Live: Air Canada Aeroplan & Oman Air Partnership

One of my favorite things about Air Canada Aeroplan is the emphasis that the program has on adding partners. Aeroplan has more airline partners than any other airline frequent flyer program. We’ve seen several partners added in recent months, including Etihad, Azul, Vistara, Air Serbia, Virgin Australia, Air Dolomiti, Eurowings Discover, Gulf Air, and Air Mauritius.

A couple of weeks ago Aeroplan announced its newest airline partner, and it’s one that I’m thrilled about. The great news is that this partnership is live as of today, as Oman Air is now an Air Canada Aeroplan partner.

I absolutely adore Oman Air — it’s one of my favorite airline brands in the world — yet actually redeeming points on the airline can be difficult, given the lack of partners. Oman Air is hoping to join oneworld, but in the meantime this Aeroplan partnership is great news.

Keep in mind that with the new Aeroplan program having been launched in late 2020, members have access to award tickets with no carrier imposed surcharges, as well as stopovers for just 5,000 extra points one-way. Oman is an awesome country to visit, and a great place to plan a stopover.

Air Canada & Oman Air partnership details

A new loyalty program partnership has been launched between Air Canada and Oman Air, offering Aeroplan members points earning and redemption opportunities. I wanted to take a look at the opportunities this affords, and also talk about Oman Air, for those who aren’t familiar.

What is Oman Air?

Oman Air is a Muscat-based airline, and operates a fleet of nearly 50 aircraft, including 787s, A330s, and 737s. This is definitely more of a “boutique” airline, and doesn’t compete on the global scale that Emirates and Qatar Airways do, for example. Oman Air flies as far West as the UK, and as far East as the Philippines.

Oman Air has an incredible business class product — the airline has Apex Suites in business class, and even has first class on select Boeing 787-9s.

Redeem Aeroplan points on Oman Air

It’s now possible to redeem Air Canada Aeroplan points on all Oman Air flights. A few things to note:

• Oman Air awards follow Aeroplan’s standard partner award pricing chart
• Aeroplan members have access to first class, business class, and economy class awards on Oman Air
• Aeroplan members are able to book Oman Air flights online at aircanada.com, or via the call center
• Oman Air flights are combinable with flights operated by Air Canada and other international airline partners (so you could fly from Newark to London on United, and London to Muscat on Oman Air, for example)
• While there are no carrier imposed surcharges, the standard 39 CAD partner booking fee applies

For context, here’s the Aeroplan award chart for travel within the Atlantic region (which includes both Europe and the Middle East):

Here’s Aeroplan’s award chart for travel between the Atlantic region and Pacific region (if you were flying from Europe or the Middle East to Southeast Asia):

For example, you could fly one-way:

• From London to Muscat to Dubai for 45,000 Aeroplan points in business class or 65,000 Aeroplan points in first class
• From London to Muscat to Bangkok for 80,000 Aeroplan points in business class or 100,000 Aeroplan points in first class

In both cases you could redeem an extra 5,000 points to have a stopover of over 24 hours in Muscat. This is so much better than any other easily accessible Oman Air redemption option out there. Best of all, I’m delighted to see that Aeroplan members have access to Oman Air first class award seats. While you can also redeem Etihad Guest miles on Oman Air, first class awards are blocked with that partnership.

At first glance it appears that Oman Air releases one first class award seat per flight. The airline doesn’t release two at a time, so I’ll do some research as to whether a second seat may show up after you book the first one.

Air Canada Aeroplan is transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Capital One, so if you have transferrable points this is a great program to book through. On top of that, there’s the new Aeroplan® Credit Card, which is lucrative and recently launched in the United States.

Earn Aeroplan points on Oman Air

It’s also now possible to earn Aeroplan points for all scheduled flights on Oman Air. However, you don’t earn any Status Qualifying Miles (SQMs) for Oman Air flights. Here is the Aeroplan points earning chart for Oman Air:

Bottom line

Air Canada Aeroplan has added Oman Air as its newest airline partner. This is a partnership I’m extremely excited about, as Oman Air offers a phenomenal first & business class product, and Oman is also a gorgeous country. The airline didn’t previously have many partner redemption opportunities, so this is really exciting, especially since Aeroplan has access to Oman Air first class awards.

If you have transferable points, the best way to book Oman Air flights is now through Air Canada Aeroplan. I’m delighted by how Aeroplan keeps adding new airline partners, which is something that other programs simply don’t seem to be pursuing in the same way. I can’t wait to redeem with this new opportunity, as it’ll be a great chance to visit Hyatt’s two Alila properties in the country.

Until you get to take your next Oman Air flight, please enjoy Oman Air’s great boarding music with me…

Anyone else excited about the new Air Canada Aeroplan & Oman Air partnership?