Video Report

Oman Air - WY102 & WY283 - London to Bengaluru via Muscat

Background

Hello A'Netters. Hope you are well.

It was over 2 years since I visited my parents in India and it was about time we did so. The plan was to visit my parents in Bangalore (now Bengaluru) for a week and a couple of days in Cochin (Kochi) to visit my grandparents. My mom was just recovering from a Chemo session and was about time we go and meet her.

I wanted an option such that we could leave on a Friday evening, after work, to Bangalore and the return flight from Cochin.

The usual suspects were the Middle Eastern carrier and the best option (time, price and transit times) seemed to be with Oman Air. A night flight on Friday, an hour (and a bit) transit each way and excellent timing. To top it all, it was the cheapest available option at £412 per head! Very happy with it and the entire booking process was seamless. A total of 15 minutes end to end, using Oman Air's website.

I was also able to decent seats for all the 4 sectors of the trip.

Overall very impressed so far. The last time I was on Oman Air was way back in 2010 and I used to not maintain my flight logs then. But my memory tells me that it was a flight to Mumbai and return from Cochin and the entire trip seemed to be without any incidents of note. At that time Oman Air used to use leased A330's from Jet Airways.

Hopefully the new Muscat terminal would be open by the time we are set for the trip. (Spoiler Alert : Yes it was!)

The only drawback thus far is the inability to gain points/miles with any other partner airline. Looks like the partnership with Etihad has also now been descoped and the only option is to avail points on Oman Air's own loyalty program - Sindbad; which is kind of waste for me, as I do not see myself use the airline too much.



In January of 2018, Oman Air sent me an upgrade option, which I thought was pretty reasonable. They also had a Boost my priority option where in you could vouch to pay a higher price for the upgrade. This is all subject to availability in the last minute which I think is a good incentive and a win-win for both customers and the airlines. Note: I used to keep getting these emails every fortnight to entice me to bid for a business class seat.



Oman Air- WY102
Route: LHR - MCT
Flight Reg:A4O-DB; Delivered to Oman Air on Oct 2009
Aircraft Type: Airbus 330-300
Seat: 26 A
Flight time: 20:50 - 07:25 (21:19 - 07:27)
Actual flight time: 7Hr 08 min
Distance: 3630 Miles
Load: 5 First; 20 Business; 160 Economy
27th April 2018
Price: £824 for 2 tickets (http://www.omanair.com/en/)
My Log book: 5th Flight on Oman Air / 5th flight on Airbus 330-300 / 159th Total overall flight

Day before the flight, online check in was simple and intuitive to use. Checked in online in 10 minutes. Had to enter all our passport details and our preselected seats was acknowledged.

The day of the flight, was a fairly quick drive to the airport. Baggage drop was super quick and done in 2 minutes.

London Heathrow T4 on a Friday evening


T4 Departures terminal


Oman Air Check in desks at T4


Whilst shooting a video at the airport another person at the airport asked me not to shoot. When I asked him why he said I was not allowed. I challenged him and he just walked away. I was quite polite all the way through our discussion.

Security was quick and we had over 2 hours at the duty free Area

Airside at T4






Had a pre-dinner snack at The commission.

How true!


Plane spotting at T4
Kenya Airways Dreamliner




Korean Air Whale Jet


Ah, always brings tears to my eyes!


Bulgaria Air Taking off


Up close and personal. China Eastern B77W


Another Whale



Our flight has just arrived from Muscat




Boarding began on time and I was the first person to board the flight.

Heading to our boarding gates


Time to board


A good selection here


The air conditioner wasn't turned on and the cabin was fuming. There was also a very distinctive odour all over the cabin.
Boarding complete at 2030. Disembarked from the gate at 2050.

First impressions - Business class


Row 26


Economy cabin


View from our Seat


Decent seat pitch


Amenity kit


Reading material on board


Drinks served after 30 minutes reaching cruising altitude. Had a spicy bloody Mary. It wasn't mixed for me but I got what I wanted. So no complaints.

Cabin after take off


Internet not available


Menu for this flight


So what do we have on today's flight?


Ah!


A decent watch


There was paid for internet on this flight, but did not try it


Pre-dinner drinks - A Spicy Bloody Mary


Dinner was served within an hour. The lamb dish was probably one of the best dishes I've had in economy. Succulent lamb and the dish just ticked all the right boxes. Soft warm bread was excellent too.

Salad was a miss but the bread pudding was very good.
Washed it down with a cabernet sauvignon. A more than adequate meal.

A yummy lamb meal! Emptied it in no time


At exactly 0000 hours, the cabin was all dark and there was suddenly a barrage of cabin crew near my seat. My wife had planned them to give me a surprise by asking them to come with some cake and a card and sing for me. That was probably one of the best surprises that I ever got. Apparently she had gone to all the trouble of calling Oman air the previous week to see if they could get a cake on board. I'm already nervous on how do I top this surprise for her. It was fitting as I was flying, in the air, the place I am happiest perhaps and I have this surprise when I was least expecting.

The best they could do was a dessert from the business class cuisine and a hand written card signed by most of the cabin crew. Whatever it was definitely my best birthday surprise and my wife has a lot to keep up to for next year. No pressure then.

A surprise stitched up by my wife and the flight attendants! )) Thank you ))))


Completed the movie and then slept for perhaps 2 hours or slightly less than that.

90 minutes before landing another round of sandwich and drinks ensued. I declined the food as I was still a bit full and also had to eat my birthday dessert.

View of the cabin before a round of snack been served


Oye! Hands off mate!


So far the flight has been very good. There was a bit of turbulence but I was mostly in the middle of a snooze when it was happening.

The crew on this flight was very good. Very efficient, did what they had to do with a smile and constant drink runs. There was never a moment I think they ever rested as they constantly seem to be walking the aisle catering to the needs of the passengers.

Rest of the flight was uneventful in the nicest way.

Landing at MCT Seeb




Neighbours at MCT


Final shot



Transit through Muscat new terminal.

In one sentence, it was a breeze. Absolutely love the new terminal building and it's seamless for transit. Bright , airy and super clean it was definitely one of the best terminals in the middle East. Security was quick and I was slightly apprehensive about getting in duty free alcohol from London. But it wasn't even checked and we were at the main duty free Area in no time.

Bought a fresh fruit juice and it was time to board. Great timing.

Transiting through Muscat Seeb's new terminal
















After security, we are at the main concourse area








Oman Air- WY283
Route: MCT - BLR
Flight Reg:A4O-BL; Delivered to Oman Air on Nov 2014
Aircraft Type: Boeing 737-800
Seat: 16 A
Flight time: 08:45 - 13:50 (09:28 - 13:59)
Actual flight time:3Hr 01 min
Distance: 1460 Miles
Load: 6 Business; 149 Economy.
28th April 2018
My Log book: 6th Flight on Oman Air / 28th flight on Boeing 737-800 /160th Total overall flight

Heading towards the gate






Time to board




Our ride to Bengaluru - A 3.5 year old Boeing 737-800


Angled flat business class seating


Flight departed on time and a flight time of 3 hours was announced.

There was an annoying kid in front of me who wanted a window seat. Her mom asked me to exchange seats during taxiing throwing all security out of the window.

Anyways after take-off I just politely denied the request and asked her to speak to the flight attendant.

The new Thales IFE on this aircraft


..with some useful info at the sides


Oman Air Dreamliner in front of us


About to take off


Bye Bye Oman


Cabin view after take off


Avoid!


Drinks and food service started 40 minutes after reaching cruising altitude.

This aircraft was equipped with the latest Thales IFE. Was very slick and intuitive to use. A step above the previous experience on the A330.

The food on this sector was extensive. There was a veg, egg, chicken, Asian veg and Indian veg. We tried the Asian and Indian veg. Both the dishes were very good and way above a normal economy meal.

Yummy Indian Veg food


By this time jet lag started to kick in and tried to sleep for 30 minutes or so. The leg space on this aircraft was remarkably different to the A330, which was more generous and so was the recline.

Landed on time and, being a quiet time at BLR, exit was quick. Out of the airport in 30 minutes.

And, we have almost reached Bengaluru


Parking at our gate




Bengaluru Airport








Baggage Collection




Exiting the airport




Verdict

This leg of our journey was very well catered for and taken care of by Oman Air. All flights were on/before time and the aircrafts were all well maintained. Crew on both sectors were up to the task and did what they had to do. Food was excellent and perfectly well portioned for the sectors.

The icing on the cake, literally, was the effort the crew (And my wife!) went to make my day a special, 39000 feet in the air.

Areas to improve would be to upgrade to the latest Thales system on all their flights and perhaps improve on the IFE offering.

Overall had a great flight on Oman Air and looking forward to our return journey.

Hope you liked this edition of the report. I shall be updating this report with our domestic hop from Bengaluru to Kochi (On Indigo) followed by our return journey on Oman Air from Kochi.

Until then, have a safe and happy flying and let the Trip reports keep coming.

Adios!

Hey Varun pretty cool trip report, thanks for sharing!

-Are you sure it was a 9W A330? Because AFAIK 9W sub-leased their A330s to GF and EY in the past, while there are some currently with Turkish, one with Air Serbia.
-Impressive amenity kit for such a short flight!
-Great going by your crew - and kudos to your wife for putting it together for you!
-New MCT looks awesome!
-Interesting to note that the B737 had better seats than the long-haul A330.
-What happened with the kid/mum afterwards? Did they find another window seat? Hate it when that happens - seats were pre-reserved for a reason!
-Decent job from WY all the way through it would seem. Glad to see that!

Looking forward to the rest of the parts of this report!

CA

Thanks for the comments CollegeAviator
- I was pretty sure it was from Jet. The last time I was on Oman Air, was in May 2009 and was aware that they were getting their 'new' A330's soon. I am sure it was leased, perhaps not Jet, then?
- Yes, not too bad. Although the eye shade was a bit too plastic'y. Had to use the BA (White Company) ones that I had taken with me.
- I would second that!
- Indeed. For now it is ideal and transit was painless.
- Ah! I think what I typed is not what i mean to say. The 737 was worse off than the A330! I just read what i typed and it did not make sense! lol! Lesson learnt -> do not write up when you are jet lagged!
- I just ignored them. Although my wife told them off during landing, as the kid was standing 2 minutes before landing! the crew did not bother, did not do a safety check, but my wife sternly told them off. Not sure if they understood as the mom could barely speak any English.
- Would agree.

Thanks, should be out by the middle of May.

newbief1yer wrote:

- I was pretty sure it was from Jet. The last time I was on Oman Air, was in May 2009 and was aware that they were getting their 'new' A330's soon. I am sure it was leased, perhaps not Jet, then?

The Jet Airways A330's were, AFAIK, only leased in 2009 - pretty sure, by the configuration, BusinessClass-seats and interior colours your flight was a "real" OmanAir A330 and not sub-leased.

Thanks Debonair.
I was speaking about the last time I was in oman air, not this time.

Video Report

6E6965 - Indigo Airlines - Bengaluru to Kochi - A320-200 (VT-IHC)

Originally booked for GoAir. But 4 weeks before the trip got an email and text message stating that our flight has been cancelled and we availed of a full refund.

Worked well for us, as I had originally booked tickets for the entire family who were now not able to travel. Without this cancellation I would have not been refunded due it being a LCC. So perhaps a blessing in disguise.

Rebooked on Indigo -> India's most successful and market dominating airline. Easy to use website and booked within 10 minutes.

Thanks to GCMap.com


Indigo- 6E 6965
Route: BLR - COK
Flight Reg:VT-IHC; Delivered to Indigo on Sep 2017. Built on Oct 2005; Delivered to Jazeera on Nov 2005; Then to Srilankan on Dec 2010.
Aircraft Type: Airbus 320-200
Seat: 21 A
Flight time: 19:00 - 20:00 ( 19:05 - 19:56)
Actual flight time: 51 min
Distance: 228 Miles
Load: 100% load.
Price: £58 for 2 tickets (http://www.goindigo.in)
05th May 2018
My Log book: 2nd Flight on Indigo / 38th flight on Airbus 320-200 / 161st Total overall flight

Route for the flight


On the day of the flight drive to the airport was as expected. Long and tedious. Nearly 2 hours in the intense heat and traffic. Not the best but we reached with 2 hours to spare.

Ride to the airport


Self-serve check in did not work. But the baggage drop was extremely quick.

Self-Check in -> Did not work


Departure terminal


Indigo Check in desks


Heading towards security


Security on the other hand has always been a bottle neck at Indian airports and today was no different. Extremely lethargic officials at security and the moved at a snail's pace. Took nearly 15 minutes for around 10 people in the queue in front of me.

Urgh!


Once airside Bengaluru airport is substantial. Great selection of shops for shopping and refreshments.

Had a quick tea and off to the boarding gate. Boarding commenced by 18 15. A lot of checking later, we were bussed to the remote aircraft and was in my seats by 18 40.

Airside










I like the terminal layout


Heading to our gates




At our gate


Bussed to the aircraft


Rare plane spotting -> A 30 year old Nepal Airlines B757


Our ride to Kochi






Full flight for this short hop to Cochin. Flight disembarked from the remote stand 10 minutes ahead of schedule and airborne by 1906. Fight time of 45 minutes announced with light turbulence. Cruise altitude of 28000 feet.

First impressions of the aircraft. This is a connecting flight from Kolkata. The aircraft had an ideal temperature set and the seats were acceptably clean. Very good leg space and I could easily traverse 4 to 5 hours on these seats.



View from the seat


A more than acceptable amount of leg space


Reading on board


Food And drinks commenced as soon as the seat belt sign was switched off.

We were warned about turbulences en-route but there was hardly any.

Rest of the flight was uneventful in a nice way and we landed 1 minute ahead of schedule.

50 minutes later in Kochi


Thank you Indigo


Waiting for the bus


Guidance


Baggage collection


Exiting Kochi Airport




A great service by Indigo on this route and can highly recommend it.

The last part of this trip report if the return flight from Kochi to London via Muscat. I shall be emphasizing on the new Kochi terminal since the rest of the flight report is similar to the onward journey to Bengaluru. Coming soon…

The new Terminal 3 Building




Our ride to the hotel

Video Report

Oman Air - Kochi to London via Muscat - WY226 & WY101

Return flight from Kochi to London via Muscat. This is going to be a short report mainly focusing on the new Kochi Terminal (Terminal 3) along with a lot of photos. Hope you like it.

Oman Air- WY226
Route: COK - MCT
Flight Reg:A4O-BAH; Delivered to Oman Air on March 2017. The last received B738.
Aircraft Type: Boeing 737-800
Seat: 15 A
Flight time: 09:50 - 12:00 (09:54 - 11:37)
Actual flight time: 3Hr 13 Min
Distance: 1512 Miles
Load: 90% load.
07th May 2018
My Log book: 7th Flight on Oman Air / 29th flight on Boeing 737-800 / 162nd Total overall flight

Oman Air- WY101
Route: MCT - LHR
Flight Reg:A4O-DD; Delivered to Oman Air on Nov 2009
Aircraft Type: Airbus 330-300
Seat: 25K
Flight time: 14:10 - 19:10 ( 14:24 - 18:59)
Actual flight time: 7Hr 35 Min
Distance: 3630 Miles
Load: 177 in economy.
07th May 2018
My Log book: 8th Flight on Oman Air / 6th flight on Airbus 330-300 / 163rd Total overall flight

Day of the flight we reached the airport by 7 35.

The new airport terminal is very opulent yet had a Kerala touch to it. Really liked the look of it.That being said everything else was similar to Indian airports. Slow check in. Security lethargic and the excruciating number of boarding pass checks. 7 until you reach the duty free Area. Immigration was quick nevertheless.

Took us around 30 minutes to reach duty free. Given the crowd at the time it was way too long.

Heading towards the new Kochi International Terminal


The new terminal - Departures




Lovely terminal


Check in desks




Gorgeous!


Heading towards Immigration


Airside


Food court




View from the food court



Spent some time at the duty free and then walked around the new terminal. Very well laid out and easy to navigate.

Duty free


Not a busy terminal during this time of the day


Beautiful


Walking around the glistening terminal





Boarding began was ahead of schedule and we were at our seats by 9 20. Boarding complete at 9 35.

First impressions once again was near and clean. Seats a bit cramped but I was looking forward to watching black panther as it had just been added.

Time to board


Our ride to Muscat -> The latest B738 to Oman Air's fleet


Row 15 -> The window seat without a window


Sneak peek from the window at Row 16



Welcome announcements in 3 pre-recorded languages. Arabic, English and then destination language (Kannada onward to Bangalore and in Malayalam from Kochi) .

Bye Bye Kochi


AWESOME!


Cabin view after take off



30 minutes after take-off drinks round ensued.

The crew on this flight was rather lackadaisical. One of the cabin crew had no energy and looked extremely tired. The other (perhaps Malaysian) was bubbly. So a mixed bag crew. However the crew who I questioned about being unenergetic made up for it later on during the flight by being proactive and getting me a drink along with few rounds serving drinks. So in the end the crew made up for it.

Non Veg Breakfast -> egg with Chole (Chick peas) -> tasted good!


Veg Breakfast


An extremely potent Bloody Mary


Quiet slow, but a very good movie, nevertheless



Rest of the flight was uneventful except for some slight turbulence during approach into Muscat.

Descending into Muscat


Neighbours at Muscat


Bye for now





Transit in Muscat seamless as before.

Had a few bits to eat and drink before heading to our gates. There was a further security check at the check which was strange. This was a lot more strict with even slippers been asked to be placed In the x-ray. No liquids were allowed including bottles of water bought at duty free. Liquids in sealed bags were allowed.

Back to familiar territory - we were here 9 days ago






Boarding from gates C8


One more security check before heading into the waiting area -> was a bit laborious


Strange sight at Muscat -> apparently leased to Air Blue (Pakistan LCC)


Chaos Theory


Our ride back to London




Boarding commenced 40 minutes before departure.

All window shades were kept closed upon boarding and I think This is common in the middle East. Similar experience in Bahrain the last time we were in this part of the world. Temperature in the cabin was comfortable.

Neighbours at MCT


Departed on time and was airborne by 14 20


Take off


Bye Bye Muscat


Drinks round commenced within 40 minutes of reaching cruising altitude.


Drinks Round


Urgh! Over hyped!


We then hit a patch of turbulence over the Arabian gulf. Food was served but no drinks. The tray was then left with us for a while until the bumpy ride subsided. Around an hour.

Drinks were then served and trays taken.

The worst meal of our trip on Oman Air


Worth a watch


Slept for a couple of hours after lunch.

Once again a light snack (sandwich) was served 2 hours before landing. I declined but it didn't look appetizing at all.

Woke up to another snack round, 90 minutes before landing


Cabin view



The toilets on this flight was messy. Of the 5 toilets on board for economy passengers one of it was completely blocked for the duration of the flight. The remaining ones were wet and grimy towards the end of the flight.

Landing into London


Heavies at The Star Terminal (T2)


Heavies at T4; parked next to The Queen!


Home!


Thank you Oman Air


Baggage collection



Verdict

With the new Muscat terminal, Oman Air does have quite a strong product. Their transit services in the airport is seamless and since it is a new terminal, it all looks new, shiny and smells fresh.

Their food is definitely one of the better ones in economy, good selection and decent drinks too.

Crew on the whole were more than acceptable and perhaps I can even say were very good. Pleasing on the eye and fairly enthusiastic (Except the last sector where the toilets were left as such).

Overall a very good experience and for the price paid and the timing of flights I cannot complain and can definitely recommend Oman Air.

Hope you liked this edition of my trip report. If things go as planned the next one should be on Austrian Airlines (First for me) to Vienna for a short weekend trip.
Until then happy and safe flying and looking forward to reading more trip reports.

Adios!

Thanks for sharing the trip report, was very enjoyable.
I like the new MCT terminal, hope to try it out soon. Will be honest though-WY is one of those airlines that has never had any appeal for me. Outside of their fancy A330/787 routes (London, KL, Bangkok etc. ) I found the experience bland-maybe because when I flew them, the aircraft and crew were leased from a Czech airline. This is something QR for example would never do-whether on an A320 to Nairobi or an A380 to Sydney the experience stays the same.
BLR and COK look great-I have to say I am a fan of Indian airports for the most part-well-designed and comfortable. A few minor issues here and there, but overall comparable to most airports in the Gulf/Europe etc. I also tried IndiGo-very functional, and to the point. Next time try flying Vistara if you can (currently they're still small and based mainly in DEL). On my previous trips to India I've only been to the North, so hope to visit Kerala and Karnataka on my next trip.

Thanks for the comments, directorguy, much appreciated.
Yes, the new MCT terminal is indeed very nice. Easy to transfer and good size, for now. I would agree that WY do miss the 'WOW' factor, that being said are perfectly acceptable if you keep your expectations reasonable. They are still relatively a smaller airline and I think in the recent past are heading towards the right direction.
Yeah, Indian airports, terminal area, is very nice and have improved substantially over the past few years. The only area which still frustrates me is the lethargic security checks, almost spoils the entire experience of the airports. I am all for intense security, but there are clever and intelligent ways to do them especially with improving technology. Security in Indian airports feel like 'tick in the box' exercise with a minimum of 4-5 stamps on your boarding pass. rant over!
Yeah, heard very good reviews of Vistara. Hope to try them in the near future.
Highly recommend Kerala! Hope you get to visit it soon and post your review on Airliners.

You are lucky to have missed the old airport. 400 ;pounds is a great deal. And am impressed by the legroom. Even Business Class is reasonable.

I was there at the old terminal in 2016
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