Even though the Oman Air Business Class offers one of the best products in the industry, it has the same issue like every middle eastern airline: you’ll always have to do a stopover in the middle of the desert. This results in longer travel times, and you’ll have to kill time and go through security again.
In order to tackle this issue, all the middle eastern airlines have a variety of airport lounges at their hub airports. Places like the Etihad First Class Lounge in Abu Dhabi for example provide a luxurious way to spend your stopover in style. Oman Air also operates a Business Class Lounge in Muscat, where all Oman Air flights normally do their stopover. Is the lounge as good as the airline’s business class? I’ve visited the Oman Air Business Class last September to find out!
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat: Location
The Oman Air Lounge at Muscat Airport is super easy to find. The airport is pretty modern, and the signage makes it really easy. After going through security once again, you’ll just have to take the central escalator up where all the lounges are. On the right side you’ll immediately see the black-golden entrance to the Oman Air Lounge:
Lounge Access: who gets in?
The following guests have access to the Oman Air Business Lounge:
- Guests of the Oman Air Business Class departing on the same day
- Oman Air Sindbad Silver or Gold Members departing with Oman Air on the same day
- For the First Class section of the lounge you’ll need an Oman Air First Class ticket departing on the same day
Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat: Review
Once you’ve entered through the golden doors of the Oman Air Lounge in Muscat you’ll get to the reception. Show your ticket or your frequent flier card and you’re in the oasis of the desert. Once you enter you’ll realize that Oman Air likes gold. A LOT. The walls are covered in a golden mesh, dividing different parts of the lounge.
My first todo was (as always) to ask for the lounge shower. Oman Air offers a couple of shower cabins in its business class lounge, and they were always available without having to wait. You just have to ask one of the lounge staff to guide you to one of the cabins.
The shower cabins are clean, but a little bit on the smaller side – I didn’t really have a lot of space for my backpack, and the water kept running on the floor, flooding the whole cabin. The shower cabins are okay though: better than the ones Emirates offers, but worse than the huge Etihad ones. I really liked the amenities though:
After my shower I checked out the different parts of the Oman Air Business Lounge. There are two larger dining areas (one near the entrance, one further back in the lounge), connected by a hallway with additional seating. Both offer the same food selection, and there was enough space for all guests whenever I visited. I just sat down and had some snacks:
As it was early morning, the Oman Air Lounge buffet offered breakfast with a good selection of Western and Omani dishes. I especially liked all the different Mezze, the typical Omani dates and the Indian Currys. Even though other lounges might offer a larger selection, the quality of the food was top.
Between the two dining areas is the Lounge Bar, as well as the Cigar Lounge. The bar is the only area in the lounge where you can get alcoholic drinks, but the drink menu was more than solid.
In this area are also lots of different seating areas to relax or work. If you’re a planespotter, the large window front allows you to watch some planes taxiing or taking off. Keep in mind though that the variety of liveries is rather limited – it felt like 90% of the planes were from Oman Air.
The First Class Lounge is also nearby, as both share the same entrance. I had the chance to take a peak, and there are nice and more private areas to relax, as well as an a la carte dining service.
The lounge’s layout feels fresh and bright, also due to the huge window front that spans across the whole length of the lounge. As said before, if you don’t like ‘gold’ then you should definitely avoid this place. I liked the design though, as the materials looked good and the whole lounge had a very unique style to it.
Also nice: due to all the dividers and how the lounge is set up, there are various quieter areas where you can get work done. You can also go into one of the four ‘Nap Rooms’, or take your family to one of the family rooms.
After around an hour I had to leave the Oman Air Lounge in Muscat again, checked my mails with the very good WiFi one more time and headed to my gate.
Conclusion: Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat
The Oman Air Business Class is already excellent, and their lounge at their home base in Muscat matches this experience: especially after the most recent renovation it offers a great way to make the stopover in the desert more bearable. In comparison to Etihad or Emirates lounges it’s way smaller, and just overall quieter and less crowded. If you have the chance, you should definitely give Oman Air and their lounge in Muscat a try!
