Presenting Part 2 of my Umrah Series, Flying on WY671 from Muscat to Jeddah Operated by Oman Air's new Boeing 737-800, my 15th Trip Report (8th on Flight-Report.com)
MCT-JED (16th January 2017) Oman Air/WY671/Boeing 737-800
Watch the entire video of this trip report:
Here's what my Umrah 2017 flight itinerary looks like:
Trip Report 15
The Transfer
With my inbound flight WY375 from CMB being delayed due to an on-board Medical Emergency prior to departure,thus delayed by an hour,the connection at MCT was pretty chaotic and an absolute rush. Since this was personally my first time in Oman as well my fellow passengers making the connection,the need for proper direction and communication was much sought after.
Upon landing at MCT and all of us briskly managing to navigate our way to the transfer area without any delays with Oman Air situating its ground personnel in strategic locations guiding all passengers to the transfer area which included my flight to Jeddah and another three Oman Air flights departing within a similar time frame to Riyadh (RUH),Karachi (KHI) and Chennai (MAA) where given the highest of priority to ensure all passengers made their respective connection.
Upon clearing security, more representatives from WY had placed themselves outside the Transfer area, guiding all Transferring passengers to their respective gates at MCT which was a good move and overall wonderful service being provided by WY
Aircraft
The Aircraft assigned for this early morning flight from Muscat to Jeddah was a Boeing 737-800, sadly downgraded from the scheduled Boeing 787-8 probably due to the load factor as well as this being a flight restricted for Umrah Pilgrims, thus landing at Jeddah King Abdulaziz International Airports's Hajj Terminal.
Airline: Oman Air (WY/OMA) Aircraft: Boeing 737-800 Registration: A40-BQ Flight: WY671 Seat Number: 15F From:Muscat International Airport (MCT/OOMS) To: Jeddah King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED/OEJN) Departure Gate: ?? Departure Time: 01:55 Date: 16th January 2017
Was aware that a change in assigned aircraft had taken place while checking in online at CMB and noticing center isle seats being unavailable in the system with a 3-3 layout of Y class seats being shown. Pretty disappointing, however I still had hope of a last minute change.However A40-BQ din't break the cycle of consecutive narrow bodied aircraft on my flight list, coming in as my 8th Consecutive narrow bodied aircraft flown on since the cycle started off in December 2015 with Sri Lankan Airlines UL167 (4R-ABO) to Kochi (COK)
After a short stay of probably 15 minutes at the departure gate (mainly since we arrived at the nick of time), we where bussed to our awaiting Boeing 737-800 bound to JED
Boarding A40-BQ at MCT
MCT does not have air bridges so all passengers are bussed to their respective aircraft to and from the terminal
Take off was on time and without further ado, we where heading westwards for Jeddah
The crew
Was a pleasant surprise to hear that the crew members could converse in Sinhalese and was proud to see a fellow Sri Lankan serving as a FA on this flight, serving us with a mixture of Omani and Sri Lankan Hospitality, by far being the best set Cabin Crew in comparison to my 4 sectors flown with them.
Seat No wonder WY has won awards for their economy class product! The seats where far above average fro such a short flight and very comfortable.However it was a bad selection on my part as Video Recording and clicking pictures was pretty difficult since my seat 15F had no widow panel in front of me so I was left in an awkward position holding the camera to the window of the seat behind me
IFE this Boeing 737-800 too was equipped with the latest Thales IFE system and was incredibility smooth and easy to use Apologies for not taking any pictures since I was dead beat
Meal Service Meal Service commenced in about half an hour post Take Off with the friendly crew distributing in-flight meals which came in two options: Fish or Veg. My choice was rather forced, going in for Vegetarian on this sector purely for the fact that I dislike fish and wished for more options since along ride from Jeddah to Mecca awaited me and I was in need to get something substantial for breakfast (or rather a midnight snack in this case)
The Meal served consisted of the usual Bun and water with Yellow Basmati,Spinach and Baked Beans making up the core of the meal, which was Served hot and was pretty tasty.
A beverage run was carried out as soon as the meals where distributed with a selection of two juices (Apple,Orange) and Soft Drinks (7Up,Pepsi) and water being the available options,including tea and coffee being available Alcohol is strictly Prohibited on all flights to and from Saudi Arabia due to Religious views as per Shari'a ruling
Descent into Jeddah
Managed to catch up with some sleep,mainly since I had to perform Umrah in a couple of hours.
Landed in Jeddah on time, with the crew signing off thanking us for flying with them and we were bussed to the Hajj Terminal at Jeddah Airport.
A massive terminal came into sight,rather empty with very limited facilities which caught me by surprise as I never expected it to be so basic. Immigration and baggage belts completed the floor plan of this massive terminal with flights coming in from Amman and Pakistan, with many pilgrims clad in Ihram and uniform clad security personnel making up the rest of this mega structure
Immigration was quite easy, since we were traveling in a group and headed for the waiting area for our agents pre-arranged transport to get us to Mecca
Note: If you are traveling on WY as an Aviation Enthusiast on Y Class with Video's and Photography on your mind, kindly note that row 15 is not for you,the load factor to JED is over 90% thus changing seats isn't an option either
Bonus : Click here displayhide
A Snapshot of my Umrah Pilgrimage
Masjid al-Haram (Haram Shareef)
Masjid un-Nabawi (The Prophets Mosque) Medina ul-Munawwara
See more
Verdict
Oman Air
7.4/10
Cabin8.0
Cabin crew8.5
Entertainment/wifi7.0
Meal/catering6.0
Muscat - MCT
6.3/10
Efficiency7.0
Access7.0
Services6.0
Cleanliness5.0
Jeddah - JED
5.6/10
Efficiency6.5
Access5.5
Services4.5
Cleanliness6.0
Conclusion
0 LIKESLIKE TO THANK THE AUTHORTHANKS ! FLIGHT-REPORT LIKED
Thanks for the trip reports. I think WY is the most underrated carrier in the middle eastern region. Even though not as strong as big three of the middle east, I feel they are providing good service and with room for improvements. One of the major bottlenecks is their inefficient MCT hub which needs an urgent upgrade much like CMB. Thank you for the bonus pictures. Interesting to see many high rise buildings coming up close to the holy mosque.
Appreciate your comments as always. WY is indeed underrated, however they have a long way to go to catch up with EK,EY and QR and further improve many aspects,primarily focusing on in-flight and on-ground service and as you said working out and developing MCT,since as of now MCT lacks infrastructure which needs to be looked into fast. However they do have a high possibility in becoming a leading global airline. The Economy Class product offered was remarkable with one of the best IFE systems i've personally used in the last few years.
There's constant construction around both our Holy Mosques mostly being hotels,being important factors in accommodating pilgrims who look for close proximity and quick access. Lots have changed there since my last visit and I too was surprised with all the new structures surrounding the site.
Got two more sectors to share for this series. Hope you check them out once published
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4 Comments
Thanks for report .
Whats the issue with row 15 and the load factor ??
Thanks
Thanks for the trip reports. I think WY is the most underrated carrier in the middle eastern region. Even though not as strong as big three of the middle east, I feel they are providing good service and with room for improvements. One of the major bottlenecks is their inefficient MCT hub which needs an urgent upgrade much like CMB. Thank you for the bonus pictures. Interesting to see many high rise buildings coming up close to the holy mosque.
Thanks again!
Cheers!!
Appreciate your comments as always.
WY is indeed underrated, however they have a long way to go to catch up with EK,EY and QR and further improve many aspects,primarily focusing on in-flight and on-ground service and as you said working out and developing MCT,since as of now MCT lacks infrastructure which needs to be looked into fast. However they do have a high possibility in becoming a leading global airline. The Economy Class product offered was remarkable with one of the best IFE systems i've personally used in the last few years.
There's constant construction around both our Holy Mosques mostly being hotels,being important factors in accommodating pilgrims who look for close proximity and quick access. Lots have changed there since my last visit and I too was surprised with all the new structures surrounding the site.
Got two more sectors to share for this series. Hope you check them out once published
Cheers!
-Aaqib
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