Oman Air First-Class Experience – 787-9 Muscat to London

Pre-flight massages and a private cabin in the sky. This is my Oman Air First Class experience.

How do you cap off on an already ridiculous first trip post-pandemic? One that has already been highlighted by Turkish Air’s hospitality as well as flying Etihad’s brand new A350–1000 in business class?

How about champagne and caviare at 40,000 feet?

If you are wondering what is Oman Air like, buckle up. This is my Oman Air first-class review between Muscat and London Heathrow.

Booking

As highlighted in my recently updated Aerplanan tips post, I booked this Oman Air first-class flight for 65,000 points. At eight hours in the air as well as several hours on the ground enjoying Oman Air’s amazing lounge, this is an incredible value. Even more so when the actual ticket price is over $5,000 USD!

If you need help booking an Aeroplan trip that includes experiences like this, contact me!

Oman Air Ground Experience

After a few days of enjoying Oman’s unique history and natural highlights, I made my way to the Muscat International Airport airport for my Oman Air first-class flight. I was very much looking forward to the experience in the air, however, as I found at the airport, the full experience begins well before the gate.

Check-in

I arrived a full four hours before my flight (again, super excited) and found the airport eerily quiet. I would have had no delays using the economy entrance for check-in however, I wanted the full first-class experience.

Like most Middle East airports, the Muscat International Airport has a dedicated business and first-class check-in area. Unlike other airports in the region, Muscat airport has a dedicated curbside entrance as well.

The business class check-in area is oversized with several dedicated seating areas that seem unnecessary. I can’t imagine a scenario where this area would even be half full or the seats used for that matter. Still, it’s a stunning intro to what’s to come.

As I previously found in Bahrain, electronic boarding passes are not widely excepted in the region. With that, I made my way to the check-in counter. Staff were visibly bored, and I can’t blame them. They perked up when I approached and had me checked in within minutes.

From there it was a quick trip through the dedicated business and first-class security line and then I was off to the lounge.

Oman Air Business Class Lounge

As I found, the Oman Air business class lounge in Muscat is one of the absolute best out there. This includes the class-leading Turkish Airlines lounge in Istanbul.

With excellent food service and dedicated nap and private cinema rooms, I would have no issue spending a long way over here. The best part? If your layover is over three hours, Oman Air will put you up in the airside hotel, free of charge.

This is all amazing. That said, the Oman Air first-class lounge is next level.

Oman Air First-Class Lounge

After stepping through the business class and first-class lounge gold gated entrance, an attendant walks you to the private area for first-class passengers. The section is very large – again, not sure how this would ever be even partially used. I stopped counting after 40 seats and, interesting to note, I was the only guest that day.

After choosing a seat, the bartender/barista who had just jogged over (they apparently weren’t expecting me so early) introduced herself and offered some drinks. This was followed by the first-class lounge’s dedicated chef with a menu and lastly, a spa attendant.

After selecting a meal of local shrimp and setting a seating time, I looked at the spa menu. First-class passengers get a complimentary 15-minute treatment. I booked an extended 10 minutes for an additional 8 Omani Rial ($20 USD) and enjoyed a pre-flight massage.

After the massage, I took a tour of the facility and found they have a hammam as well as dedicated showers in each treatment room. I suggest enjoying them before or after treatment and showering there.

Refreshed, I made my way back through the lounge ready for lunch. I was looking forward to tucking into the bar (reportedly they serve over $1,000 a bottle of whiskey), however, I was visiting during Ramadan. As such, the bar shelves were completely bare. 😔

I settled for a freshly squeezed juice and enjoyed an amazing meal.

For my full lounge experience, rundown including a visit to the business class lounge, check out the post below!

Oman Air First-Class Boarding

First-class passengers don’t have a dedicated boarding area at the Muscat airport but do have the option of being escorted to the gate. If the bar was open, I may have taken them up on this offer.

After checking secondary security at the gate, I took the dedicated door for business and first-class passengers and onto the plane.

Oman Air First-Class Seats

First-class seats on Oman Air’s 787–9 are in a 1–2–1 configuration with a total of eight available. They are massive spanning three windows.

Interestingly, there are no overhead bins in the first-class cabin. This makes the space that much bigger. Seeing my confusion, an attendant came by and took my carry-on luggage. She then offered me, to my pleasant surprise, champagne. Apparently, Ramadan stops at the gate!

The Oman Air first-class seat has plenty of storage. There is a slick coat rack neatly located in the doorway. Across from the seat is a small bench for a guest to join you for a meeting or meal. To the right of that is a mini bar which the attendant said would be kept fully stocked as the flight went on.

Working back towards the seat you will find the table storage and the entertainment system controls tucked into a small compartment. Below that is a literature storage area where I kept my laptop and notebook. There you will also find touch controls for adjusting the seat and bed configurations.

Lastly, behind that is a deep cubby where I kept my laptop and amenities kit.

The highlight of all this is the ability to close the sliding doors for a private cabin experience.

For reference, here are Oman Air’s 787-9 much less private business class seats:

Oman Air First-Class Service and Amenities

From start to finish, the service on this Oman Air first-class flight was ridiculous. I had a dedicated attendant along with the cabin completely to myself.

That said, I don’t think the service would have changed had the cabin been full. My champagne was always topped up and she continuously came by offering drinks, food, and snacks. It was a flawless first-class experience.

After enjoying preflight champagne and dates, I looked at the menu. There is no set meal time and service is on-demand which is great. Since I had just eaten in the lounge I opted to have my meal closer to arrival.

Oman Air Amenities Kit

The amenities kit included with Oman Air’s first-class service is good but falls behind Turkish Air’s offering. Oddly, it only included women’s lotion and products which may have been a mistake. Everything else was rather standard with no real stand-out item.

A full set of pyjamas and bedding are provided. The attendant let me know she selected a size for me which was extra large. Talk about a tough hit to the ego.

As I was travelling during the day I did not try these on nor did I set up the bed. Based on the size of the cabin, I have no doubt that the bed is one of the best in the sky.

Oman Air Entertainment System

The in-flight entertainment system is well stocked with new release movies and TV shows as well as games and music. The Controls are very responsive and dual-purposes allowing you to watch content on it or on the TV. I wouldn’t normally take advantage of this feature however, weirdly, the screen is a ways away from your seat.

Noise-cancelling headphones are provided however are mediocre compared to the Bose QuietComfort I travel with.

Oman Air Wi-Fi Service

Shortly after takeoff, I was handed an envelope containing Wi-Fi credentials. First-class passengers receive three hours of complimentary service. Like other airlines, the service is spotty. My experience was worse than with Turkish Air and I didn’t end up using it long out of frustration. At a minimum, use it for messaging friends or emails only. Even at that, it was painful.

Washroom

The washroom on Oman Air’s 787-9 first-class cabin was pretty basic compared to the rest of the cabin. They are large and toilets include bidets but that might be common to the area rather than the class of cabin.

Oman Air First-Class Food and Drink

Looking at the menu, there is no shortage of delicious options on this Oman Air first-class flight.

I settled on the caviare with champagne to start and a braised lamb shank paired with a beautiful Malbec for my main. I followed this all with pistachio ice cream and port. The ice cream was a bit of a copout however I was leaving the land of the pistachio so I wanted to get one last taste.

I asked this to be served a couple of hours before arrival. Until then, I happily filled my time with champagne, working on reviews, and stealing snacks from the mini bar.

When it came time for my meal, the table was set and everything was presented beautifully. I’m not a huge caviare fan but this was so very good. It could’ve been the bottomless champagne though. 😂

Oman Air – Final Thoughts

What was the icing on an already frosty cake of a trip, my Oman Air first-class experience was a memorable one, to say the least. From pre-flight pampering to the first-class service in the sky, Oman Air has certainly set the bar for me. I arrived in London very happy, very full, and a little tipsy. This was an incredible experience gate to gate and would happily fly with Oman Air again.

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For more luxury travel reviews from business class and beyond see HERE.