Review: Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat Airport (MCT)

Review: Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat Airport (MCT)

NAME: Oman Air Business Lounge
Airport: MCT
DATE: January 2024
REVIEW RATING:
BEN SAYS: The Oman Air Business Lounge has comfortable seating, a good selection of food and drinks, nice napping and relaxation facilities, and friendly service. This is a nice lounge for passing some time.
6

During my downgraded adventure to Oman, I had a roughly seven hour layover at Muscat Airport. I was arriving from Milan in Oman Air’s 787 business class, and flying to Frankfurt in Oman Air’s A330 business class.

I spent my layover in both the Oman Air Business Lounge and Oman Air First Lounge, and in this installment I’ll be reviewing the former. The Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat is excellent — it has a unique design, plenty of amenities, an extensive selection of food, and it feels a bit more boutique than the lounges of some other Gulf carriers (for better or worse). Let’s get into the review.

Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat location

Since I was arriving on a flight, I first had to clear transit security to get to the lounge. To be honest, that wasn’t a terribly seamless experience. There was a fast track area to scan your boarding pass to get into the transit security line, but then you just had to get into the standard line. The line moved slowly, with a lot of passengers not being very respectful of others.

Once you’re in the departures area, the Oman Air Business Lounge is located in the central area of the terminal, right by all the duty free shopping. You’ll need to go up a level to the fifth floor, as the departures level of the terminal is on the fourth floor. Then you’ll see a circular walkway where you can access the Aerotel, the Primeclass Lounge, and the Oman Air Lounge.

Upper level of Muscat Airport
Oman Air Lounge Muscat exterior

The lounge sure has a snazzy exterior!

Oman Air Lounge Muscat exterior

Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat hours

The Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat is open 24/7, reflecting that Gulf airports have flights all hours of the day and night.

Oman Air’s network is heavily banked, so you can expect the lounge to be busiest in the middle of the night and early morning, when there are lots of departures. Meanwhile the lounge tends to be quite empty in the late mornings, and in the afternoons and evenings.

Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat entry requirements

The Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat is open to Oman Air business class passengers, as well as Sindbad Gold and Silver members traveling on international flights.

Keep in mind that Oman Air is expected to join the oneworld alliance soon, and at that point the lounge would follow standard oneworld lounge access policies. This would mean that all oneworld first and business class passengers, as well as oneworld Emerald and Sapphire members, would have access to the lounge.

Note that this lounge isn’t open to Priority Pass members. However, the adjacent Primeclass Lounge is open to those passengers, and it’s one of my favorite Priority Pass lounges in the world.

Oman Air Lounge Muscat entrance

Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat layout & seating

Many airport lounges primarily consist of one, big rectangular room, though the Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat is exactly the opposite. The lounge is winding, and has all kinds of distinct areas. I can’t think of another lounge that’s partitioned into so many little seating zones quite like this one.

One of the larger areas of the lounge stretches along the windows. This is where you’ll find rows of seats arranged in rows facing one another, some high-top seating, as well as the bar.

Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat seating
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat seating
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat bar
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat seating
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat seating
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat seating
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat seating

At the end of this section of the lounge, you’ll find some workstations with iMacs.

Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat seating

Off of this long part of the lounge are the two main dining areas, which are both circular rooms. It’s nice how the lounge has two separate dining areas, since it distributes passengers a bit, especially since a lot of people are looking to eat during a layover.

The first dining area is perhaps a bit larger…

Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat dining area
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat dining area
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat dining area

…though the second dining area is large as well, and even has an open kitchen.

Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat dining area
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat dining area
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat open kitchen

Earlier I mentioned how the lounge really winds, and I think the below pictures explain that better than I can do in words.

Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat seating
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat seating
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat seating
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat seating
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat seating
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat seating

The Oman Air Business Lounge also has solid rest facilities. There’s a room in the back that has a relaxation area, with seven angled daybeds that have curtains around them.

Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat relaxation area
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat relaxation area
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat relaxation area

There are also four private nap rooms. These aren’t proper bedrooms, but they are at least fully flat daybeds that have doors, so they’re good for getting some rest.

Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat nap rooms
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat nap rooms

The lounge also has a play area for kids, as well as a family room, though the family room is basically just a standard seating area separated from the rest of the lounge.

Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat play area
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat play area
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat family room

Lastly, the Oman Air Lounge has a Shangri-La Spa, which is located one level up from a lounge, and can be accessed via stairs or an elevator. However, the spa was closed for “maintenance” during my visit, and apparently that lasted some number of weeks. The treatments aren’t complimentary for business class passengers, and you can find the menu here.

Oman Air Lounge Muscat Shangri-La Spa

Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat food & drinks

The Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat has both a bar, as well as two separate dining areas.

The bar area is elegant, and is the only place in the lounge where alcohol is available, so you can come here to order a glass of wine, a beer, a cocktail, or a barista coffee.

Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat bar

Below you can find the cocktail list that’s available at the bar.

Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat cocktail list

The two dining areas had similar food available, so I checked that out over breakfast hours. Note that during peak periods there may be some more fresh options available.

Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat buffet
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat food selection

The buffet has a fancy DIY Nespresso machine, which is definitely above average for machine espresso drinks, though I’d still recommend getting a barista coffee at the bar.

Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat coffee station

There was also a selection of Twinnings tea, as well as Omani coffee and dates.

Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat tea selection
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat Omani coffee & dates

The cold breakfast selection included yogurt, laban, cold cuts, cheese, all kinds of pastries, muffins, and bread, cereal, and both sliced and whole fruit.

Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat food selection
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat food selection
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat food selection
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat food selection
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat food selection

There were also half a dozen hot options, including french toast, egg bites, mushrooms, rice, and more.

Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat food selection
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat food selection
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat food selection
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat food selection
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat food selection
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat food selection

Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat bathrooms & showers

The Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat has a couple of sets of bathrooms, which are constantly cleaned (which is kind of needed, given the bidet toilet situation here, and some people not having good aim). The bathrooms feel quite luxurious for airport lounge bathrooms, and even have proper hand towels.

Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat bathroom
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat bathroom
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat bathroom

One of the lounge’s bathrooms also has four shower rooms inside of it. While the shower rooms have nice finishes, they’re pretty basic, and there are no private toilets in the shower rooms.

Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat shower room

Bottom line

The Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat is an impressive flagship lounge for a boutique airline. The lounge has lots of different seating options, a pretty good selection of food and drinks, nice relaxation and nap areas, and friendly service. It’s an enjoyable place for a layover.

Admittedly the region is home to some of the world’s best business class lounges, including the Emirates Business Lounge Dubai, Etihad Business Lounge Abu Dhabi, and Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge Doha.

What do you make of the Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat?

Conversations (6)
The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.
Type your response here.

If you'd like to participate in the discussion, please adhere to our commenting guidelines. Anyone can comment, and your email address will not be published. Register to save your unique username and earn special OMAAT reputation perks!

  1. Muhammad Khurram Alam Guest

    Many many thanks for the newsletter Oman Air it is good to know the airline industry is improving with the passage of time from Pilot to cabin crew fresh cuisine an excellent passenger plane interior etc. provides comfort to the clients a strong bond between countries through great connection from people to people contact because every individual plays a significant role while traveling from one destination to another destination because they are the Ambassador of...

    Many many thanks for the newsletter Oman Air it is good to know the airline industry is improving with the passage of time from Pilot to cabin crew fresh cuisine an excellent passenger plane interior etc. provides comfort to the clients a strong bond between countries through great connection from people to people contact because every individual plays a significant role while traveling from one destination to another destination because they are the Ambassador of their country which create a bridge between countries and relations become stronger. A positive step can lead us towards the journey of success. I am hopeful the Oman Air will flourish and get the best results by providing services with the help of advancement aircraft (passenger plane) training and development get the feedback also.
    Best Regards
    Khurram

    1. upstarter Guest

      LOLZ did you read his other Oman Air review?

  2. Creditcrunch Diamond

    I’ve briefly visited this lounge last year, I found the lounge generally meh and the breakfast offering not much better, I certainly wouldn’t give it anymore than 4*

  3. GroeneMichel Gold

    Very run-of-the-mill and bland, not a super exciting location.

    1. Julia Guest

      Run-of-the-mill and bland compared to...?

  4. jacobin777 Guest

    Too bad Oman Air doesn't fly to the USofA. I would certainly like to give them a try, especially once they join OneWorld.

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

upstarter Guest

LOLZ did you read his other Oman Air review?

0
Julia Guest

Run-of-the-mill and bland compared to...?

0
Muhammad Khurram Alam Guest

Many many thanks for the newsletter Oman Air it is good to know the airline industry is improving with the passage of time from Pilot to cabin crew fresh cuisine an excellent passenger plane interior etc. provides comfort to the clients a strong bond between countries through great connection from people to people contact because every individual plays a significant role while traveling from one destination to another destination because they are the Ambassador of their country which create a bridge between countries and relations become stronger. A positive step can lead us towards the journey of success. I am hopeful the Oman Air will flourish and get the best results by providing services with the help of advancement aircraft (passenger plane) training and development get the feedback also. Best Regards Khurram

0
Meet Ben Schlappig, OMAAT Founder
5,163,247 Miles Traveled

32,614,600 Words Written

35,045 Posts Published

Keep Exploring OMAAT