TRIP REPORT: I just booked a 7+ hour trip in Business in a Boeing 737 MAX on Oman Air. Am I mad?
UPDATE:
Oman Air in further flight reductions, cancelled this destination as they no longer fly to and from Zurich. We ended up on a flight to Milan in a 787 Dreamliner. So, I never did get to experience the Boeiing 737 MAX on long-haul.
PREVIOUSLY:
I’ve just booked a trip with Thai Airways/Oman Air and Malaysian Airlines that will take me from Sydney to Europe via Bangkok and then back to Australia from Zurich via Muscat and Kuala Lumpur. We have some obligations in Thailand and friends to visit in Europe. This fare at under AU$7,500 per person Business Class return was nearly too good to be true for an all-widebody trip. But then a narrow body reared its ugly head.
Content of this Post:
The kicker
When I first booked the trip, the Muscat Oman to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia leg was on an Oman Air Airbus A330-300, with those wonderful Business Class seats I travelled on in 2023.
A week later, when it came time to confirm and pay for the 2024 trip, the price was the same, but the aircraft travelling this 7-hour and 10-minute leg had changed from a twin-aisle widebody Airbus A330-300 to a narrow body single aisle Boeing 737-MAX. Hmmmmm.
To give you an idea of the difference, this is the Business Class seat/cabin on the A330-300:
A 77.5-inch long, lie-flat Business Class seat with a pitch of 82 inches is 22 inches wide and offers an electrically controlled backrest, leg rest and seat depth.
On the other hand, the Oman Air Boeing B737 MAX only has a ‘shell’ seat that does not go flat, but only reclines into a ‘Z’ relaxed position when fully reclined. It looks like this:
OK, OK, we are getting this trip at a very low fare, and it is a daytime flight. The legs before and after both have fully reclining lie-flat seats for their respective overnight flights. Maybe I should stop my kvetching? This may not be so bad.
What Nonstop Dan thinks about Boeing 737 MAX on Oman Air
To assuage my fears about the comfort of this flight, I searched the internet and found a four-year-old video from one of my favourite flight reviewers, Nonstop Dan. He maintains several YouTube channels, but his airline review channel is the most relevant for understanding the experience of a Boeing 737 MAX on Oman Air.
Here is what he thinks about this cabin:
Dan’s opinion is based on a 3.5 hour flight. Ours will be twice that, so we shall see. No WiFi will also be a challenge. But on the whole he is fairly positive about the experience.
Also, forewarned is forearmed. If you know what to expect, then you can plan for it. For this daytime flight, it will be reading and watching movies, with minimal work. That’s in contrast to the legs on either side, which will be nighttime flights, where sleep will be the priority.
2PAXfly Takeout
Maybe this is a case of the adage ‘You get what you pay for’ being true. However, I did book a trip, where this flight was originally on an Airbus A330-300 but has now been downgraded to a single aisle narrowbody Boeing 737 MAX on Oman Air, without lie-flat beds. On the other hand, equipment changes occur all the time, so six months out, at least I can prepare myself for this slightly less comfortable daytime flight. Anyway – you’ll know what I think in August this year.
Things could be worse. I could be flying economy!
The Oman Air A330 business class looks similar to the old British Airways 777 business class. In that configuration, the window seat was particularly private. Many did not like BA’s 777 old business class but I thought the window seat was great.
The 737 business class is more like premium economy or like American domestic first class. It is not worth much more than economy, in my opinion, except on a daytime flight.
The title reads “…am I mad?”. The answer is that you are, but not for flying Oman Air. Ha ha. No, you’re not crazy at all but write a fine blog.
Thanks for your kind comments. Having flown on both aircraft in business, I cannot agree with your comparison. Oman Air is like a private room. On BA, it’s like being a top to tail sardine in a can. As far as USA domestic first class – I can’t comment. It’s been a long time since I travelled in that class in the USA.
There are a few typos – it’s the 737 MAX, not the 787 MAX!
Oops! Thanks for pointing these out Alvin. I thought I had made that error – but couldn’t see for looking. Will correct.
Just discovered similar (un-notified) change on my booking. Cant say I am happy.
KUL-MCT is 7hr+. Like you however it is daylight flight (both ways). The other legs (CDG-MCT, KUL-SYD) are still lie flat (for now!).
Have asked WY to refund the entire fare, but that would appear unlikely!
Hi Etrust, thanks for your comment. Yes, the change is un-nerving. I decided to stay with the fare and the aircraft change for two reasons: the fare was pretty unbeatable and as an airline blogger, I’m always up for a new seat/cabin/aircraft experience. Had it been an overnight leg, my thinking – or that of my husband, could have been different!
Oh, appears MCT-KUL is in fact overnight. Sigh.
Hi Etrust, Your comment made me double check my booking. I found that the aircraft was referred to as a ‘Boeing 737 MAX’ – that was all, so I thought in the light of recent groundings, I better check that it was a MAX-8 and not MAX-9 – which Oman also have. Relief! It’s a MAX-8.
I used the 737 business overnight 7hour flight,
Its not nice Compare to the 787-9
Hi John,
Thanks for that insight. I suspected as much. I should update that I am no longer booked on an Oman Air 737 flight. The airline in its weird strategy of shrinking to expand, cancelled the flight out of Zurich, and I am now on a 787 out of a different European port.