On our way home to Australia, we flew from Muscat to Doha with Oman Air in the Business Class cabin of their Boeing 737-800. This was our second to last flight, with Qatar Airways rounding out our trip from Doha to Adelaide.

Being a short-haul flight with a total flying time of around 3 hours, the experience was very pretty basic, but on par with the majority of short haul flights we have experienced.

Oman Air Pre Flight Experience

Prior to boarding our flight to Doha, we spent time in the Oman Air Business Lounge, you can read about our experience here. We spent almost 7 hours in the lounge after flying in from Paris, and it was a comfortable area during this time.

Finding our gate was a relatively easy experience with good signage throughout Muscat International Airport. We had to clear through two ticket checks. One to get into the gate area, and the second to get onto the plane.

We found this experience to be very disorganised. Although there was a priority lane for Business Class travellers, this was not enforced at the first checkpoint, meaning anyone was using the lane. This removed the exclusiveness of Business Class.

Oman Air 777-800 Cabin Layout

Once again, being a short haul flight, we didn’t expect anything lavish about this Business Class cabin. Offering a 2-2 cabin configuration and plush seats, we were pleasantly surprised at the clear separation between Business Class and Economy seating.

Business Class Amenities And Storage

When we arrived at our seat there was a pillow and a set of headphones. To the right of our seat were the seat controls, yet they only provided a small amount of change in the pitch of the seat. In front of us were two smaller pockets to store items like a drink bottle of your phone, along with a larger pocket which we used to store our headphones.

One disappointing factor was the last bag storage under the seat in front. Usually we are able to fit our small bag, yet this couldn’t fit, nor could our feet. We’re unsure if this was just for our seat, but nonetheless a disappointing factor that made it inconvenient, especially being located against the window.

The tray table was located in the left armrest, while an entertainment screen was located in the right armrest.

Oman Air Dining Experience

Shortly after boarding we were handed a menu for our inflight dining options. The menu was a la carte with two options for our refreshment. We opted for the Roasted Pumpkin with Sundried tomato Muffin. This came with a salad on the side, two bread rolls, along with a pecan parfait cake with whipped cream for dessert.

This light refreshment was good but there was nothing exciting or extravagant about it. Again, something we would expect on these shorter-haul flights.
Service was quick and staff were attentive in clearing plates and refilling beverages.

Our Final Thoughts

Overall, our experience flying short-haul with Oman Air was decent. The seats were comfortable and the staff attentive making it overall a pleasant experience. We would however love to see a more updated product on this route. Everything felt rather dated while the technology was not up to scratch compared to other short-haul products.

If you’re heading to Europe, why not fly Oman Air Business Class. With good availability and the ability for a stopover in Muscat to explore the region, it’s a solid option for getting to Europe in Business Class. 

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