Following an enjoyable 10 days holiday in Oman, it’s time to head back home, this time with KLM. I only flew KLM for short haul flight before and in Economy, then even if I was not expecting much from them I was still impatient to fly with them.
Just a reminder of this five flights routing:
Paris CDG - Dubai (Air France, Business, B777-300ER)
Muscat - Doha (KLM, World Business Class, A330-200)
[YOU ARE HERE]
Doha - Amsterdam (KLM, World Business Class, A330-200)
[NEXT]
Amsterdam – Paris CDG (KLM, Europe Business Class, B737-800)
[SOON] We had a fantastic wx during those 10 days but on the day of departure it was raining and depressing, MCT is kind of a mess, it’s look like a regional airport and everything is undersized.
Premium entrance for WY eligible customers
Before getting to check-in counters you need to go through security
Oman Air area
Other airlines
There is a dedicated Premium counter for all airlines (except WY), if I recall correctly I can only think of MRU who is doing the same.
I am getting my 2 boarding passes + lounge access
Lounge entrance is unappealing, this one is used by almost every airlines at MCT beside WY
This is a blind lounge, pretty big with comfortable seats.
Showers are available, but there is only one towel set left and we are two (with my brother) I had no choice but to share the towel with my brother.
Soap dispenser is a bad joke!
You can get your drink (alcoholic too) at the bar
Soft are help yourself
Buffet is ok, with an acceptable food selection, salad bar and hot dishes
My selection
Hot dishes are lukewarm :(
It’s time to board The airport is very basic with nothing to do and almost no view on the tarmac.
Just to remind you that you are in Middle East.
E-175 Oman Air
The FIDS is pretty interesting with a lot of “via” flights, LX is via DXB, BA is via AUH and you can’t see it but TG is via KHI, and of course our via DOH flight.
This is a bus only airport and there is a pre-boarding area (like for low-cost airlines)
There is a dedicated bus for Business class passenger, which is good
Our glory A330, seating quietly on this dark Seeb Intl tarmac
This is good sign, chilled champagne and OJ for PDB.
And here it is, the outdated cabin …
Aren’t you getting thirsty? Because I am, perfectly chilled and on a proper glass! TAKE THAT AF!
Amenity kit are distributed with a noise cancelling headset, this is not a Bose by any standard but still WAY better than AF headset.
Content is boring as hell
Safety demo is played
Airshow is displayed for this 1h15 flight
Menu will only be distributed on next flight, and this is what is shown for this sector.
Service started and what a joke! We are getting sandwiches from economy with finger foods from plastic cup! At least they have Champagne.
I think I am gonna stay polite, but what the fu** is KLM thinking with that offering? And they are doing this flight as fifth freedom so they should at least match their European offering for a flight of this duration.
Overflying Abu Dhabi
More cabin shots of this pretty empty airplane.
World Business Class
Economy Class
Business toilet amenities
Start of descent
Short final
And we end up parked next to a Qatar Airways A330-200
Video:
See more
Verdict
KLM
5.6/10
Cabin7.0
Cabin crew7.5
Entertainment/wifi6.0
Meal/catering2.0
Plaza Premium Lounge
5.9/10
Comfort6.5
Meal/catering6.5
Entertainment/wifi4.0
Services6.5
Muscat - MCT
5.6/10
Efficiency7.5
Access3.5
Services4.0
Cleanliness7.5
Doha - DOA
5.0/10
Efficiency5.0
Access5.0
Services5.0
Cleanliness5.0
Conclusion
It’s always fun to fly on a fifth freedom route with a widebody aircraft, crew was good and in a good mood but the catering is just unacceptable, seems like KLM just did the minimum and did not bother about a real meal (even if cold).
For such a flight this seat is perfectly acceptable, thus the good grade, but it’s gonna be a different story very soon!
I hope you enjoyed reading this report, and stay tuned.
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Thanks for this FR. It seems the MCT terminal is even more needed than DOH's. The offerings at the lounge are not bad (except for the temperature) given the small number of pax it probably sees. What a surprise with the inflight snack, it sure looks cheap. At least put the sandwich on a plate.
The hypertext link to the DXB-MCT leg in the routing is erroneous. The night pictures are really your signature shots; that of the reactor in flight in B&W is stunning. Did you see power plugs airside in MCT (lounge excluded) ? Small wonder that the plane is nearly empty since this is presumably not a 5th freedom flight and MCT is not a major destination. Thanks for this FR !
Thank goodness KL is starting to install flatbeds in J--these seats are ancient and terribly uncomfortable in sleep mode from my experience. Aside from that KL often has friendlier FA's than AF, but catering not as good....downright shameful on this flight (even for a very short flight).
Appreciated the humor in the commentary. Would it kill airlines to have pizza delivered to the plane on short-hauls? I find difficult to believe there was no mezze option. Thai Air served roasted duck breast in ginger sauce, white rice and steamed vegetables in business for a one hour hop. Maybe suggest in the comment card even passing a bucket of KFC chicken around the cabin would be more generous. Looking forward to the next chapter!
The cabin works if you're just doing the MCT-DOH route, but then you would deserve a service, you cannot just expect it on the second leg (I just checked and the MCT-DOH leg by itself costs some 400 euros...)
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7 Comments
It seems the MCT terminal is even more needed than DOH's.
The offerings at the lounge are not bad (except for the temperature) given the small number of pax it probably sees.
What a surprise with the inflight snack, it sure looks cheap. At least put the sandwich on a plate.
I hope that there will be less controversies than for the previous AF FR;)
The catering... What catering !
Everything else is on par except the FAs !!
The night pictures are really your signature shots; that of the reactor in flight in B&W is stunning.
Did you see power plugs airside in MCT (lounge excluded) ?
Small wonder that the plane is nearly empty since this is presumably not a 5th freedom flight and MCT is not a major destination.
Thanks for this FR !
The cabin works if you're just doing the MCT-DOH route, but then you would deserve a service, you cannot just expect it on the second leg (I just checked and the MCT-DOH leg by itself costs some 400 euros...)
Thanks for sharing :)
The video is very good.
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