- Introduction: A Downgraded Adventure To Oman
- Review: Turkish Airlines Lounge Miami Airport (MIA)
- Review: Air Canada Business Class Airbus A220 (MIA-YUL)
- Review: Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Montreal Airport (YUL)
- Review: Air France Lounge Montreal Airport (YUL)
- Review: SWISS Business Class Airbus A330 (YUL-ZRH)
- Review: SWISS Arrivals Lounge Zurich Airport (ZRH)
- Review: SWISS Business Lounge Zurich Airport (ZRH)
- Review: SWISS Helvetic Business Class Embraer E190-E2 (ZRH-MXP)
- Review: Oman Air Business Class Boeing 787 (MXP-MCT)
- Review: Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat Airport (MCT)
- Review: Oman Air First Lounge Muscat Airport (MCT)
- Review: Oman Air Business Class Airbus A330 (MCT-FRA)
- Review: Hilton Garden Inn Frankfurt Airport (FRA)
- Review: Singapore Airlines Business Class Boeing 777 (FRA-JFK)
To kick off the return portion of my downgraded adventure to Oman, I flew Oman Air’s Airbus A330-200 business class on the 7hr30min flight from Muscat to Frankfurt.
This is where the trip really takes a turn for the worse. For one, my flight had an aircraft swap, so I was downgraded from first class to business class. That was frustrating, since that was one of my primary motives for taking the flight, but oh well, stuff happens.
On the plus side, I was still flying Oman Air’s excellent business class, right? While my Oman Air Boeing 787-9 business class flight to Muscat was exceptional, unfortunately this flight was a completely different story. Oman Air’s A330s are tired, the Wi-Fi was broken, and the soft product was also much worse, with lacking amenities and bad service.
On a good day, Oman Air has one of the world’s best business class products. On a bad day, the airline leaves a lot to be desired. Let’s get into the review…
In this post:
How I booked my Oman Air business class ticket
I booked my Oman Air business class ticket using Air Canada Aeroplan points. Specifically, I booked the following award in business class for 45,000 Air Canada Aeroplan points plus $62.57 in taxes and fees:
1/13 WY115 Muscat to Frankfurt departing 2:20PM arriving 6:50PM
I suppose to be more accurate, I should say that I booked that flight in first class for 65,000 points, but I was downgraded due to the aircraft swap, so got 20,000 points refunded.
Aeroplan points are easy to come by, as the program is transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One, and Chase Ultimate Rewards. On top of that, there’s the Aeroplan® Credit Card (review) in the United States, which is quite rewarding.
Oman Air business class lounge & boarding
In previous installments, I reviewed the Oman Air First Lounge and Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat, which are solid hub lounges. Muscat Airport is a fantastic hub, but then again, so are most hubs in the region nowadays — Abu Dhabi Airport, Bahrain Airport, and Doha Airport, are pretty awesome as well.
My flight was departing from gate A11, with boarding scheduled to start at 1:20PM. In reality, that’s just the time when the gate opened. Gates are one level below the concourse, and your boarding pass is scanned as you enter the gate area.
Actual boarding ended up starting at 1:45PM, with business class passengers being invited to board first.
Oman Air A330 business class cabin & seats
The version of Oman Air’s Airbus A330-200 that I was flying features a total of 30 business class seats, spread across five rows, in a 2-2-2 configuration. The forward cabin has three rows, while there’s also a rear cabin with two rows.
Oman Air has Apex Suites on these A330s, which I rank as one of the best business class seats in the world, and arguably the best business class seat that you’ll find on any A330. This is essentially the same product you’ll find on Oman Air’s 787s, except the seats are a bit narrower, and the cabin also feels a bit more tired.
I assigned myself seat 12K, the window seat on the right side in the third (last) row of the forward cabin.
The non-window seats in this configuration are decent, with one nice thing being that there’s no small footwell you have to squeeze your feet into.
However, it’s the window seats that are most exciting. They feature direct aisle access, as each window seat has a small walkway through which you enter the seat.
Then you have a seat that features an unparalleled level of privacy, plus a huge ottoman.
As far as seat features go, all the seat controls were on the armrest to the right of the seat, and they were easy to use.
Meanwhile on the left armrest was the entertainment controller, plus the buttons to control the privacy partition between seats (which can even be up during taxi, takeoff, and landing).
Underneath the entertainment controller was the USB-A and AC power outlet. The AC power outlet can be quite difficult to access, given how far down it is.
The tray table also folds out from the center armrest, and is quite large.
Then there’s a storage compartment underneath the seat and to the side, which can store a decent number of items.
The only other storage option is that you can place items underneath the ottoman — it would be quite easy to store a personal item under there during the flight, for easy access.
Unfortunately Oman Air A330s don’t have individual air nozzles, as the overhead console just has reading lights.
The hard product was definitely the highlight of this flight, as A330 business class hard products don’t get much better than this.
Oman Air business class amenities
There were some highs and lows when it came to the amenities on this flight. On the plus side, this flight had the full Oman Air bedding setup, including a pillow, blanket, and mattress pad. Oman Air’s bedding is excellent, and makes it super easy to get comfortable.
There were also a pair of headphones, which were light but reasonably comfortable.
Once settled in, the crew came through the cabin to offer pre-departure drinks, with the choice of a lemon mint juice or orange juice, plus a warm or cold towel. I had the lemon mint juice plus a warm towel.
Next up, Arabic coffee and dates were distributed.
Lastly, menus were passed out.
What I found strange is that there were no amenity kits or pajamas. On my overnight Oman Air flight (which was two hours shorter) I was offered both amenity kits and pajamas, while neither were offered on this flight.
It’s my understanding that Oman Air offers these on demand in business class on longer daytime flights, but the flight attendant taking care of me claimed that’s not the case (which I’d usually take at face value, but service on this flight wasn’t good, and the crew’s sole focus seemed to be to provide as little service as possible, which is why I’m skeptical).
I can totally appreciate not offering pajamas, but not even an amenity kit on a nearly eight hour daytime flight? That seems a bit cheap. So as you can see, the amenity situation on this flight was a mixed bag.
Oman Air A330 business class entertainment & Wi-Fi
I have mixed feelings about Oman Air’s A330 entertainment system. On the one hand, the selection is decent. On the other hand, the system is a pain to use. The entertainment monitor isn’t touchscreen, but rather you have to use the little controller to make all your selections.
Sadly there’s not even a way to use the controller to view the selection on the main screen, but rather you have to view all the entertainment options on the little controller, and it sure isn’t easy to use. I find this to be such an annoying setup, as this is so much worse than on the 787.
So for the most part I just used the entertainment system to watch the map feature, which I always enjoy.
Here’s my other point of frustration. Oman Air’s A330s have Wi-Fi. I’ve used it many times before on previous Oman Air A330 flights. However, it wasn’t working on this flight.
When I approached the flight attendant about this (since often the crew can fix this issue by resetting the system), she claimed that A330s on Oman Air don’t have Wi-Fi. I asked her to double check, and she insisted that was correct. I don’t understand how a senior cabin crew member can be so unknowledgeable about basic features?
Oman Air A330 departure from Muscat
The boarding process was efficient, and was complete by 2:10PM. Throughout the boarding process I enjoyed listening to Oman Air’s boarding music, among my favorite on any airline.
At 2:15PM, the main cabin door closed. Business class was just over half full, with 17 of the 30 seats taken. The seat next to me as well as the two seats across from me were empty, so that was pretty nice.
Once the door closed, the Omani cabin manager made his welcome aboard announcement. He shared all the languages spoken by the crew, including Arabic, English, French, Spanish, Hindi, Malay, Swahili, and Tagalog. Interestingly (but perhaps not surprisingly), there was no German speaker.
At 2:20PM we began our pushback, right next to an Oman Air Boeing 787-9 bound for London Heathrow. At that point the safety video was screened.
We started our taxi at 2:25PM…
…and by 2:30M we were cleared for takeoff on runway 8L.
I’ve gotta say, this has to be one of the fastest departures I’ve ever had. From starting push back to taking off in about 10 minutes is lightning fast. The views on the climb out were great, and the seatbelt sign was turned off about five minutes after takeoff.
I loved the view of the coast on our departure, and in particular loved how around 35 minutes after departure, we had epic views of Dubai and the Palm Jumeirah.
Oman Air business class lunch service
Oman Air has a dine on demand concept in business class, but not in the traditional way. That’s to say that it’s not a menu with a bunch of options you can order any time, but rather you can order your typical meal at any point during the flight. You can find the menu and drink list for this flight below.
I’ll talk more about service in a bit, but first let’s focus on what was actually offered. I kicked off the meal with a glass of champagne, served with some room temperature mixed nuts. Oman Air pours Piper-Heidsieck Cuvee Brut in business class, which is quite good.
Next up, my table was set for the lunch service. I appreciate how Oman Air doesn’t have trays, but rather offers a restaurant-style experience.
As an appetizer, I ordered the Arabic mezze, comprised of hummus, tabbouleh, pickled vegetables, saffron labneh, crisp leaves, bell peppers, lamb kibbeh, cheese samboosa, and chicken fatayer. To drink, I switched from champagne to sauvignon blanc.
For the main course, I selected the Omani fish with grilled prawns, zaatar chicken kebab, spiced tomato sauce, herb crushed potatoes, roasted bell peppers, eggplant, and onion. The dish was delicious — Oman Air has great food, no doubt.
Lastly, to finish off the meal I had the tropical cheesecake with vanilla crumble and custard sauce.
This was an excellent meal, so I found the food to be good, as always on Oman Air.
Oman Air A330 business class lavatories
Oman Air has three business class lavatories on the A330 — there’s one at the very front of the cabin, and then two by the second set of doors. That’s a good ratio of lavatories to seats.
The lavatories were pretty standard, except they did have a bidet feature.
Furthermore, they also had some extra amenities, like a dental kit, plus some Amouage hand cream and fragrances.
The one thing I noticed is that the lavatories were in really bad shape. Not in terms of cleanliness (necessarily), but they were basically falling apart. These Oman Air A330s need some TLC, in my opinion.
Oman Air A330 business class bed
After the lunch service, I decided to get some rest. I made my own bed, and then got cozy. Thanks to the empty seats near me, I could also grab an extra pillow and blanket, to get extra comfortable.
I ended up going to sleep with just over 5hr30min remaining to Frankfurt…
…and woke up with just over 2hr30min remaining to Frankfurt. I was so happy to get some rest, as it had been a long couple of days.
When I woke up, the cabin was fully dark, and it stayed that way until our landing.
Oman Air business class pre-landing service
When I woke up, I ordered a cappuccino from the crew, which was served on a tray with a cookie.
Oddly, there was no pre-landing service whatsoever. This is a nearly eight hour daytime flight, so you’d think that something would also be served before landing. When I asked the crew about this, they told me that there’s a fruit plate available on demand, but that was also never offered, so…
Oman Air business class service
In a previous post, I wrote about the awful service in business class on this flight. I don’t want to beat a dead horse, so I’m not going to cover it in detail again. I’ll simply state that the difference in service between this flight and my last Oman Air flight was night and day. It was clear the flight attendant serving my aisle didn’t want to be there, and as a customer, you certainly feel that.
This came in terms of basic things, like not following the correct protocols, and it also came in terms of zero proactive service. Like, when you bring someone dessert and see that they have two empty glasses, wouldn’t you ask them if they’d like something else to drink? There was simply none of that on this flight.
I ended up sharing some feedback with the cabin manager about the bad service, and that got super awkward. I find Oman Air has rather inconsistent service, and this flight is the perfect example of that. The main reason I’m giving this flight such a low score is because of the service.
Oman Air A330 arrival in Frankfurt
Around 6:35PM, we began our approach for Frankfurt. As soon as we began our descent, the crew prepared the cabin for landing, as is standard on Oman Air.
We ended up having a powder smooth touchdown in Frankfurt at 7:10PM. From there we had quite a long taxi to our arrival gate, where we pulled in at 7:20PM.
From there I headed through immigration and to the Hilton Garden Inn Frankfurt Airport, where I’d be spending the night.
Bottom line
While my Oman Air 787 business class flight to Muscat delighted me, my Oman Air A330 business class flight to Frankfurt was a huge disappointment. On the plus side, the seats were comfortable, the bedding was great, and the food was tasty.
However, the flight also had major issues. The biggest problem was the service, which just made me feel very unwelcome. Beyond that, the cabin felt quite worn, there were no amenity kits or a second snack on a nearly eight hour flight, the Wi-Fi was broken, and I found the entertainment difficult to use.
So yeah, it’s hard to know what to make of Oman Air. On a good day, Oman Air is exceptional. On a bad day, Oman Air is quite disappointing.
What’s your take on Oman Air A330 business class?
Seems like the service I got on my flight from mxp - muscat sector. Worst business class service I could have dreamt of. My attendant completely forgot about me. Took my order and didn't get my meal for 2 hours while everyone else in the cabin was served. On remind in between the meal service, she said she is getting my meal but it never came. 3 hours after take off when the entire cabin...
Seems like the service I got on my flight from mxp - muscat sector. Worst business class service I could have dreamt of. My attendant completely forgot about me. Took my order and didn't get my meal for 2 hours while everyone else in the cabin was served. On remind in between the meal service, she said she is getting my meal but it never came. 3 hours after take off when the entire cabin was sleeping I reminded her again, and she got my meal and served with nothing else. Just the meal. No drink was asked, no sides, nothing just the meal. Then no desert was offered. It was the worst service I have ever seen. Not even seen something like this on an LCC. Worst 60k odd miles spend of my life
So the food was excellent and the seat one of the best and comfortable. Looked perfectly ok to me and Oman Air is usually a lot cheaper for business class flights. I think the author was predisposed to not liking the flight rather than weighing up everything.
It is so easy to say 'if you don't like your job leave and get another one'. I will go back to my original point - I think those that enjoy the work they do are not in the majority, in any industry. Sure, there will be good aspects of the job but also negative ones and they will have those 'I would rather not be here' days just like an office clerk, bus driver...
It is so easy to say 'if you don't like your job leave and get another one'. I will go back to my original point - I think those that enjoy the work they do are not in the majority, in any industry. Sure, there will be good aspects of the job but also negative ones and they will have those 'I would rather not be here' days just like an office clerk, bus driver or whatever.
I think what also needs to be considered is the cultural aspect here. I am not just talking about the western vs asian/middle eastern etc societal cultural differences but also company culture.
I have noted particularly with US carriers the mantra is 'I AM HERE FOR YOUR SAFETY!!' which while technically is true, 90% of a cabin crew's role is service.
Saying that, when FA's are good on US carriers they are GOOD. I have probably encountered my best business class flight attendants ever on the likes of AA and BA and also the very worst.
I will put it bluntly - many asian/middle eastern airlines will retire you when you hit 50, will ground you if you put on a few pounds and most certainly discipline you if you receive negative feedback. The laws of many countries also make it much easier to get rid of a 'bad egg' than others. I know in most european countries it is virtually impossible to fire someone on a permanent contract.
In Lucky's Oman encounter I would say his FA had very much realised that she had been clocked and was like a duck back stroking in the water desperately trying to convince Lucky that she really wasn't as bad as he thought she was.
Because when you think about it, lets say a crew member in almost any other region of the world loses their job. All they lose is their JOB. They apply for others. In the middle east with nearly all the crew being ex-pat labour they lose their job. They lose their employee provided flat. They lose the right to live in the country they are living in.
As you have said..never beat a dead or dying horse..it is just sad. Same fate like GF from good to bad. Now flying with B737 to MUC KUL etc. That is the beginning of the end.
Cripes how more times are we going to read "...my downgraded trip..."?
Not really sure what you are complaining about apart from the crew not being particularly friendly.Perhaps they had reasons for that being as you mention they are withdrawing their A330,s from service and perhaps they have not been offered alternative positions on the rest of the fleet which would seem a reasonable explanation.Comparing an A330 to a 787 is a completely different subject trying to compare business class service levels.
"On a good day, Oman Air is exceptional. On a bad day, Oman Air is quite disappointing."
Just curious, but what is the good to bad ratio you have experienced hiding this airline? It seems before this flight your opinion of the airline was more positive...
Flying, not hiding lol
The menu card only lists one meal. Since it states "dine at anytime" I am wondering of one could have simply another meal service, with some variation of the dishes listed, closer to the arrival time.
Since Ben had a great flight with Oman just before, his expectation were high. I think the aircraft, selection of meals and possibly WiFi were out of the crews control. However, I agree that the crew did not seem...
The menu card only lists one meal. Since it states "dine at anytime" I am wondering of one could have simply another meal service, with some variation of the dishes listed, closer to the arrival time.
Since Ben had a great flight with Oman just before, his expectation were high. I think the aircraft, selection of meals and possibly WiFi were out of the crews control. However, I agree that the crew did not seem to be very proactive. I have seen this on other airlines and it just depends on the crew - some see an empty glass and refill or remove it, others just ignore it.
@Ben this is why I think you should get rid of your stars ratings. I used to think your stars were what you thought of the airline or hotel, but now based on this it seems like it's just a rating of the individual experience (unless you've updated Oman to 2.5 stars, which I doubt?). Just a bit confusing, is all, especially when Oman has 5 stars on another blog (I get why) and a...
@Ben this is why I think you should get rid of your stars ratings. I used to think your stars were what you thought of the airline or hotel, but now based on this it seems like it's just a rating of the individual experience (unless you've updated Oman to 2.5 stars, which I doubt?). Just a bit confusing, is all, especially when Oman has 5 stars on another blog (I get why) and a terrible rating on this one (I also get why), and I'd think a lot of people come via Google and see that rating and think that's what you rate the airline rather than the specific experience. Maybe I'm overthinking this...
I think you are overthinking this. The rating is subjective and captures a moment in time, and it's always been that way.
It has always been a rating of the individual experience. It even says Review Rating, not Oman Air Rating.
I guess what I'm trying to say then is what's the point of the stars? You can have a terrible experience on a terrific airline, and even a great experience on a poorly rated airline. A one-off experience with a rating has no relevance and doesn't really accomplish anything. I am definitely overthinking this though. I just stick to the terrific reviews.
One of my pet hates in reviews is the line 'xxx crew member just didn't seem to want to be there'. ALERT! Like MOST workers - the nurse that is working a night shift in a hospital or the hotel receptionist or whatever your job is - no, we do not particularly 'want' to be there and yes we would rather be at home.
Saying that, the pro FA's fake it til they make it....
One of my pet hates in reviews is the line 'xxx crew member just didn't seem to want to be there'. ALERT! Like MOST workers - the nurse that is working a night shift in a hospital or the hotel receptionist or whatever your job is - no, we do not particularly 'want' to be there and yes we would rather be at home.
Saying that, the pro FA's fake it til they make it. I can work a 14 hour night flight and be smiley and pretend I am not exhausted and laugh whilst a passenger recounts some lame tale and show interest in some other passengers conversations about their travels telling me all the things they saw and did in europe.
@ Duck Ling -- Fair point!
Of course most people will prefer "not working" to "working"; but many of us have sought out jobs that we nevertheless find fulfilling, interesting, and enjoyable. This personality fit is particularly important for roles that include a customer-facing component. So, it is in fact quite problematic if a crew member doesn't want to be there. Maybe this isn't the job for them.
What I was more getting at Nomad is that being human, if we work say 150 flights a year the 'wanting to be there' aspect will vary from flight to flight.
And on those flights where you really WOULD rather be someone else, be professional and fake it lol.
As an IFM I always tell my crew - come to the galley, have a moan, vent, roll your eyes about the d*ck in 3A. And then, take a deep breath, smile, float back into that cabin :-)
I flew for Pan Am in the early-mid 80's, almost exclusively to Latin America...think lots of over night trips and I could not agree with you more...but we too took pride in providing (especially in First & Clipper ) the service that we would like to receive if WE were the pax. Excellent comments Duck Ling
Life is so short. I never understood why people choose a line of work they dislike or don't have the aptitute for. Please leave the industry. You will be happier, passengers will be happier, coworkers will be happier; the world will thank you.
So true! And particularly applicable in this case with US carriers in particular. While I have had some genuinely excellent F/A’s on US carriers, I have noticed a severe drop in the service provided in the past 6 years or so. You are being paid to WORK, not throw food/beverage at your customers then retreat to the galley to have a bitch sessioon about how much your job sucks. For heavens sake, if it’s that bad, GET OUT
Ben - Just curious, is it intentional to space out your review several weeks after the flight? I read your account of the poor service back in mid-January when you published it, and (this is a minor quibble but) it's a little hard to keep up with your your trips (when you went, where you went, why, etc.) when relevant trip posts are spaced so far apart.
@ LP -- Thanks for the feedback, I understand your confusion. Just to clarify, typically my intent is to provide some initial impressions of a flight experience "live" (or shortly after I take the flight), and then upon my return I publish a much more thorough review of the entire experience. That's because some people just like to read short summaries of what happened, while others prefer a detailed review.
So I'm open to changing...
@ LP -- Thanks for the feedback, I understand your confusion. Just to clarify, typically my intent is to provide some initial impressions of a flight experience "live" (or shortly after I take the flight), and then upon my return I publish a much more thorough review of the entire experience. That's because some people just like to read short summaries of what happened, while others prefer a detailed review.
So I'm open to changing that, but generally you can expect lots of live updates, and then several weeks later, a much more thorough review. I understand that can be confusing at times, given how many review trips I've taken lately.
Thanks for the info! I enjoy both the initial impressions and the full review and recognize there is an audience for both (sometimes I'll read both in full, sometimes just skim, etc depending on my interest in the product or trip). Ideally, keeping all the coverage of a trip, from intro to first impressions to full reviews, within ~2 week would help alleviate the "Wait, where is Ben, I though he was on the other...
Thanks for the info! I enjoy both the initial impressions and the full review and recognize there is an audience for both (sometimes I'll read both in full, sometimes just skim, etc depending on my interest in the product or trip). Ideally, keeping all the coverage of a trip, from intro to first impressions to full reviews, within ~2 week would help alleviate the "Wait, where is Ben, I though he was on the other side of the world, is he still there for a month?" confusion. And especially not publishing content from a different trip between the beginning/end of content from the first trip. But I recognize it takes time to put everything together and you don't work 24/7. Thanks for all the great content!
I partially agree with @LP. If the first impressions and the full review are spaced too many weeks apart, it's easy to even forget about the whole trip altogether. In my case, I thought the whole Oman Air saga was wrapped up long ago until I saw today's full review of the final leg. What's interesting about this trip in particular is that @Ben's first impressions were probably slightly too comprehensive this time (esp. given...
I partially agree with @LP. If the first impressions and the full review are spaced too many weeks apart, it's easy to even forget about the whole trip altogether. In my case, I thought the whole Oman Air saga was wrapped up long ago until I saw today's full review of the final leg. What's interesting about this trip in particular is that @Ben's first impressions were probably slightly too comprehensive this time (esp. given the downgrade, the service issue, the purser drama). Maybe that's what made me move on too quickly. But in the end, loyal readers will end up reading every single thing (as I and @LP just did).
Yup, I agree. I think in the past Ben has intentionally chosen not to review certain parts of a trip (already has a similar and recent review). In that case, I'm waiting for something that didn't appear. Whereas in this case, there seemed to be an abnormal pause in the review trip, especially considering that the trip was taken in quick succession, and the other parts came out in a reasonable flow.
At least the food looks good.