This belongs in the “things we’ve been meaning to write about since the start of the challenge.” Last week, Prince of Travel discovered that it was now possible to book Oman Air flights using Air France/KLM Flying Blue miles.
One Mile at a Time lists Oman Air as one of the World’s Best First Class Airlines and our own Nick Reyes had good things to say about their business class as well. Oman Air has partnered with Air Canada Aeroplan since 2021 and plans to become a full oneworld Alliance member later this year, so there will soon be many additional ways to skin a flight to Muscat.
However, Flying Blue partners with every major transferable currency, is fond of handing out transfer bonuses and seems to have access to quite a bit of inventory. That makes this a welcome announcement, even if it’s somewhat surprising.
The Deal
- It is now possible to book Oman Air flights using Air France/KLM Flying Blue miles
- Awards are priced by segment, so an itinerary with multiple segments will be priced at the total miles needed for each segment.
- Surcharges are significant; most premium cabin long-haul flights have between $300-400 of additional fees added to the miles cost.
- There are no regions or award charts, pricing is route-based.
Quick Thoughts
Oman Air is an airline that I’ve long wanted to fly (and Oman is country that I’ve always wanted to visit). The premium products get excellent reviews, but they don’t have any flights to the US, so the only way to sample them is by originating in Africa, Asia or Europe.
There appears to be quite a bit of business class availability on Air France; I had no trouble finding seats on multiple routes. Here’s the pricing to a few different cities in business class one-way from the airline’s hub in Muscat:
- Delhi – 34,500 miles
- Bangkok – 42,900 miles (or 62,000 in first)
- London – 61,900 miles
- Frankfurt – 48,400 miles
- Munich – 45,800 miles
Those mileage rates are very good, but they become a little less shiny given that additional taxes and fees ranged from ~$150 from Muscat – Delhi to between $300-$400 on the other, longer routes.
interestingly, the added charges for both first class and business class between Muscat and Bangkok were the the same at ~$323.
That said, while total pricing might be a bit more than Aeroplan, the availability that I’m seeing is excellent. I’ll be curious to see what pricing looks like in other programs as Oman Air becomes a full member of oneworld this year, but until then, Flying Blue might be easiest way to actually book a seat on the airline.
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