We have this two-sided strategy concerning both the B2C sector – individual sales – and the B2B sector – volumes sales. Developing the tourist activity in Morocco is our priority for the next 24-36 months in order to grow the low-cost side of our business and to maintain leadership on our destinations.

 Concerning the B2B side, Jet4you will continue to develop partnerships with other European tour operators who wish to work with a major player in Morocco that offers an outstanding quality of service and, as part of TUI Travel PLC, observes the best practice standards of professionalism and security in the industry.

Do you also deal with a business clientele?

All of our customers receive an e-survey in the 24 hours following the flight which provides us with an immediate feedback. An e-survey from August 2010 revealed that more than 18% of our customers travel for business purposes. Being a low-cost carrier does not imply low quality services and Jet4you has a business clientele precisely thanks to the quality of its services compared to other operators. Customers, whichever country they fly from, will always have identical expectations:

• The first of them is punctuality – Jet4you is the leading Moroccan airline in terms of departure punctuality; it also issues monthly reports to the media regarding this aspect;

• The second is to enjoy excellent tourist facilities and a professional service on board – our customers highly appreciate our services also thanks to the set of procedures and the continuous support of TUI Travel PLC’s vast expertise;

• The last is an overall professionalism throughout the travel process ​​from the time of the ticket purchase to the point of the luggage pick-up, the final element that influences the customer’s perception.

Jet4you is very well positioned in terms of quality of service and this is what the business clientele is looking for, coupled nowadays with the best price-quality ration. In addition to that, there are multinational companies seeking to develop business relationships with Morocco and with which Jet4you signs agreements.

In terms of relationship with the TUI group and company strategy, will there be new destinations?

The strength of TUI Travel PLC is its leading capacity as a tour operator in Europe and as the largest provider of tourism in Morocco. Jet4you follows this group strategy and aims to grow in Morocco. Starting April 2011, our company we will open new destinations together with TUI Germany, the group’s German tour operator, from Agadir to Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Basel. Jet4you works as a tool to support the group’s development in Morocco.

There is also a functional aspect that comes from a synergy at the operational level and which allows Jet4you to optimize its services. Bulk purchases of fuel, ground handling assistance and maintenance contracts, all of these allow our company to perform efficiently and always offer quality services to our customers.

Taking the example of the December passenger revolt in France, what are your challenges in terms of communication?

There are two aspects to communication: product related and communication with the media. Concerning its product, Jet4you set out from the beginning to be an open company portraying transparency both on brand awareness and fare prices, which have always been inclusive of all tax. This transparency is very much appreciated by our customers.

Regarding the company’s relationship with the media, it has always been transparent and proactive. Jet4you is the only company in Morocco to release reports on the preceding month’s activity, which include seating statistics and punctuality records stating also the reasons in the case of poor punctuality.

As for on-off events such as the one in Toulouse and which I deplore, we issue statements on how and why the event took place. In this particular case, the passengers’ reaction resulted in a plane being grounded overnight, which was not fair to the other passengers waiting in Bordeaux. Their reaction was strongly condemned by the French authorities and an investigation is underway to establish the responsibility of all the parties involved and of some passengers in particular. I would like to stress that such events could never occur in the United States and the reason why the public authorities were alerted in this case is so that this type of event does not reoccur. Any group of passengers has the regulatory means to manifest its discontent but does not have the right to take a plane hostage.

What is the image that Jet4u should portray all over the world in five years from now?

The image that Jet4u should project in the next five years is to:

• Be one of the leading low-cost companies in Morocco
• Operate under the best practice in the industry
• Be very focused on the customer service and offer to our clients the best product in this part of the world.

What is your dream for Morocco, how would you like to see it develop in terms of tourism and business?

Morocco is developing on the right side and Jet4you is partly responsible for this development in the air transport industry. Personally, my dream is for Morocco to welcome more and more tourists who can enjoy excellent quality services and thus become future ambassadors for our country.