Oman air : Bangalore-Muscat-Paris CDG. Review on Oman Air

I traveled Omar air on the Bangalore-Muscat-Paris CDG and I have to say that I had quite a mixed experience. I chose the airlines purely for economy reasons. To humor myself, I read reviews on the internet before I left and the only reviews I read were bad, bad and worse. Most of the complaints were about the service.

Although I did not have any issues with the service, I have to admit that I didn’t have too many demands of the air hostesses. I received everything I requested for and well in time. While the Bangalore Muscat flight was a short one, about two and half hours early in the morning, the Muscat Paris flight was close to 6 hours. The food served on the Bangalore Muscat flight was quite pathetic, with stale rotis(bread) and vegetables. I am tempted to believe that the non-vegetarian meal was better than the vegetarian one, but no can say. The aircraft itself was a small one, similar to some of the budget airlines back home in India or some of the cheaper European airlines. Inflight entertainment was limited to the overhead TVs available in alternative seats, that you need to crane your neck to view.

The whole experience set the stage for the next leg of the journey(Muscat- Paris) and I was expecting close to nothing when I boarded the flight to Paris. But I had a pleasant surprise when I entered the aircraft. Not only was the aircraft almost brand new, the leg space even in economy section was much more than the traditional European airlines such as Lufthansa and Air France(At least the pre 2009 flights). The in flight entertainment services were excellent, with all the latest Hollywood and international collection of movies. You can connect your iPhone as well to the inflight entertainment unit and view/hear your own personal collection. Pretty cool, huh! Needless to say, you can charge your phone. All the regular sky mobile services, including making phone calls, etc is available on the aircraft. The food served on the flight was really good with choices of vegetarian, meat including lamb and chicken. I had the vegetarian meal which included a lovely creamy pasta with a great Mediterranean salad(Complete with Dolma). I am not such a big fan of airline food, but this meal made me reconsider. Landing and takeoff were quite a joy during both legs of the journey, unlike some of the shakey landings I have had in the recent past. As I was on a holiday in France, I made the journey back in the same airline and the experience was more or less the same. All in all, I would say that given the price, Oman air is a good bargain and unlike me, who was quite apprehensive before I boarded the flight, you can be rest assured that it is actually quite alright and on par with some of the more expensive airlines. Perhaps, the age of the aircraft is as important as all other factors, in determining your experience.