This may be interesting for fans of Gulf carrier Oman Air: The airline offers discounted business class flights from Milan to three Asian destinations, starting at €1,257 for flights to Dubai. Further destinations are Colombo and Bangkok. All flights require a short layover in Muscat. Flights show great availability in the first half of 2020.
Oman Air sends an Airbus A330 to Milan on a daily basis. Service to Bangkok continues on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The airline claims to have installed the world’s longest Business Class seat on this plane. Flights to Dubai and Colombo are operated by Boeing 737 aircraft that do not feature a long haul Business Class cabin.
Search & Book
According to the fare rules, this offer expires on November 15, 2019 and is valid for flights up until June 30, 2020. You have to stay at least three days at your destination, while your maximum stay may not exceed one month. Further, you can add a stopover on the outbound as well as on the inbound leg without a increase in price. At of time of writing, all flights past December 2019 show good availability.
Google Flights’ calendar does not display these flights correctly. In this case, the Airfare Matrix is the best way to find suiting travel dates (tutorial). You can do that by entering the following parameters:
You can use the dates you’ve retrieved and enter them in our flight search to find the cheapest tickets or book directly via omanair.com. We usually recommend doing the latter.
Why is booking with an airline better than with an online travel agency?
More often than not, online travel agencies offer lower fares than airlines do. We still recommend booking with the airlines directly. There are two main reasons for that:
Better Customer Service
In case any problems like delays, cancellations or missed connections arise, you can communicate directly with the airline. The airline has to take care of you because you have a contract with them.
If a travel agency issues your ticket, you may have to reach out to them first. You also depend on your OTA to forward information like flight changes instead of receiving them directly from the airline. In many cases, you may get a prime exhibition of responsibility shifting rather than problem-solving.
This especially applies to premium tickets. You don’t want to spend more than €1,000 to wind up with some budget OTA’s telephone hotline in case anything goes wrong.
Baggage and Other Fees
Economy fares not including hold luggage are industry standard by now. In most cases, travel agencies charge much higher baggage fees than the airlines themselves. If bags are not included in your fare, airlines are often the cheaper alternative.
This also applies to other things like food services, insurances or priority treatment. In almost all cases, you pay less for additional amenities when booking on the airlines’ website.
Mileage
Oman Air issues tickets in booking class R. Since not too many frequent flyer programs are affiliated with Oman Air, you can expect the following award mileage for a trip to Bangkok:
- 17,974 Award Miles on Etihad Guest
- 14,978 Award Miles on Air Canada Aeroplan
Oman Air Business Class
Oman Air’s Boeing 787 Business Class offers a great experience in terms of privacy and luxury. Even on the seven hour flight to Paris, they offer meal service twice. Each seat has its own compartment and is advertised by Oman Air to be the longest Business Class seat in the world. They are fully reclinable to a lie-flat position. You can read a review for an Oman Air Paris to Muscat flight here.
Information & Tips for Thailand
Thailand is an increasingly popular holiday destination for Europeans – both beach and party tourists get their money’s worth in the South Asian tropical state.
Whether Bangkok, Koh Samui or Phuket, Thailand offers multi-faceted cities and quiet beaches. Also, the country is always easy to reach from Europe. Especially to Bangkok, there is almost always at least a good deal!
Best Time to Visit
While hot summer temperatures prevail the whole year long in tropical Thailand, the best travel time is definitely the winter from November to February. Thanks to the northwest monsoon it doesn’t get warmer than 33 degrees. In summer the temperatures can quickly reach 40 degrees. The rainy season also starts in June and will last until October – high humidity is what you’ll have to prepare for!
Entry & Visa
Most EU citizens do not need a visa for stays up to a length of 30 days. The entry permit can be extended by another 30 days before expiration by local immigration authorities.
Currency
The national currency of Thailand is the Baht (THB) which is divided into Satang. One Euro is about 40 THB.
Finding the Best eSIM Plan
We’ve compared various eSIM providers, such as Nomad, Airhub, and RedteaGO. To see which plan is best for your travel needs, and which network offers the best coverage, feel free to read our detailed guide:
The Best eSIM Plans for Thailand 🇹🇭 Compared (Bangkok, Phuket…)
→ All Dealz for Thailand
Information & Tips for United Arab Emirates
Visa & Entry
Most European citizens may enter the United Arab Emirates without a visa and with their passports only to stay there as tourists as well as for business(without work) or visiting purposes for a maximum period of 90 days within 180 days.
Best Time to Visit
In April and May, the temperatures in the UAE are around 30 °C and can even climb to just close to 40 °C. You usually don’t have to expect less than 25 °C, so you can always bring your bathing suit. In June, July and August, 40 °C are standard. The most pleasant travel months are December, January, and February when temperatures rarely climb above 25 °C.
Ramadan
You should know that the United Arab Emirates is a Muslim country. This means that Ramadan, the month of fasting, is strictly celebrated. There are usually no drinks and no food during the day, at least not in public. When booking offers during this period, you should keep that in mind.
Finding the Best eSIM Plan
We’ve compared various eSIM providers, such as Airalo and Airhub. To see which plan is best for your travel needs, and which network offers the best coverage, feel free to read our detailed guide:
The best eSIM for Dubai & Abu Dhabi 🇦🇪 Compared (United Arab Emirates)
→ All Dealz for United Arab Emirates
Thanks to our source premium flights!