Updates for my upcoming trips

It is always great to pen down my thoughts on my future travel plans. Whether that comes to fruition or not is another thing though. This is the main reason that keeps me going in life. Talk about motivation. Haha!

Travel has and will always be my passion. At least until a time when I'm no longer able to do so. 

Anyway, moving on to the happy thoughts. My September round-the-world trip is more or less cast in stone, and I'm so looking forward to it!

This requires me to make a trip in person to apply for an indian visa in a downtown office. 

As a Singaporean, I'm allowed to apply up to 2 e-tourist visas a year, each valid for 2 months, for 2 separate entries. This year, I have actually applied twice, successfully. And I went to India twice, once in March for my Cathay Pacific flight and another time in June for my SQ flight. So when I tried to apply a third time, my application was rejected. And sadly, my money was forfeited as well.

So I had to apply for a regular visa for more $, but will allow me to visit India multiple times over 6 months. At the point of application at the office, I had applied for courier service as well, so my passport, together with the affixed visa, was delivered personally to my home just yesterday.

With the visa in hand, I can now proceed on my trip. Really looking forward to visit Fiji for the first time.

While in Los Angeles, I will likely head down to Hollywood to catch the recent launched movie crazy rich asians. A movie that has garnered positive reviews and inspired many asian americans.

In Orlando, I will finally be visiting Walt Disney world, just 2 of the 4 theme parks. Disneyland has a special place in my heart, as I subscribed to the notion "the happiest place on earth". Haha! Still, I want to always be happy. I have previously visited Disneyland in Tokyo, California and Hong Kong. But the Orlando version is on a much bigger scale.

In New York City, I would like to visit central park and madison square park. Two quite popular areas that I have yet to visit.

Of course, what better way to end my quick round-the-world trip than be pampered by SQ business class all the way from America to Europe to Asia.

For my year-end mega-trip, this will likely be my last mega-trip. Time to constraint my travel budget. 😀 

In the recent weeks, I have finalized and booked air tickets for most segments of this trip.

Meanwhile, my excitement is building up as well as there will be a lot of "firsts"!

My trip will begin in mid-november with short regional hops to Bali, Indonesia and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Both cities I've been to before. The main reason for this short hop is to try out:

(1) KLM fifth freedom flight Singapore-Bali sector in economy class

(2) Malaysia airlines business class on the Bali to Kuala Lumpur sector. A mini-highlight of this trip.

I'm also considering visiting Yogyakarta, Indonesia while in Bali. Still looking out for affordable domestic fares.

In the next segment, recently I have figured out an affordable way to position myself to Almaty, Kazakhstan for my Asiana business class flight.

After the short regional hop, I will touch down in Singapore again before moving on to visit Krabi, Thailand for the first time. Another reason for visiting Krabi is to position myself for the Norwegian flight to Stockholm, Sweden. 

I only recently discovered that Norwegian actually flies the Krabi-Stockholm/Oslo route with their B787 aircraft. Apparently the route was only started in 2018. 

Though Norwegian is a budget carrier, I actually enjoyed flying on it, not only because of their dreamliner aircraft, but also their free PTVs and they allow a free small wheelie bag in their cabin.

This is unlike Ryanair and Wizzair which recently announced that they will start charging for that small wheelie cabin bag. An unfortunate extra charge for me. Hopefully, no more other budget carriers follow this trend.

This also means that I will be in Europe earlier than I intended, in end of november rather than early december.

This is where today, I have decided which cities of Europe I would like to visit on these few days. My decision is based mainly on fares. Must be realistic! I have been wanting to visit more countries in Eastern Europe, such as Berlin, Germany. Bucharest, Romania. Sofia, Bulgaria. More exotic and easy on my budget.

The one segment that I have finalized but will have to give up is the Helsinki to Rovaniemi round trip domestic flight within Finland, again on Norwegian, as they offered the cheapest fares on this route. 

Rovaniemi is where the Santa Claus village is, a place I have been wanting to visit for some years, to experience the year end Christmas cheer. But Santa Claus will have to wait.

This trip to Rovaniemi is also presenting me with a dilemma. Flights to and from Helsinki and the rest of Europe has usually been expensive due to the lack of budget carriers flying there. So positioning there for this segment at the start and end is going to cost me quite a bit. Something I only realized after booking this segment.

So I have decided to give my business to Ryanair. Even with the extra priority boarding charge, just so I can take my roller cabin bag onboard, it is still coming out way cheaper than the competition.

Upon landing in Stockholm Arlanda airport, I will need to transfer myself to Stockholm Skavsta airport for my ryanair flight to Milan and then onward Bucharest. 

This seems to remind me of my transfer from Oslo Gardemoen airport to Oslo Torp airport. Where I made it to my flight, literally just in time. Hopefully the transfer this time around will be just as successful!

While in Bucharest, Romania, I'm thinking of visiting both bran castle, famous for count dracula, and pele castle. Somewhat ambitious, based on my online research.

After Bucharest, I will take an overnight bus to Sofia on flix bus, both of which are first time experience.

With a day in Sofia, Bulgaria, I will next move on to Nis, Serbia, arriving by bus at nightfall. Must remember to register myself at my Serbia hotel.

I will end my tour of Eastern Europe with a ryanair flight, again, to Milan, Italy, for a quick tour of the Italian city.

Moving on, I'll be taking an "overnight" ukraine airlines flight from Milan, Italy, departing at 4am, with a day's layover at their hub, Kiev, Ukraine, then onwards to Almaty. This gives me an opportunity to try out ukraine airlines twice on their shorthaul, overnight flights (to save costs) and also to visit Ukraine for the first time! 

In addition, I'll be arriving in Almaty with two full days to explore Kazakhstan in Central Asia for the first time. Probably both Almaty and Astana.

I would have liked to visit Tashkent, Uzbekistan while in the vicinity. But flights between the Central Asia countries at quite expensive at the moment. Not sure why the budget carriers have not made their foray into these countries. Still looking out for cheap fares in this region.

The Asiana flight, which is the main highlight of this trip, will then bring me across the vast pacific ocean into the United States. I have previously visited the U.S. east and west coast multiple times. So I initially thought of visiting the Universal Studios in Orlando.

Just days earlier, I chanced upon another Norwegian flight, yes again, this time on the Newburgh-Shannon, Ireland transatlantic route for ~S$160. Upon some research, Newburgh is located further up north from New York city. And Norwegian actually operates a paid bus service to transfer its passengers from Manhattan to Newburgh airport in 2 hours. After some calculations, including the cost of this bus service, I decided to book the transatlantic flight.

Shannon airport is located east of Ireland, near to the famed tourist attraction cliff of moher, where I can easily visit. In fact, from my online research, the Irish big cities are all connected by reliable, long distance trains. So I'm looking forward to visit the Ring of kerry and the giant's causeway near Belfast as well. Looking forward to visiting Ireland for the first time!

After my tour of Ireland, I'll be moving on to London to catch my flight to Marrakech in North Africa. This will be my first foray into Morocco as well as Africa! I haven't yet settled on my itinerary for the 3 days in the country. Likely going to visit Marrakech and Casablanca in Morocco. So excited !

After Morocco, it's back to London and then onwards to Gothenburg to position for my cheap turkish airlines flight, via Istanbul, to Seoul, South Korea. I have previously been to Istanbul, so I won't be visiting the city while in transit in both directions.

As I will be in South Korea again in this same trip, I will just wander around Seoul for a couple of hours, if at all, followed by an overnight bus to Busan for a day's tour before moving on to Osaka, Japan.

I will only have a few hours in Osaka before taking the airasia flight to Honolulu, Hawaii. Finally manage to visit Hawaii, first time !

After Hawaii, I will take a series of domestic american flights, transiting through San Francisco and Seattle, to reach Chicago for my returning flight on Asiana airlines. I'm hoping to visit Chicago for a couple of hours though.

My returning flight will bring me back to South Korea where I will have about 5 days to visit the country proper. I have previously visited the country twice, about 8 years ago, I think. So this time around, I'm thinking of visiting other cities in South Korea. Nothing planned yet for now.

After my tour of South Korea, I will be back on the turkish airlines flight to Gothenburg, Sweden for the last leg of my european trip.
I'm still leaving this unplanned as I'm unsure when I need or want to return home. So nothing is planned at the moment, save for a short flight from Copenhagen to Dublin, Ireland, where I'll probably explore Dublin.

Some days ago, I chanced upon aigle azul airlines with their flight from Paris orly to Beijing and Xi'An, China at an affordable fare. Though it's not yet bookable for travel in december. I would like to travel on it, if the opportunity ever arises.

Quite a haul of "first" experiences for me:

Firsts:
Airlines:
KLM
Malaysia airlines
Ukraine airlines
Asiana airlines
Easyjet (a budget airline in Europe)

Destinations:
Krabi, Thailand
Romania
Bulgaria
Serbia
Milan, Italy
Ukraine
Kazakhstan
Ireland
Morocco
Hawaii
Chicago

Yup. This is a long, long post. Goes to show how much thoughts went to it. I'm really excited at the thought of it. Fingers crossed!😀

SQ business class flight review - Ahmedabad to Singapore to Frankfurt to New York City

This is the main reason I went to India, other than visiting the Taj Mahal. Some time ago, SQ launched a promotional business class fare of ~S$2500 round trip from Ahmedabad, India, via Singapore and Frankfurt, to New York City.

I took up the offer while it's still available. So here I was, in India. At all Indian airports, there is security check even before entering the airport departure hall. Only those with a boarding pass or air ticket are allowed into the terminal. It's the same procedure in China and some airports around the world.

After showing my air ticket and through security check, I proceeded to the queue-less SQ business class check in counter. Previously, I had received a phone call on my mobile, from SQ that the Ahmedabad lounge is unavailable. This was confirmed with the check-in agent.

After checking in and noting down my address in the United States, I was surprisingly escorted to the passport check. Then to the make-shift lounge. 

Due to the unavailable lounge, the airport has set aside some space in the gate area for business class passengers. Two stalls were roped in to provide complimentary beverages. However, food is payable. I felt that at the minimum, the airport should provide certain complimentary food as a lounge would.

Anyway, as I knew there would be delicious food offerings waiting for me on the SQ flight, all is forgiven. 😀

Soon, it was time to board and thus began my long trek from India to the United States on this three-sector journey.

On this trip, I had the chance to try out SQ business class on their regional A330 featuring 2-2-2 seating configuration. The seat doesn't go full flat but is reasonably comfortable for the ~5 hours flight. This was followed by their B77w and subsequently A380 business class featuring the 1-2-1 seating configuration. 

This wasn't my first time trying out their business class, so I was familiar with the SQ offerings on-board. Once again, I was impressed by the gourmet experience and impeccable service provided throughout the flight. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

SQ regional business class seat on the A330 aircraft

Enjoying my favourite lobster thermidor meal from the SQ book-the-cook menu on the B77w aircraft

Lufthansa business class lounge in Frankfurt

Mostly empty lounge in the early morning hours

Limited food varieties in the lounge

Gladly taking a shower within the lounge after a night's sleep in the airport terminal

A lounge attendant passing out warm bread in the lounge

On the trans-Atlantic flight towards the United States

A great way to complete my long trek in SQ business class from Asia

Vistara premium economy flight review

Vistara airlines is currently a domestic airline based in India. This will soon change though, as they have indicated interest in flying overseas. Hopefully they fly to Singapore!

Vistara is a full-service carrier and Singapore airlines has a stake in it. After the flight in premium economy class, I feel that the service-oriented flight attendants and meal quality does indeed live up to SIA's top notch reputation, at least in premium economy.

So after a great day visiting the Taj Mahal, a wonder of the world, I was dropped off at Delhi's domestic airport terminal. I booked Vistara because (1) the flight timing is suitable for me, (2) the ticket cost is reasonable and (3) one new airline for me to try out. 😀

The check-in queue is rather long at economy and only slightly shorter at premium economy. Upon inquiry, I was unable to check-in my luggage onto my connecting SQ flight, as they were on separate tickets. So I had to transfer my luggage myself. More on the transfer later.

No PTVs in premium economy. I think they need to install PTVs if Vistara plans to fly overseas. Unless these planes are meant for domestic flights only.

Inflight magazine. Drink and towel service

For premium economy, the airline could use higher quality trays. The Vistara-labeled bottle of water is great.

Jet Airways turboprop plane

Upon arrival in Ahmedabad airport, it was a quick exit out of the airport since it's a domestic flight. It was nicely timed to coincide with my SQ flight back to Singapore. Of course, with little leeway for flight delays.

From my online research, I found out that at Ahmedabad airport, the domestic and international terminals are separated but a covered walkway was recently built and in operation to facilitate passengers to commute between the two terminals. Upon exiting the arrival hall of the domestic terminal, the entrance to the walkway is right across the airport road.

It didn't open at all hours, only during the evening hours. Fortunately it was open while I was connecting there at this hour. This is an impressive, but underused walkway equipped with rows of travelators. At one point, I was the only passenger present along the entire walkway.

Coming up from the walkway, the international terminal is once again across the airport road. Very convenient.

From what I experienced, it is possible and quite convenient to connect between domestic and international flights at Ahmedabad airport during the evening hours. Though I'm not sure whether the walkway's open at other hours. There is only little information online about this walkway at this point. Probably because this airport is not big on connections.

Anyway, I think Vistara's premium economy service is alright and there are certainly lots for improvement, especially if it was to start flying internationally.

With this, it is a great start to my series of SQ business class flights from Ahmedabad all the way to New York city!

Amazing business class fare on Hong Kong Airlines

A couple of days ago, Hong Kong airlines published a business class mistake fare under S$800 round trip from America west coast cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco to some Asian cities of Bangkok, Shanghai and Bali.

This fare was available for only a few hours before all tickets at this price was quickly snapped up. So did I purchase this fare?

Well, I did. At first. I purchased the tickets through expedia. The airline website took a long time to load, probably because many other potential passengers were viewing this fare as well. As with my previous expedia bookings, the booking confirmation arrived in my mail box within minutes. The ticket was issued correctly in business class and I cross checked on the airline website itself.

However, within 24 hours, I decided 'reluctantly' to cancel my booking for a full refund. At that time, I booked my travel dates on the days I was already in America. 

I had already fixed my travel plans for those dates. So this additional business class fare is going to potentially disrupt my travel plans if I were to book it.

Secondly, the cities included in this fare are those that I have already been to - Los Angeles, San Francisco, Bangkok, Shanghai and Bali. Though this will be my first time trying out Hong Kong Airlines, this fare is not as tempting to me.

In addition, for this trip, I wanted to tighten my travel budget, given that I'll be travelling for about one month. Not to mention there will be positioning flight costs involved as well. As tempting as the business class fare is, I decided to forgo this fare. There is a bit of regret, but hey, just wait for the next mistake fare to come along. 😀

Fortunately, expedia flight booking allows for 24 hours free cancellation for my ticket. So I proceeded to try and cancel online. For reasons unknown to me, I couldn't cancel online. A local number was provided to me instead. I called but the number didn't work. Perhaps expedia should just update this contact number. After some online research, I got hold of an expedia number in Atlanta, U.S. and made the call. The call was picked up quickly and the U.S. agent cancelled my ticket swiftly.

So yes, I cancelled the ticket and received a full refund, hopefully. Of course, I incurred some overseas call charges. Something for me to remember.

In conclusion, this time, I didn't give in to temptation. I hope I made the right choice. Haha!

One day in Delhi

Arriving at Delhi airport on Oman Air B737max aircraft, I reached the immigration counters. It was my second time passing through Delhi airport, but I still didn't realise that there is actually an e-visa counter located further down the aisle. Probably the long queues at the foreigners' counters and the even longer queues at the local nationalities counters blocked the views of the otherwise empty queues at the e-visa counters. That unnecessary queue took up quite a bit of time.

Anyway, after the counter is the mandatory walk through the duty free shops before exiting into the main terminal. My pre-arranged guide was already waiting the terminal hours earlier. I had pre-booked a tour to Taj Mahal for my day tour as I believe it is almost impossible to get there safely or reliably on bus or train. This private tour itself was expensive, but still worth it, considering the Taj Mahal is one of the seven wonders of the world.



After settling down in the car together with my luggage, I was soon out of Delhi heading towards the Taj Mahal. The driver stopped by in Delhi city to fill up petrol. Each way took about 3 hours on the road in mostly smooth traffic. Nearer the monument, the guide boarded the car.

Once the monument is in sight, we had to alight from the vehicle. This followed by a short ride on the tuk-tuk, again in both directions. A fun ride for me!

On the India's tuk-tuk

Finally, the last mile to the monument is done on foot. On that weekday morning, the monument is relatively crowded, but the wide spaces around the Taj Mahal meant there is comfortable walking space for everyone. Over there, I was persuaded to hire a photographer to take photos of me and the monument. The rate wasn't cheap though.

While waiting for my guide to get the tickets

A river by the Taj Mahal

Once all photos are done, the guide led me into the Taj Mahal itself. Now, the queue for entry was very, very long. Just then, the guide led me and sort of pushed me through into another line meant for foreigners. And this was empty. Subsequently, I realized that whenever there is a queue within the monument, I would always be led to the front to enter, passing by the endless queues. Needless to say, this saved me lots of time. The perks of being a foreign visitor in India, I guess. Haha !

Once the tour was done, the guide brought me to a souvenir shop where I bought a small replica of the Taj Mahal ad a photoframe. This time round, I used my bargaining skills and manage to get a decent discount.

Once done, we left the monument in the same manner of transport as we arrived. Box lunch of Indian cuisine was taken in the car itself as I needed to get back to the airport in good time for my domestic flight.

On the return

My box lunch of Indian cuisine in the car

Overall, it was a great, if somewhat hurried tour, of the Taj Mahal. Unfortunately, there was no time for the red fort, another less famous attraction in Delhi. It's a once in a lifetime experience, and I'm glad I visited the Taj Mahal.

In my next post, I shall detail about my experience with taking Vistara premium economy domestic flight from Delhi to Ahmedabad.

Currently I don't have plans to return to India anytime soon. If I do, then Mumbai will be the next destination for me.

Embracing connecting flights on my travels

Direct flights are usually more expensive than connecting flights because of the convenience, shorter travelling times and avoiding the hassle of transiting at a layover airport.

However, recently, I have embraced booking myself on connecting flights. Main reason is, of course, the lower costs of booking such flights. Another reason, which turns out to be a benefit for me, is the option to explore an additional country or city during a long layover.

For example, during my recent trip in June, in getting from Copenhagen to Delhi, I have booked myself on a 3 segment flight from Copenhagen - Zurich - Muscat - Delhi via various airlines. Instead of the direct flight on Air India. At that time of booking, the direct flight and this connecting flight prices out quite closely. In the end, I booked the this later flight which gives me a chance to visit additional cities at little or no extra cost. And it's proven to be worthwhile.

On the scenic golden pass route in Switzerland

Touring in Muscat

In my upcoming trip in September, in getting from Singapore to Los Angeles, after looking at various options, including the direct, but exorbitantly priced United flight, I have booked myself on the 1-stop option on Fiji Airways with a long layover in Nadi. Hopefully the weather will turn out nice for me to spend a day exploring Fiji. My first time on Fiji !

In my year-end trip, part of my itinerary requires me to get from Seoul to Chicago. Again, a direct flight is going to be costly. But various connecting options on google  flights are beyond my travel budget as well.

So I started to get creative in my routing. At the time of booking, AirAsia is offering discounted price on its fifth freedom flight from Osaka to Honolulu. Now, I have been wanting to visit Hawaii for a long time now. And Hawaii is on the way between Asia and the United States. After more research, I managed to find reasonably priced routes that can position myself to Chicago.

In the end, my transpacific itinerary becomes as such:
Seoul - Osaka - Honolulu - San Francisco - Seattle - Chicago

Taking into account specific flight timings, this itinerary will give me a whole day in Osaka, thinking of visiting Universal Studios and two days on Hawaii. I can't to visit Pearl Harbour and Diamond Head ! Unfortunately, my tight schedule also means that I can't get to visit San Francisco and Seattle, both being short layovers. But it's alright. I can't have my cake and eat it too! I'll make do with Hawaii 😃

As my December trip is taking shape, there are only two long haul segments that I have yet to finalize. The first is getting from Asia to Almaty. Originally, I intended to fit in a Central Asia tour as well, but this will overstretch my travel budget. I try to be realistic as well. So now I decided to just turn it into a positioning flight instead. Central Asia will have to leave it to another time.

Now, Aeroflot, a Russian airline based in Moscow, offers affordable fares from certain points in Asia to Almaty via their hub in Moscow. Up to this point, I have neither been to Moscow nor taken a flight on Aeroflot. So travelling on Aeroflot airlines will have two advantages for me. Still thinking ... 💭

The other long haul segment is getting back from Europe to Asia. Again, I am thinking about Aeroflot as well as currently they offer the cheapest one way option via Moscow. But I will probably leave this booking nearer the date as I am not sure when I'm due back in Singapore. If possible, I would like to spend more time in Europe, especially Eastern Europe!

One day in Muscat

My flight on Oman Air from Zurich to Delhi included a day's layover at Muscat, giving me an opportunity to visit Oman for the first time.

Mutrah Souq is the marketplace in Muscat

I realized that majority of passengers actually transit in Oman, with few tourists stepping into the country. Within the airside, there were plenty of people. But once passed immigration, there were much less people in the terminal building.

In the main terminal accessible to the public, there were plenty of seating on both levels. On level 2, there were comfortable benches for me to lie down and take a nap while waiting for my flight out of Muscat. That was what I did after doing a day tour of Muscat and arriving back at the airport.

Anyway, after this expensive turkish coffee at the landside cafe, I went to look for the airport bus. The stop was located one level below the main terminal. Fortunately, I did not have to wait long for the bus. It provided a cheap, comfortable ride to the main bus station in Muscat downtown. There were plenty of vacant seats on the bus.

Muscat public bus

Spacious interior of the Muscat airport bus

In Muscat, buildings are mostly in sandy colour to reflect the desert environment

Arriving at the bus station, I noticed a burger king outlet nearby, so decided to have my breakfast there. Turns out, I was the first customer. I tried to open the door but it was still locked. It's not yet opened for business that day! Thankfully, the manager saw me at the entrance, unlocked the door and let me in. So I need not wait in the heat. The menu was typical of other burger king outlets at a reasonable price. The toilet in the restaurant was kept clean, likely because it was in the morning.

In Muscat's burger king outlet

I had my meal at the outlet for about an hour and was the only customer for that time. After that, I took another bus to get to the Muscat souq. 

Arriving there, I chanced upon the city tour bus at the stop, departing in thirty minutes time. I purchased ticket with the attendant and boarded the bus. While waiting, I was offered tea by the kind driver. I was the only passenger on the entire route lasting 2.5 hours. Yup, just me and the driver. The attendant didn't follow the bus. I didn't alight at any stop as the next bus is not coming any time soon. There was a stop where the driver announced will be 5 minutes, so I hurried down for a quick photo before getting back on the same bus.

Being the only passenger on the tour bus was great ! What's even better is the beautiful scenery en-route. The pictures below say it all.

There were 2 cruise ships docked at Muscat on that day

Muscat Opera House

Not sure where that road leads to ?

Took this photo while waiting for the bus opposite Mutrah Souq

The tour ended at the same stop as I boarded. From there, I crossed the road to wait for the bus back to the bus station and then another bus back to the airport.

I reached the airport plenty early for the flight, so decided to have a nap on the second level landside. A few hours before departure, I went through immigration and was shortly airside. 

I had a lounge pass for the plaza premium lounge which indicated Muscat as one of the airport locations. Unfortunately, it is only in the old airport. The new airport doesn't feature plaza premium lounge.

With no lounge access available for me, I walked around the airside area in search for a reasonable priced dinner. This new Muscat airport features wide walking paths. There were duty-free shops and a fast food area with limited seating. This will serve as my dinner.

After dinner, I went in search of a comfortable spot to lie down and take a nap. The airport terminal is really spacious and there are plenty of seats, benches and loungers with power ports near the departure gates. I found a great spot with few passers-by and had some rest before heading for my flight.

In conclusion, Muscat is a city worth visiting for its scenery. The frequency of the tour bus can certainly be made better so that tourists can actually get down and visit an attraction without having to wait too long for the next bus. The city is also convenient to get around by public bus from the airport. 

Muscat's new airport is definitely way better than the old one, based on what I have researched online. Spaciousness and clean facilities are an advantage. Majority of passengers are transiting in Muscat, much like Emirates, Etihad and Qatar's passengers at dubai, abu dhabi and doha. However, Oman Air operates a smaller global network than the ME3 carriers, with no link to the U.S., so the airport does not feel as crowded. 

Among the global hub carriers, if travelling between Asia and Europe, I certainly prefer taking Oman Air and transiting at Muscat airport, if the price is right. In addition, Oman Air regularly has business class sales, so next time I might just try out its business class seats on the aircraft and its hub lounge at Muscat airport.

Oman Air flight review Zurich - Muscat - Delhi

After a great day of sightseeing in the Swiss alps, it's time to make my way back to Zurich airport for my flight.

It's a great experience to take the swiss tram to the airport, with a stop just outside the airport terminal.

There is literally no one at the Oman Air check in area. Probably because I checked in rather late due to the unforseen circumstance in my previous post. But still well within the check in time limit. 

Though I have a connecting flight with Oman Air, the check-in agent is at first unable to issue my onward boarding pass to Delhi due to a rather long layover at Muscat. Eventually, he must be able to as he passed me this boarding pass when we met again at the departure gate itself. A nice gesture. Haha!

Excited to try out Oman Air B787 dreamliner. I liked the aircraft livery!

Oman Air is a full service airline. Economy class passengers on this sector get a pillow, blanket. There is even an amenity kit with the exterior featuring its London route.

Economy class PTV with many decent options

Appetizer and drinks service to start

Followed by a hot meal

Simple breakfast upon landing on this overnight sector

At the time of taking this flight, Muscat's new airport terminal has opened. There are jetbridges at the aircraft gates now. The terminal interior features wide walking spaces with travelators, clean toilets. Basically, the entire terminal felt new. 

However, airside eateries are still limited. There are fastfood options though. 

As a tourist, I need visa to enter Oman. Fortunately, there is electronic visa available. So I applied online before arriving in Muscat. I believe there is visa on arrival application as well. 

Majority of the airport passengers seem to be connecting through Muscat on Oman Air. There were much more people in the airside compared to landside. This implies minimum queues at immigration.

Muscat is a fascinating country to visit, though there weren't many tourists on the streets, much less Asian tourists. Anyway, I shall leave my one day Muscat tour to a subsequent post.

I shall now move on to my connecting Oman Air flight Muscat - Delhi.

This is the B737max aircraft, relatively new, joined Oman Air this year.

For a narrowbody aircraft, it is impressive to feature PTV in economy class.

A hot meal is served on this short, overnight sector, together with one of the smallest bottle I have come across!

I'm really glad to have experienced these Oman Air economy flight sectors. Service, food and entertainment is great! 

Probably because it is competing with the likes of ME3 carriers - Emirates, Etihad and Qatar, for Asia and Europe connecting passengers.

In the distant future, if an opportunity arises, I would like to try its business class offerings. Given that it regularly holds fare sales between Asia and Europe.