Oman’s flag carrier offers a boutique First Class product that, until recently, was relatively difficult to book with points.
With an impressive ground experience in Muscat, an enclosed First Class suite, full caviar service, and the ability to dine with a companion, Oman Air First Class is a boutique product that’s certainly worth trying out.
In this guide, we’ll explore everything that is Oman Air First Class, including what to expect before boarding and while on the aircraft, as well as everything you need to know about Oman Air’s First Class cabins and routes.
We’ll also further examine the best way to fly Oman First Class at a significant discount by using the power of points.
The Oman Air First Class Experience
In Oman Air First Class, Oman’s heritage and national identity really shines through, blending traditional and modern elements together.
With a fully closed sliding door, the product offers up complete privacy, as well as a great soft product with a unique Omani touch.
Ground Experience
If you’re flying out of Oman Air’s hub of Muscat International Airport, you’ll have access to a couple of lounges, including Oman Air’s dedicated side-by-side First Class and Business Class lounges.
Ultimately, you’ll want to spend your time in the elevated First Class lounge.
With relatively few First Class flights available across Oman Air’s network, you’ll certainly absorb the luxury and exclusivity of flying in the fanciest seats well before you board the aircraft.
Indeed, if you arrive early enough or have a long layover in Muscat, you may even find that you’re the only one in the extravagant lounge.
Inside, you’ll be treated to a wide variety of quality western and Omani food, which may be ordered from an à la carte menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The bar serves up some of the the most expensive alcohol selection at any airport lounge around the world, which may even include a $1,000 (USD) bottle of Glenmorangie 25 scotch whisky or Hennessy Paradis cognac at $800 (USD) per bottle.
Oman Air First Class passengers may also enjoy a complimentary 15-minute treatment in the spa. You can choose from different message options, or even a 15-minute session on the hydrotherapy table, to help you completely relax before your flight.
If you’d like to get some rest, there are nap rooms specifically for this purpose. However, you may find the nap rooms in the neighbouring business class lounge are better, as they come with more space and a dedicated desk.
Thankfully, as an Oman Air First Class passenger, you have access to both lounges, and can go back and forth as you please.
When it’s time to board, Oman Air will send a representative to escort you to your gate, ensuring everything continues to go as smoothly as possible.
Note that if your Oman Air First Class flight is departing from another city other than Muscat, you’ll still have access to Oman Air’s partner lounges prior to departure.
Seat
When you first board Oman Air First Class, you’ll be struck by the beautiful design. The cream, brown, and black finishings combine elements of both modern and traditional décor and beautifully convey Oman Air’s visual identity.
While the seats are slightly more narrow than competing First Class products, there’s still more than enough room to relax and enjoy the flight.
Possibly the best feature of flying Oman Air First Class is the sliding doors. Passengers can manually close or open their suites to allow for a more private First Class experience.
Across from the seat is an ottoman equipped with a seatbelt, so a travel companion can join you. Underneath the ottoman is additional storage space.
Electronic and analog seat controls help you fully customize your in-suite lighting settings and seat position. Naturally, this includes the option to turn the seat into a complete lie-flat bed, if you wish to rest in the skies.
Oman Air’s enthusiastic flight attendants will provide you with bedding, and you’ll even receive a comfortable pair of pajamas and slippers to help you better enjoy the flight.
A 21” Aria entertainment system is also available in your suite, and comes with a wide range of recently released movies and TV shows for your viewing pleasure.
Food and Drink
Upon arrival in the First Class cabin, you’ll have access to your own personal snack bowl and minibar located at the far end of your suite. Similar to Emirates and Etihad Airways, the minibar offers a selection of soft drinks.
For the main meal service, Oman Air offers a dine-on-demand food service. This means you can order from menus found in a leather-bound book and eat whenever you so desire.
Dining options include a wide choice of Omani, Arabic, and international cuisines, such as a smoked tuna with saffron labneh amuse bouche, marinated prawns and stuffed squid appetizer, or braised lamb shank with pearl onion gravy as a main.
Of course, no First Class experience would be complete without a caviar and Champagne service. You’ll be happy to know that Oman Air’s First Class experience is no exception.
Iranian Royal Beluga caviar is served to First Class passengers, along with a customary mother-of-pearl spoon and an impressive spread of accompaniments.
For Champagne, Oman Air may change up what they have onboard, but they tend to carry 2009 Louis Roederer Cristal, Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle, and/or Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé Champagne.
Any of these sparkling delights will certainly pair great with the caviar, as will a glass of ice-cold vodka.
Every Oman Air First Class seat has an ottoman that allows for you to have a travel companion join you in your suite for the meal service. Dining together in the sky is always a memorable experience, and toasting to the occasion will be very easy in your private suite.
Oman Air First Class Cabins
Oman Air’s flagship First Class product can be found on select Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
(While an older First Class variant can be found on select Airbus A330s, they aren’t up to the same standard as the newest model, and Oman Air has been rapidly phasing them out.)
Boeing 787-9
Oman Air has a total of 10 Boeing 787 Dreamliners in their fleet. Currently, there are only two Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners that offer a First Class cabin.
Set up in a 1-2-1 arrangement, there are a total of eight suites, spread out across two rows.
As is the case with most First Class cabins, if you’re flying solo, it’s hard to pick a bad seat.
Choosing a spot by the window among Seats 1A, 1K, 2A, or 2K would still offer up slightly more privacy, as you won’t have anyone sitting immediately beside you. Still, even the middle seats have privacy dividers that can be raised.
If you’re traveling with a companion, you might want to select two of the middle seats: either Seats 1E and 1F or Seats 2E and 2F. These middle pairs will allow for you to enjoy the experience with your travel partner as you can easily lower the middle divider to converse during the flight.
With a seat width of 30” and a seat pitch of 80”, Oman Air First Class is not quite industry-leading in terms of the suite’s overall size, but still provides ample room to spread out.
Airbus A330-300
The older Airbus A330 version of Oman Air First Class really shows its age, offering far less privacy than the newer First Class product offered on the Boeing 787-9.
There are only six First Class seats spread out across two rows. There are two window seats in the first row, and then a 1-2-1 layout in the second row.
Where there’d normally be middle seats in Row 1, the A330 First Class cabin instead has a couch, which serves as an additional lounge area for First Class passengers.
If you’re flying on your own, you’ll want to select Seat 1A, 1K, 2A, or 2K for the best experience. Should you be flying with a companion, you may wish to select the only middle seats available, Seats 2E and 2F.
The Airbus A330 First Class seat width is 25.5” and the seat pitch is 85.5”, so it’s narrower but slightly longer compared to the newer First Class product on the Boeing 787.
Oman Air First Class Routes
At this time, Oman Air is offering First Class on flights from Muscat to London Heathrow, Frankfurt, and Bangkok on the Boeing 787-9. Furthermore, there are First Class flights to Kuala Lumpur on the Airbus A330.
As Oman Air phases out the older First Class product and acquires more Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, hopefully they’ll assign more routes will offer its newer, better First Class product.
How to Redeem Points for Oman Air First Class
In December 2021, Oman Air partnered with Aeroplan, which paved the way for Oman Air flights to be booked with Aeroplan points.
Furthermore, in June 2022, Oman Air announced that it will join the Oneworld alliance in 2024, which will no doubt mean more opportunities for points enthusiasts to try out this premium product.
While the addition of Oman Air to Oneworld will certainly add more opportunities to book with points, currently, the best way to book Oman Air First Class is by using Aeroplan points.
An Oman Air First Class award ticket will cost you 65,000 Aeroplan points and around $79 in taxes and fees for a flight from Muscat to Frankfurt or from Muscat to London.
If you’re departing from Europe to Muscat, it’ll cost the same 65,000 Aeroplan points to fly from either London or Frankfurt.
From Frankfurt, you’ll incur around $140 in taxes and fees, but if you’re departing from London, you’ll be subject to a significantly higher amount of just over $400 due to the UK’s Air Passenger Duty (APD).
Flights to and from Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok can be booked for 80,000 Aeroplan points. Taxes and fees price out at $79 if flying from Muscat, at just over $100 if originating in Kuala Lumpur, and only $28 if originating in Bangkok.
Come 2024, once Oman Air officially joins Oneworld, Oman Air First Class should be available to book with other Oneworld loyalty programs. Some of these include British Airways Avios and Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, as well as the harder-to-earn Alaska miles.
Oman Air First Class Award Availability
While there are limited Oman Air First Class routes, there is an ample amount of award availability. The airline consistently releases one First Class seat on all routes.
Unfortunately, since the launch of Oman Air’s partnership with Aeroplan, the airline has not made more than one seat available in First Class to book on points.
This means that it’ll be tough to share the Oman Air experience with a travel companion, unless one passenger pays for their ticket or an upgrade, or unless Oman Air changes their award space release patterns in the future.
Moreover, once Oman Air officially joins Oneworld, I imagine that there will be plenty more opportunities to book Oman Air First Class with Oneworld points currencies, resulting in tougher competition for First Class award seats.
If you have your eye on booking this product using Aeroplan points, you may want to secure it before 2024.
Tips & Tricks for Oman Air First Class
If you’re using Aeroplan points to book an Oman Air First Class flight on the newer Boeing 787-9 aircraft between Muscat and London, it’s much cheaper to fly from Muscat to London, than from London to Muscat.
Flying in this direction will save you almost $400 in UK APD, and you’ll maximize the experience by flying in the daytime.
You can also take advantage of Aeroplan’s stopover rules, with which you can add a stopover on a one-way booking for only 5,000 points.
For example, if you were to fly from Bangkok to Muscat, plan stopover in Oman, and continue onwards to London in First Class, your total cost would be 105,000 Aeroplan points, which is certainly not a bad option for almost 15 hours in First Class!
Conclusion
Oman Air First Class is a boutique premium product that should definitely be on your radar, especially now that it’s possible to try out the product by redeeming Aeroplan points.
The product affords you a world-class ground experience prior to your flight, complete with complimentary spa treatment, amazing food, and perhaps the most expensive alcohol you can find in any airport.
Once onboard, you can expect a luxurious in-flight experience complete with full caviar and Champagne service in your private suite.
What’s more more, the ability to redeem only 65,000 Aeroplan points for this First Class product is a great deal if you have any upcoming trips that includes flying between Europe and the Middle East.
