My connection time in Frankfurt was a bit over two hours, as I was landing shortly before 6PM, and my flight was scheduled to depart shortly after 8PM. After arriving from Madrid I took the train to Terminal 2D, where Oman Air departs from. I find it funny that the Frankfurt Airport train system says…
Continue reading: Review: Oman Air Business Class 787 Frankfurt To Muscat
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In most cases I would have accepted a request to switch seats so as not to be seated next to a woman on a conservative Middle Eastern carrier -- if someone asks you when you fly Saudia, it's in your better interests not to say no. Though in this case, with the barrier between you, the request was definitely somewhat less reasonable, and may have been that her husband was trying to steal your superior seat.
Thank You Ben, for writing this report. You may be aware that there is yet another global Business Class sale going on now until March 7th. I just booked myself DEL-MCT-MXP/CAI-MCT-DEL for USD 800 all in! DEL-MCT-DEL on B738 but MCT-MXP on new A330, and CAI-MCT on B739. Your report has really convinced me to get this ticket! Looking forward to reading further experiences with WY.
Awesome, informative review! Seriously, mate, no one out there does it better than you. I felt like I was right there with you when I was reading this.
"Breakfast consisted of a plate with all kinds of cabs." That would seem a heavy breakfast indeed.
@Bgriff In general, I feel like it's on the person requesting a seat change to only make the request if the seats are equally good (or if the new seat would be better). But if someone asks me to move from my window seat to the middle seat across the aisle, so that they can sit with their family, there's just no way I'm going to do that. I try to be as reasonable as possible, but people should be embarrassed to ask someone that and put someone in the awkward position of saying no. I think the same goes in this situation; ultimately, it's the requester's personal hangups that are causing the problem, not Ben. It's akin to the situation that was covered on this blog a few days ago, about ultra Orthodox men refusing to sit next to women. It's on these men to find a solution to their problem, or move to worse seats; they should never place the burden of the consequences of their beliefs on innocent bystanders.
Great review Ben, could really picture the flight as if i had been there myself.
Looking forward to MCT-BKK!
@Hiro,
How'd you get such a good deal? searched all sites but they show me a minimum of USD 2,000
Can't really find that route for $800.
@Chandan Bhat, here it is: http://www.omanair.com/en/best-fares-deals/special-deals/premium-blitz?utm_source=logicserve&utm_medium=sem&utm_campaign=businessclass
London is excluded.
I was wondering if you could speak more to the request to move seats and his reaction?
I am a female who travels solo and so usually women who are veiled don't mind sitting next to me but I once had a man who I assume was a woman's husband demand I switch because I "obviously wouldn't mind sitting next to an unrelated man." The way he said it bothered me but what was worse was the fact that I had an aisle seat and he was asking me to switch for a middle on a transatlantic flight. I declined and he got a flight attendant involved. I had paid for seat selection and she was on my side and he was not happy. I am just always curious about these scenarios.
If you want another Middle East airline that has all local flight attendants try El-Al. All their staff is Israeli and offers a real local flair. Plus, while I understand that El-Al isn't up there on the list of airlines you're dying to review, it would prove interesting.
I really enjoyed the report and it looks like a great product. However, I've never flown with any Gulf airline (nor I visited any of the Gulf countries), and I don't think I will want to for ethical reasons. As much as I would love to try the products, I wouldn't like to support airlines that adopt questionable and unethical working practices. Similarly, why would I want to indirectly support a country where most human rights are violated? I'm not judging you in any way, just expressing my opinion.
Wonderful read, Ben. Getting me very excited about my upcoming visit to Oman - albeit EK over and QR back. Maybe WY one day!
@saver, not all Gulf countries can be categorized into one when it comes to human rights particularly towards treatment of working-class foreign expats. Oman is one exception where as Lucky has mentioned, the locals themselves are part of working class population and Omanis are mostly very polite and respectful to anyone. It has its own unique history that differentiates from rest of the Gulf.
"The center seats and aisle seats were identical, and were quite private, but not all that spacious."
"The aisle seats themselves were fine, though lacked privacy."
So which is it? 🙂
At least the aisle seats aren't both narrow AND nakedly exposed, ala BA Club.
@Bgriff has an interesting and valid observation. I use to fly Saudia quite often and had many requests to change my seat to accommodate the needs of a conservative Muslim woman. @Bgriff is right: sometimes it was most definitely in my best interest to agree to the request, even if it meant switching to an inferior seat. Over the years I developed a keen sense of when I could say 'no' and when I should acquiesce. Of course, this is just apart of doing business in the Gulf.
My employer now has us flying Qatar from IAD to the KSA. I must say I actually miss Saudia. The food and service were consistently better on SV; though, I am certainly grateful that I can get a bloody mary on QR. The menu on Ben's Oman Air flight looked wonderful.
"A veiled lady was seated next to me in the aisle seat, and one of the men traveling with her basically demanded that I change seats because she wanted privacy. I (politely) refused. I paid for my ticket and intentionally selected my seat (and for that matter was specifically trying to review the product), so wasn’t about to switch to an inferior seat."
I would have also said no to moving from my seat, it was not your problem and he should not have brought it up, he should have sat in his wife's seat and moved her to his if he had such a problem with it.
I hate it when people make you out to be the bad person in life because you said no, I mean you are within your right to stay put.
There is a broken link in the couple of reviews that has an index link to Hilton Madrid Airport (wrong date in the link). Happy flying...
@saver
Oman is one of the most progressive countries in the middle east, and women make a significant part of the workforce. Don't assume, go there, see for yourself, do research. It is a great country with wonderful people, and very different from many of its neighbours.
I flew Oman air in Y, it was an OK experience. But visiting Oman remains one of the most interesting trips I have ever taken.
There is no such thing as the "tarmac". It is called the apron (or ramp in the US and some other countries). As an self proclaimed AV geek, you should know this.
Unless my eyes deceive me, that's zuchinni and red pepper - so pumpkin is the Omani translation of zucchini? I guess they think it's the generic word for squash.
I've flown Oman Air several times recently. Have to say I agree with you regarding the seat, it's fantastic. Surprised the crew were forgettable though. I've experienced three very distinct types of service (all highly memorable):
Most flights the service was similar to flying Singapore Airlines first class, simply fantastic.
On a couple of flights with predominantly Arab crew the service was far more relaxed, I was treated like an old friend.
And unfortunately I also experienced a couple of totally shambolic crews, who couldn't do anything right and who all seemed to be working completely independently of each other.
Another excellent report Ben. Never thought of flying WY but now....it might be a great Business experience.
As for the boarding music, Etihad's still my favorite 🙂 Looking forward for the following WY reports.
@ Bgrigg; @ Imperator,
Would you mind elaborating on what the possible consequences could be if one were to refuse to change seats in those situations where you say it's in your best interests to acquiesce?
Any further info much appreciated.
@Bgriff - why is it sometimes in your best interest to acquiesce when you are asked on Saudia to move to another seat?
@Hiro @Dave I don't consider Wikipedia the ultimate source of truth, and I admit I'm not an expert in the subject, but the article on human rights in Oman doesn't exactly paint an idyllic picture.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Oman
@saver, yes the country is run on absolute monarchy system whereby freedom of speech may be limited compared to countries in North America or Europe. On the other hand, the sultan (or king) makes sure everyone to live decent lives and has greatly improved standard of living in his country in past 45 years ever since he took power. Majority of people respect the sultan, not just the locals but the foreign labors who come and work there - which is a pretty rare scene compared to neighboring countries. Just because "freedom of speech" is limited doesn't equate to oppression. You'll understand better when you visit Oman and see it for yourself.
I love oman, have visited ten times.
The omani's are very friendly. I always fly oman air from bangkok business and first and love it, service is exceptionally good.
Echoing some of the previous comments on here, I would really like to know why it is in your interest to let Saudi passengers tell you that you must swap seats at their request. Will they damage your business interests in Saudi Arabia or just make the flight unpleasant?
@Hiro: I am pretty sure that lack of freedom of speech not only equates to, but is the very definition of oppresion...
To the rest, I have the feeling that what Bgriff means by his post is that almost everyone is part of or connected to the royal families of the gulf countries, upsetting someone with potentially good connections that can make your life a lot harder, especially when you are flying to said country and not from (in which case, don't switch) and given that they were both flying in a premium cabin, the chances of running into someone like that are far greater.
Someone has commented here under a recent story how they got in trouble (I think in Saudi or Qatar, but could be wrong) because they got caught looking at someone who has a member of the royal family (who isn't part of their royal family nowadays, right) in the bus to the terminal. I guess it is one of those, better be safe situations...
Just boarded BKK-MCT on the 787. Not the same J config as what you have in your review this is a 2-2-2 non staggered, well at least not the way it is in your pictures in that the middle 2 are slightly misaligned from the outer two on each side. 3 rows in main business cabin plus 2 more behind it for a total of 30 seats. These seats are nice enough but are just regular 787 J seats same as on Ethiopian.
Nice review Ben as always. I must get on this business class flight from KUL to Milan or Cairo..
Omanis practice their own version of Islam (neither Shia nor Sunni) which is very tolerant of non-Muslims and has tolerance as one of its main tenets. Oman is also a country not nearly as dependent on oil and gas as other Arabic countries are and has always valued their agriculture. It is also a country in rebirth, but it has actively worked to keep the local culture and architecture, so it isn't a sky scraper modern place. Omanis are also very multi-ethnic and have been for hundreds of years. Their Sultunate used to be much bigger and was a key trading outpost in the region when the UAE, Qatar and Saudi were nothing but tribes.
Dear Mr. Paul CEO Oman Air,
Subject: Complaint No. KHIWY12698
very much disappointed by travelling first time in your airline, a world pathetic service provider. if your team not able to manage responsibility & not be accountable please ask them to give their resignation from the services. how does performance evaluation is taken place in Oman air and on what grounds when customers are extremely dissatisfied.
It has been 5 days gone I have missed my baggage. But shameful thing is that it is not missed mistakenly but purposely by your people, they kept my baggage at muscat due to unavailability of space in your air carrier. can you please tell me that did I pay a single dirham less amount? then why should I compromise for your poorness in your infra structure.
Secondly, your staff is quite irresponsible, as the concern airhostess had taken my hand carry in airplane due to lack of space and she did not put tag on it that's why my hand carry bag was untraceable for 4 days. what is the level of training you provide to your staff before sending on airplane or on duty.
Thirdly, I am tracking my luggage for past 5 days, your representative in Pakistan giving me fake status without checking it in a system that it is not traced yet. Evidence of their lying is that yesterday (31-08-2017) I personally visited your regional office at Karachi airport and made my baggage traced by own while sitting in your office, that's how my baggage atleast tracked then they gave me assurance that it will be brought back to Pakistan by today (01-09-2017), when I called today, without checking it again Mr. Asif said it is not traced yet, height of irresponsibility.
is their anyone responsible and sincere to his/her job in your organization?
what sort of training giving to your staff with regards to performing their duty, with regards to honesty, with regards to customer satisfaction.
who is responsible, true, honest, accountable and professional in your organization that tell me exactly when will my intentionally (from your side) missed baggage return ASAP.
if you do not have time please give me return ticket for oman so I will go bring my baggage back.
I hope from management atleast someone is little professional who can respond back to my complaints honestly & timely. I further would expect someone atleast take incharge and take action for non responsible people in this organization.
WHEN WILL I GET MY BAGGAGE?
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