This is the second post in the UAE and Qatar itinerary series, and it introduces Oman Air, the hidden luxury airline of the Middle East—also described by Sam Chui as the world’s most underrated first and business class (World’s Most Underrated First and Business Class – Oman Air)! The whole trip was designed to get from Dubai, UAE, to Doha, Qatar. The itinerary I redeemed was business class on DXB-MCT-DOH, using 12,000 Etihad miles (transferable from MR). Specific redemption details can be found in UAE and Qatar itinerary. One thing worth noting: you can access the First Class lounge at DXB, and at MCT you can enter Oman Air’s home-base lounge. Both are very good lounges and well worth experiencing!
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Dubai Airport (DXB) Ahlan First Class Lounge Experience
When I arrived in the morning, there weren’t many people in the lounge. It’s very large and high quality. You can access it with DragonPass. It costs $39 on LoungeBuddy, so you can use it for the AMEX Green statement credit. A PPS card only gets you into Ahlan Business Lounge. The lounge is open 24 hours a day. In addition to the buffet served at scheduled times, there is also an all-day menu you can order from.
Exterior
Facilities
A long hallway leads from the lounge to the dining area, along with a bar where you can order drinks.
Food
The breakfast buffet really wasn’t anything special, so it was better to just order from the all-day menu.
The menu was still quite varied, but I only tried the more familiar Hong Kong-style dim sum, sushi, and Laksa (a Malaysian noodle dish).
The sushi was pretty average, with too much rice. The original menu used to have sashimi, but it’s gone now. The Hong Kong-style dim sum was decent, and the Laksa was a bit oily, but still suited my taste.
Dubai-Muscat (DXB-MCT) WY604 Business Class Experience
Seat
Most of the time, this flight is operated by an A330 or a B787, both with lie-flat business class, plus first class that can be redeemed for 11,000 Etihad miles. Unfortunately, I only caught the B737 version, which means the standard recliner seat. I chose seat 1F, and business class was full that day.
I honestly never figured out how to use that footrest.
Food
Although this was a flight of less than an hour, there was still a meal. To show it to everyone, I still ordered a full round, and since I didn’t want to waste it, I finished everything. The left side was chicken and the right side was fish, and both tasted pretty good. In addition to the main meal, dates and coffee were served before departure. The service was still very thoughtful, mainly because the flight attendants were very beautiful.
Exterior
Another highlight is that on takeoff you can see Palm Jumeirah and the Burj Al Arab. You may be able to see them from either the left or right side during departure, though the right side should be a bit closer.
Muscat International Airport (MCT) Oman Air First Class Lounge Experience
MCT airport is still very new and looks very premium. There is a dedicated business-class channel for connections. One thing to note is that the boarding pass says check-in is one hour before departure, but in reality that just gets you into a small waiting area. Everyone there is on this flight, and there’s no cabin separation, so you can stay in the lounge a little longer. My layover was only two hours, and after transit time and waiting, I only spent a short while in the lounge.
The lounge is very large, and First Class and Business Class are separated. The Business Class lounge was very crowded. There are two dining areas in the lounge, both buffet-style, with similar food, but the one inside was less crowded.
Exterior
Facilities
Food
The food selection was still very rich, with lots of hot dishes (I really couldn’t eat much more, and some of it didn’t look great in photos, so I didn’t take pictures), as well as salads, fruit, and desserts. The quality was excellent.
Muscat-Doha (MCT-DOH) WY663 Business Class Experience
The aircraft was an EMBRAER EMB 175 JET, built by Embraer, the world’s third-largest commercial aircraft manufacturer and the world’s largest regional aircraft manufacturer. The seat was still the standard recliner seat, and I chose the solo seat in 4A.
I ordered another meal again and again. The chicken and smoked salmon were both still very good, and I did my best to finish everything. Counting the hotel breakfast, this was already my fifth meal of the day...
Conclusion
Both lounges were excellent, but unfortunately both flights were only on the standard recliner seat. Since these were short-haul flights, by the time I finished eating I was basically already there, so I didn’t have very high expectations anyway. If you get the chance, I recommend trying Oman Air—remember to redeem with Etihad miles, and the award chart is here. For 12,000 MR, I got to experience a premium airline plus its lounges, and just the five meals alone made it worthwhile.