Hi there,
I'm on the early stages of planning a 2 1/2 week trip to Morocco. I"ll be flying from Toronto, Canada. Which is the main "hub" in Morocco for international flights? I've read most people fly to Casablanca. Is this the most affordable entry point? What about flying throug UK or Spain? Is it considerably cheaper? Any info would be appreciated. Cheers
I have checked various flights from Calgary to Marrakech and found that the best way to get to Marrakech was to fly with Air Transat to London (Gatwick), then taking an Easyjet flight later that day to Marrakech and back the same way.
The planes that Air Transat book are those owned by Thomas Cook who bring loads of skiers to the Rockies and other major tourist areas in Canada.
As an example, Air Transat who are the booking agents for the overseas flights, just offered a flight ... Calgary to London (Gatwick) ... return for just ...$560.00 .... CDN for a 6 night holiday.
YES. Let's read this again: $40.00 for the flight and $520.00 in taxes.
The airline just needs to pay the fuel and get the plane back home.
On average, you can save $1000.00 or more for two people flying on a Saturday or mid-week with the same type of return, rather than booking through major airlines such as Air Canada, Delta Air, KLM and the like.
I have tried numerous flight configurations over the last 8 yrs when traveling to Europe and Asia sometimes through the US or direct to Frankfurt, or Amsterdam,or Barcelona, or Paris and still find traveling through London to be the least expensive way to Europe as your gateway for less costly flights elsewhere.
I recently checked flying to Casablanca from Montreal and the fare was $2800.00 for 2 of us on Royal Air Maroc and that did not include the flight from Calgary to Montreal which I did not even bother pricing.
On another flight I checked to Casablanca the scenario was this:
Calgary to Toronto, Toronto to Amsterdam with an overnight stay in Amsterdam, then to Paris and on to Casablanca. The return flight was just as harried with an overnight stay in Paris and the fare was close to $3000.00 and did not include any hotel stays for the overnighters.
The best price I have found for our upcoming trip to Morocco costs $1648.00 CDN with Air Transat ... Calgary to London (Gatwick) return, flying out on a Wednesday and returning on a Saturday. Arriving at Gatwick at 6:30 am and then flying out to Marrakech later in the day with Easyjet for approx $500.00 CDN with a return to Gatwick.
Since you are in a hub city, you may find more direct flights to Europe or that flying through Chicago, New York, New Jersey or other major US airports to be more cost effective for you. Just don't let 'em "touch your junk"
when going through customs.
Hopefully this is helpful in planning your flights.
Edited: 12:59 am, January 20, 2012Hi,
If you're flying out of Toronto to Morocco, then yes, Casa is the cheapest initial entry point into the country. Trying to route thru London 1st doesn't save you any money as the taxes are murder from Canada.
Expect to have to get a connecting flight somewhere in mainland Europe (Spain, Amsterdam, Paris, Rome, etc.) before Casa.
I've done tonnes of research on the topic and the cheapest flights from T.O to Morocco have always been at www.flightnetwork.com. Check it out. Happy planning!
We took the non-stop Royal Air Maroc flight from Montreal to Casablanca. It probably wasn't the cheapest option but we wanted to avoid stopovers. It also made sense for us since our kids go to school in Montreal and would have had to make the trip to Toronto to start out with us. This way my husband and I headed to Montreal instead.
Royal Air Maroc is an okay airline, but service on board left a bit to be desired and we were quite surprised to find that, although there were screens scattered throughout the plane, no movies were presented.
Our flight home on Jan. 7th was delayed by 14 hours!!! with absolutely no explanation as to why. (The weather in Montreal was clear that day.) They put everyone up in icky hotels in downtown Casablanca and provided dinner at the hotel, but it would have been nice to have more feedback from airline personnel.
As a matter of curiousity, I have checked a flight from Toronto to Casablanca with the following arbitrary dates for 2 people using Flighnetwork, an engine I have also used over the years.
Air Canada Flight 832 Departs: Wed Jan 25 5:00pmToronto - Pearson International (YYZ) Arrives: Wed Jan 25 6:13pm Montreal - Pierre Elliott Trudeau (YUL)
Air Canada Flight 870 Departs: Wed Jan 25 7:50pm Montreal - Pierre Elliott Trudeau (YUL) Arrives: Thu Jan 26 8:45am Paris - Ch. De Gaulle (CDG)
Air France Flight 2496 Departs: Thu Jan 26 12:55pm Paris - Ch. De Gaulle (CDG) Arrives: Thu Jan 26 3:00pm Casablanca - Mohamed V (CMN)
Air France Flight 1697 Departs: Wed Feb 15 7:35am Casablanca - Mohamed V (CMN) Arrives: Wed Feb 15 11:40am Paris - Ch. De Gaulle (CDG)
Air Canada Flight 871 Departs: Wed Feb 15 1:25pm Paris - Ch. De Gaulle (CDG) Arrives: Wed Feb 15 2:50pm Montreal - Pierre Elliott Trudeau (YUL)
Air Canada Flight 419 Departs: Wed Feb 15 4:00pm Montreal - Pierre Elliott Trudeau (YUL) Arrives: Wed Feb 15 5:20pm Toronto - Pearson International (YYZ)
Ticket Price (CAD)
Adult Fare: 2x$749.00
Adult Tax: 2x$646.06
Total: $2790.12 CAD
This would be fairly representative of fares to Europe in general with connecting flights to other destination using major carriers.
The transfer times may be a little tight in getting through customs in some cases and there are 2 connecting flights to cope with. Other airlines show similar airport transfers with very tight connecting times or overnight stays in some cases.
The same flight dates flying Air Transat to London Gatwick then Easyjet to Marrakech would cost $1142.00 + $500.00 = $1642.00 CAD with lots of time to catch the one and only connecting flight.
I had always thought that living in Toronto or Montreal and traveling overseas would cost a lot less than starting out from Calgary, 4 hrs west of these cities, but find that I am reasonably fortunate with air fares from here.
Do let us know what you find out , you may just uncover a flight nugget that we could all benefit from.
Enjoy planning your trip!
Edited: 10:37 am, January 20, 2012Flying Toronto via Air Transat to London Gatwick then EasyJet to Marrakech is indeed the cheapest route. Air Transat isn't the most luxurious but neither is Air Maroc from the sounds of it. We leave Feb 14 returning Feb 24 and both flights all taxes in was less than $1600. Even with a 4 hour room in Yotel (south terminal Gatwick ) on the outbound and a night at Sofitel (north terminal Gatwick) inbound from Morocco, we are still spending significantly less than anything with Flight Network from Toronto.
I am about to book our flight with Air Transat then Easyjet to Marrakesch.
Having waited as I have in determining our travel dates, the fare total jumped to $2100.00 CAD from the earliest quotes of approx $1700.00 CAD when I first started tracking them in December for a February departure.
Having flown for several years abroad and throughout Canada, I have not found much difference in the comfort level of various planes I have flown on. Maybe I am not that discerning, as I normally fly economy, though I would be willing to fly baggage if they would give me the right fare. :-)
On our last trip to England, we did reserve one set of the 2 seaters near the back of the plane for an additional fare of $40.00 each way. They provide a little more room away from the aisle.
However, upon check in, the 2 seater reservations had not been recorded in the Air Transat system and the attendant, ever so apologetic, found us a row of 3's and gave us 2 seats on either end of the row with no one in the middle.
A most pleasant way of making up for their mistake.
We intend a 3 night stopover in London on the way back and the Sofitel looks like a good hotel to stay at on the night prior to our flight back home.
Thanks for the lead.
Do enjoy your trip.
spmm .... No doubt that a savings ranging from $400.00 to $800.00 is a substantial saving when trying to stretch one's travel dollar that also included no stopovers.
The amount of $1200.00 from Toronto was also confirmed when I spoke to an OP near Toronto by telephone who is a very frequent flyer to Morocco, though I have been unable to find such fares.
Perhaps "nomadaguy" would share their fare findings for the benefit of "we the overtaxed Canadian" traveller.
Great tips ! Thanks everyone. You made my research so much easier. Cheers
Nomadaguy,
Just checked Air Transat from Toronto to London as a matter of interest and found the following fare:
2 Roundtrip tickets Toronto - London 2 adult(s) $98.00 tax + fees $1,044.28
Total $1,142.28
Thu, February 02, 2012 Next-day arrival Fri, February 03, 2012 7:45 PM Depart from Toronto (YYZ) 7:50 AM Arrive in London (LGW) Travel time 7h05 min
Fri, February 17, 2012 9:35 AM Depart from London (LGW) 12:45 PM Arrive in Toronto (YYZ) Travel time 8h10 min
What caught my eye was this Super air fare from Calgary, February 1- 15 th.:
2 Roundtrip tickets Calgary - London 2 adult(s $50.00 tax + fee $846.28
Total $896.28
Just wish I had those travel dates.
Edited: 9:10 pm, January 25, 2012
