Review: Oman Air First Class B787-9 Muscat to London

Oman Air received a pair of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner's last year, registration A4O-SF and A4O-SG. These B787-9's are equipped with a new First Class Suite. They are operating exclusively between Muscat and London Heathrow, twice a day.

Oman Air's new 787-9 is fitted with 8 First Class suites, as well as 24 seats in Business and 232 in Economy.

The airline says that the suites in the newly delivered Dreamliner's First Class section have "one of the longest 180-degree flat-bed seats available on any commercial airliner" and that the aircraft will offer "the latest in comfort and amenities, including cutting-edge entertainment".

I've been invited by Oman Air on this trip to sample their new First Class Suite and provide my feedback in terms of service/product.

My trip started off well at the Oman Air First Class Lounge. There is a separate and dedicated section for First Class only. I was one of only 2 passengers in the First Class lounge during my time there.

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As you can see from the pictures, the First Class lounge is very quiet and has luxury furnishings. There are lot of seating areas, a bar and a few table for dining.

Instead of the buffet in the Business Class lounge, a dedicated waiter will serve you and the chef will take your order. I had the Prawn Machboos. There were 3 huge jumbo prawns direct from Oman with a pilaf of saffron scented rice.

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There are 2 private suite rooms each equipped with a reclining sofa and amenities such as: pyjamas, amenity kits, pillow and blanket. There is also a TV installed on the wall. Instead of sitting at the lounge, I enjoyed a little rest before my flight in one of these private rooms.

The spa section in the lounge had not opened yet so I couldn't experience it, I am looking forward to trying it in the near future.

I spent a pleasant 2 hours in the First Class Lounge before heading to the boarding gate. Oman Air have recently made changes in their crew uniforms and this is shown on the flight to London.

I settled in my First Class Suite seat, 2K. I was informed there was just 1 other passenger joining me in First Class and they would be in row 1, so I could have the whole of row 2 to myself!

Oman Air First Class on their B787-9 has 1-2-1 configuration with a total of 8 suites. As the picture shows below, the suites come with a privacy door in each. The seat is wide enough and very long indeed. The privacy door is operated manually.

For the first glance, the First Class Suite looks clean but understated in terms of luxury, slowly I discovered more details and got to appreciate it.

Many of these details are unique to Oman and the Middle East. You can see these details on my video.

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I was given a large size of Oman Air pyjamas and an Amouage branded amenity kit.

The flight took off on-time as part of the early afternoon hub hours departures to Europe. The London flight is well timed for connections from SE Asia, India sub-continents and the Middle East.

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The flight attendant offered canapes and drinks after takeoff.

Flight time was just under 7 hours to London, this picture was taken as we flew over Abu Dhabi and heading over the Gulf.

The food and beverage menus were well presented in a leather cover. All the bottles were shown as pictures on the drinks menu.

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Lunch service started within the first hour of the flight. The beautiful tableware are designed by Narumi. They feature the Omani landscape such as mountain ranges.

On Oman Air First Class, it is dine by demand. I was still quite full after my huge prawn machboos in the First Class lounge, so I chose to just have a lighter meal; caviar and dessert.

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There simply isn't more pleasure than sipping champagne and having caviar inside my own private First Class Suite, flying high at 39,000 ft

I also had a starter which was absolutely beautiful in presentation, it consisted of smoke salmon and tuna on a skewer.

One thing I particularly like is the hot/cold towel service on Oman Air, at least 5 times during the flight I was presented with a fresh towel (Boarding, before meal, after the meal, after rest and before landing).

After the meal, the flight attendant set up my bed in an adjacent middle suite. So I could use my own suite for lounging and another one for sleeping.

I was enjoying the Oman Air ARIA inflight entertainment. Everything can be controlled by the handset as the TV screen on the wall is too far to reach.

There are 4 types of Internet Wi-Fi package. First Class passengers received a coupon to have 3 hours of complimentary internet.

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The bedding is provided by Amourage. The pillow was very soft and plush and the blanket was warm. I enjoyed unparalleled privacy sleeping in the middle suites with both side doors closed.

Before landing, I had the seafood thermidor. To my surprise, the flight attendant came around with an oversized pepper shaker.

I think passengers on Oman Air love pepper so much so they have the oversized shaker!

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The Oman Air crew are very friendly and down to the earth. There are many Omani locals that work as cabin crew (mostly male cabin crew). They were wearing their new uniform for this flight. What do you think of the new uniform? I think they're more contemporary than the previous ones which seemed more conservative to me.

We entered a holding pattern for London Heathrow as there were thunderstorms developing. It was an extremely hot day in London with a record temperature of 38 degree Celsius. I recorded the landing into Heathrow on my camera and you can see it in the video here.

Verdict

Oman Air is an underrated boutique carrier that maintains an excellent First Class product to/from London. The product and presentation are both top of the class. To me, the best part of the flight is the privacy, given that I had the whole of row 2 to myself, I didn't see another passenger for the whole flight! Sitting inside the Suite, it gave me a very relaxing feeling, like I was in my own living space. The soft product, especially the bedding, was some of the best I've tried. I cannot fault any part of my First Class flight with Oman Air.

Oman Air isn't in any major airline alliance. You can redeem and earn miles directly with Oman Air, Sindbad and the Etihad Guest program.

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