sadiqhassan

Flight #1

14th August 2010
London Heathrow to Muscat WY102 A330-300
Sch Dep / Arr 2235 0905+1
Act Dep / Arr 2235 0900+1

Disclaimer: Apologies for the lack / poor quality of the pictures. They were taken with my iPhone and most of them were too dark to upload. I have uploaded the ones that are adequate.

Pre-Flight 10/10

I needed a cheapo one-way Economy Class ticket from London to Karachi and had a multitude of carriers to pick from. I wasn’t impressed with QR from my last trip with them, EK didn’t seem too exciting, GF did not have good connections and EY was sold out. So, I decided to try WY. It was the most reasonable of the bunch and the connection in Oman was very short – making it the quickest one-stop way to get from LHR to KHI tied with QR.

I booked online at www.omanair.com. The website was easy to use but did not allow seat selection. The the computer randomly assigned me 21 DEF (there were three of us travelling), an aisle and two middles. I called WY and switched to 24 AB D so that all of us would have a window or an aisle.

I considered joining the WY FF program but learned that our tickets (K class) would only earn 25% of flown miles. I wasn’t planning to fly WY again anytime soon so I didn’t bother singing up.

Departure 10/10

My mom was on the same flight in Business Class and WY provides a chauffeur drive service for all passengers booked in the more expensive business class fare buckets as well as F class. It didn’t occur to me to book the service until right before the 48 hour cutoff. I was in Prague and the WY number wasn’t going through. I emailed the London office and explained that I would like the book the service. Everything was taken care of via email; I didn’t have to talk to anyone on the phone, which I found very impressive.

The driver showed up 25 minutes late which a bit concerning but was able to take 2 of the 3 Y passengers and my mom in the car. I roughed it out on the tube which I didn’t mind!

We arrived at the airport at around 815pm for the 1035pm flight and the business class desks were deserted. We checked in and the efficient and smiling agent handed us our boarding cards right till Karachi. We were a little over weight baggage-wise (maybe 4 kg between the 4 of us) but she let it go. The lounge that WY uses in London is the Air Canada / SAS lounge.

Boarding commenced extremely early, about 930pm

Cabin 10/10

We walked right on board (no waiting in the departure lounge) and were greeted by the attendants who checked our boarding cards and directed us to our seats. After walking down the aisle, another (and then another!) FA checked our boarding cards inspecting them thoroughly before letting us proceed! I guess some people have a bit of trouble finding their seats.

The A330-300 was brand new. The seat was quite comfortable, with a good recline. There were usable footrests (I’ve seen some real useless ones on other airlines!) and the armrests went up. The TV screen was large – though maybe not as big on the EK A380s – but would not be turned on till after takeoff. The pillow was small as was the blanket. I asked for another as the first barely went past my knees.

Soon after amenity kits were handed out (!) They were better than some of the kits I have seen in Business Class on other airlines and contained an eye mask, socks, a toothbrush, toothpaste and ear plugs. A menu was also handed out along with hot towels.

The cabin was uncomfortable warm and several people complained, and the cabin eventually cooled down.


Seat 9/10

The seat itself was quite comfortable. Seat pitch was advertised at 34” and seemed to be about that. I found the width to be a bit narrow (and the aisle to be narrow too). There were USB ports for charging iPods and what not but no power port to charge computers which was disappointing.

Mobile phones could be used on this flight (as I learned in the tortuous 15 minute or so add for the service given both in English and Arabic) as well as wifi for US $30 (IIRC). I didn’t try either but I believe the man next to be was using the wifi successfully.


Catering 8/10

This flight had both a hot dinner and a hot breakfast (compared to EK which offers usually only one main meal and a beverage on its LHR-DXB flights) and the menu was quite substantial.

I chose the Beef for dinner. It looks disgusting but tasted OK. The portion was a good size, but I wouldn’t have minded if it was a little bigger. My sisters had the chicken and both of them raved about it. We all agreed that the dessert was very good.

The crew made several drink rounds both before and after the meal service and everything was served promptly and taken away promptly.

We skipped the breakfast as we were fasting.

IFE 7/10

The system was not turned on until almost 30 minutes into the flight which was disappointing. The system was AVOD and selection was large (including international movies such as Arabic and Hindi) but the selection of English movies was below par, with only a handful of international titles on offer. The headphone jack only allowed Oman Air headphones to be used which were not bad but nowhere near as good as Bose QCs.

The system was a bit slow at responding also but never froze nor did it have to be reset.

Overall the system was nowhere near as good as EK’s ICE but more than adequate compared to other airline’s selections.


Cabin Staff 8/10

This was the first flight I have taken in several years where the crew did not have a full grasp of English. They seemed to understand me but had trouble communicating to me in English. Their announcements also didn’t seem to make sense (the English ones at least, not sure about the Arabic ones.)

Their uniform was smart and they were extremely efficient. Most were also quite friendly but some seemed to be concentrating too hard and forgot to smile.

Arrival 8/10

Arrival into Muscat was on time. Deplaning was quite fast but we had to take a bus to the terminal. Almost every single person I saw headed to arrivals at Muscat with only a few Passengers heading through to connections (most heading to Karachi it seemed). The airport had an eclectic décor and seemed to be under construction. Signage was woeful – my mother gave up looking for the lounge.


Verdict 9/10

It is hard to fault Oman Air. On this trip they offered an unbeatable price, good service, a brand new cabin with the latest IFE and technology, lots of food and were able to get us to our destination on time. I can whole heartedly recommend the airline. If I had to pick something the airline needs to improve upon, it would bet the English language skills of the crew especially on a flight departing from London Heathrow.

Bretteee

34" legroom in Y is excellent. EK seem to be pretty stingy in their meal service with just 1 meal.

oontiveros

Nice...I might consider them for a flight or two now. Thanks!

NE flier

Excellent TR! Oman Air sounds like a solid airline. I was just wondering whether any alcohol is available onboard? I know it is on EK and EY but not on other middle east-based carriers...

sobore

Thanks for the clarification. I was getting ready to call the Guinness book!

Nice report!^

Gnopps

Thanks for the report. It is nice to read botj about unusual carriers as well as economy.

sadiqhassan

Oman Air does indeed serve alcohol.

ORDnHKG

Well actually it is standard offerings, it is similiar to what CX and QF used to give out in Y, and they even come with a landyard. Some airlines like BR even include hand lotion.

Thanks for your reports and photos.

snod08

very nice TR!! thanks for posting!

sadiqhassan

I agree - however, generally only the top airlines offer anything at all in Y.

camsean

Thanks for posting. Interesting read about one of the world's lesser known airlines.

CRAZYBUBBA

Had you really been looking for the "el cheapo" way to travel to KHI from LHR you would have taken PIA

sadiqhassan

I would have but PIA didn't fly the day we needed and we had zero flexibility with the date

JWN

I was seriously impressed with Oman Air when I flew to Muscat from LHR in October. Having flown with most of the other far east/middle east airlines in the past I was interested as to what my experience with this little known airline would be.
Check in was quick and we were given the seats that we wanted. Window and aisle. The outward flight was full so the staff were having to work hard to fill requests. My veggie meal was tasty as was the chicken meal of my companion. The seats were comfortable with good legroom. The plane was clean as were the toilets. I didn't have any problems when communicating with the staff and any requests were met with a smile. Though not the best, the selection of movies kept me interested throughout the night (I rarely sleep when flying in economy). A breakfast was served before landing.
The return flight was half empty so there was loads of room to stretch out. We were in the last row to be served dinner and our choice was no longer available. We asked if there was any other alternative and the FA went into Business and obtained two salmon and shrimp meals for us. Super service.
I would certainly fly with this airline again, it is far superior to Emrates and I can see it becoming a leading airline in the middle east.