My experience with Oman Air economy class in their 787-9

I recently flew with Oman Air economy class in their 787-9 from Muscat to Paris. Please read below my experience with Oman Air – the other, less known carrier from the Gulf region.

Check-in Experience

I booked my ticket with Oman Air using Flying Blue miles. It’s a bit surprising you can use Flying Blue miles to book Oman Air tickets since Oman Air isn’t part of Skyteam. In fact, they have announced they will join the OneWorld alliance. So I’m guessing it won’t take long for that this perk to disappear.

My plan was to book a business class ticket however I didn’t have enough Flying Blue miles for that. I also experienced some issues buying the remaining amount of miles, so I settled with an economy class ticket, hoping I could upgrade to business class during check-in. And that seemed to be a viable option when I checked in at the airport. The check-in agent confirmed there were still seats available in business class and that I could upgrade if I wished so. I confirmed I was interested and thus I was directed to the counter to confirm the business class upgrade and pay the required amount in cash. However, the agent at the ticket counter delivered the news that a ticket purchased with points, couldn’t be upgraded. I was so close, yet so far!

I could reserve a window seat at the first row in Economy though – for an extra $100 – so I settled for that option. The middle seat remained empty during the flight so at least I got a ‘mini-‘upgrade!

Economy Class Cabin

When I settled into my economy class seat, I was very happy I opted for the first row with extra legroom. The economy class cabin was very busy and almost full, so sitting in the first row of economy class, was very nice. The fact that the middle seat remained empty during the flight was a nice bonus. Oman Air doesn’t have premium economy so this is the best you can get when not having a business- or first class ticket.

Seats are on par with other major airlines. The entertainment screen is good (decent size, good resolution, and very responsive) and the movie/tv selection is decent.

Meals & Service

The main meal service came with a choice between chicken and pasta – the normal choice in economy class. I opted for the chicken and the chicken tasted pretty good. Problem was that you needed to search for the few pieces of chicken which were hiding under the rice. Also the meal itself was very dry. This was especially annoying since the chips which were handed earlier, were incredibly salty. So that little bottle of water that came with the meal, was finished in no time!

Between the meal services (after departure en before arrival), I didn’t see the crew coming by for extra drinks or snacks. So I regularly made the trip to the back of the plane myself to get something extra to drink. When asking if they also had some snacks, they could just offer me the same, extremely salty chips. I passed on that one!

Before arrival, the crew came by with a hearty snack. I cannot really describe what it was, but it was OK.

Conclusion

Unfortunately I couldn’t upgrade to business class but I was happy I could do a ‘mini-upgrade’. Sitting in the front of economy class with the extra legroom was really worth it. I would rate the overall economy class experience with Oman Air a bit below par though. Meals were not fantastic, there was a limited selection of snacks (a selection of 1…), and crew didn’t come by with drinks.

On the other hand, flying out of Oman is very relaxed. It’s a relatively small airport so it doesn’t suffer from the problems bigger airports have. So no long queues for checking-in/passport control and no endless walking distances to the gates. My plane to Paris was leaving exactly on time and arrived before planned arrival time.

Oman Air is an interesting option to consider next to the other Gulf Carriers. If the price is right I certainly wouldn’t avoid them. Just bring an extra bottle of water!

Please also review my Youtube video of this trip with Oman Air: