Oman Air

LHR to Colombo via Muscat. Outward flight was very unsatisfactory. Cabin crew were indifferent and at times positively rude. They appeared not to want to do the job at all customers being a annoyance to be tolerated at best. Aircraft was looking "tired" and in need of refurbishment. Carpets worn seat foam lacking support and uncomfortable etc. IFE worked but again looks dated to alternative airlines. Return flight was better with happier crew and better service but not enough to erase my negative memories of the outward flight! I have flown with Oman over several years and feel the service offered is slowly deteriorating to the point where I will not be booking with them again if there is a viable alternative. This is a shame as I like their flight times and Muscat is a far more attractive transit option than the other gulf airports.

Flew economy from Muscat to Heathrow on 20 January. Cabin service was unacceptable. The crew did not service the toilets during the flight. I pointed out to a cabin attendant that the lavatories were in an awful state and why was he not servicing them there were no tissues paper towels and the lavatory paper had nearly run out. Also the floors and seats were in an unacceptable condition. He said that as they were in use all the time so he could not get into them. On our outbound flight LHR to Muscat 10 days earlier the lavatories were not serviced for the second half of the journey.

I flew Oman Air WY 826 in business class from KL to Muscat having come from Australia on Malaysian. They did not have the systems to issue my second boarding pass in Sydney so I had to queue at the transfer desk in KL. This experience was just shocking. A sign says Malaysian are handling agents for Oman Air and others so I joined the queue. Half an hour later I was told no Malaysian does not handle Oman Air and their people would be coming in to work soon. So I joined another queue. About 100 people were making the transfer. I queued for an hour. This was in the middle of a busy area with people cutting through the queue all the time with their luggage. Many Oman Air passengers were not too good about waiting their turn. There is no separate queue for business class. On board the flight was exceptionally comfortable. However it was a day flight and given 90 minutes a queuing after a long flight to KL and hours in the airport it was not worth paying the business class fare. Oman is a nice place to visit and they run a large tourist promotion effort in Australia but they really must fix the transit at KL. It would be best to provide boarding passes at the original point of check-in. With that I could have had 90 minutes more sleep at the KL airside hotel.

Kuwait - Kuala Lumpur (transit in Muscat). Regular business class check-in (at least I didn't have to stand in line to get my boarding pass.) Lounge in Kuwait and Muscat were fine but lounge in KLIA was superb (I was granted the MAS golden lounge which was superior compared to top international lounges such as Bahrain and Dubai lounges.) Flight to/from Kuwait - Muscat was fine onboard their B737 fleet but to/from Muscat - Kuala Lumpur is where the fun begins in their business class cabin. Really superior business class cabin with a decent entertainment system fine food quality good amenity kit and friendly crew. For the price I paid I would say value exceeded cost. Would consider flying again.

Muscat-Salalah return. Outward: Excellent private kerb side entrance to Business Class dedicated area at Seeb then to OmanAir lounge (separate review). Business is boarded last own private small coach. Hot towels and soft drink when seated no alcohol on internal flights. New 737/800 with IFE and comfortable seats. Tablecloths and cutlery even for light snack on short flight. Twenty minute delay in departing arrived on time. Return: Business boarding as you wish short walk to aircraft a E175. All pax greeted by Captain on boarding (and on arrival) - how nice. Comfortable flight hot towels newspapers and light snack. IFE and comfortable seats same service as outward leg Good flight experience and internal flights on Oman are subsidised and cheap.

Dubai-Muscat in Business. New 737/800 efficient boarding and hot snack and fizz on short flight. Hot towels and helpful FA's. No airbridges at Muscat (new airport being built) so bus to terminal. Good experience with Oman Air. Note-although we had a connecting flight to Salalah we still had to collect luggage and check in again at Seeb airport.

Six of us flew from London to Bangkok via Muscat. The cost of the tickets were a couple of hundred pounds cheaper than other airlines. This was our second trip. The plane was clean and comfortable; the food OK and the airline staff courteous and helpful. Check in on all legs was swift with no problems at all. We are already looking forward to our next trip in April.

LHR-MCT-MLE - return 2 Nov 13 - Economy. My experiences don't correspond with some on here. LHR check in was fast and efficient. A330 to MCT overnight was more than tolerable. Great seat pitch. A huge selection of films and TV programmes on the IFE and the FAs were efficient and friendly. Food choice was limited and in fact we only had a choice of one. Onward flight to MLE A330 was busy but to same high standard. I found the transfer in MCT fast and efficient. They are obviously building a new airport as you can see it across the apron. Return leg was brilliant - the A330 from MLE to MCT literally had 15-20 passengers! It was effectively empty! Obviously this meant great service and choices. MCT to LHR was very busy but no complaints. My partner and I are both big lads (over 6') and the biggest plus for us was the twin window seats on a A330 and the pitch! I will definitely use again.

We just went to the Maldives with Oman Airways from Frankfurt. Although the first two flights were not even half booked out we could not choose seats on the way to the Maldives. On the way back we explicitly asked to sit in a front row or near an emergency exit and although we were supposed to get them we did not have a seat there on both flights! Some planes are new others already pretty old. All of them are dirty and not well maintained. The lavatories are in a bad shape. The food was poor in taste and on several flights we didn't even have a choice since there was only one meal left. Bad if you were a vegetarian. No alcohol served on the 7 hour flight back to Germany. Entertainment system is actually good however on all flights either the remote the touchscreen or the headset (plug) were broken. Service was not good either. Also the Airport in Muscat is loud and dirty. So unfortunately I cannot recommend Oman Airways.

LHR-BKK via Muscat 15th/16th Dec BKK-LHR via Muscat 27th Dec. Outbound flight was tolerable although service has declined to perfunctory. What happened to the meals? Suvarnabhumi deplaning delayed first by 30 mins as pilot appeared to take wrong exit from main runway. Chaotic scenes as people started unloading luggage lockers while still on apron. No control from crew. 27th flights back were appalling. Muscat transfer was 1hr. Qatar can manage at 45mins. Not Oman. Deplaning delayed for 25 minutes as coaches were found. Chaos ensued with huge tail back at security. Being shouted at for being late by airport staff for Oman's inefficiency is not on. Plane for Muscat Heathrow leg was both shockingly filthy and decrepit. Toilets were disgusting tray tables stained and smothered in food debris. Whole plane smelt. This was a real shock to us we've used Oman regularly for over 5 yrs but these flights mean we're looking elsewhere. With the awful food offering dirty planes and being treated like cattle Oman seems to pitching to be the Gulf version of Ryannair.