Another First Class Bites the Dust – Oman Air Downgrades it to a Premium Business Class

Well, that’s not exactly what the airline stated and what it calls the product, but we’ll get into that a little later. First class has been relentlessly disappearing from many airlines’ cabins. Many carriers have opted to remove as it is often expensive to run and can only be supported by a small destination niche. Therefore, it has become increasingly uncommon to come across first class on planes. Only few airlines in the aviation landscape still have a first-class product. The majority have instead decided to concentrate efforts on Business class. A much easier to sell product that can appeal to a much vaster customer base. The latest airline to hop on this wagon is Oman Air, which has just announced it’ll be repurposing its first-class.

Oman Air Repurposes its First-Class Product

Oman Air has decided to retire its First-Class product in just a few short weeks’ time. The airline will concentrate its efforts improving its business class product which it can sell at a much wider number of potential customers. However, the airline won’t be making any changes to its First-Class fitted aircraft.

The airline’s jets fitted with the product will retain the interior as they are and will continue to fly without undergoing maintenance of any sort. What will happen is that the airline will market and sell what used to be first class as a premium business class. The name Oman Air came up with for these cabins is Business Studio. The airline stated explicitly that the change is to cater to the shifting demand of consumers worldwide.

The suites will offer a fantastic onboard experience with some of the best seats in the skies. Oman Air Business Studio seats will include, among other things:

  • 23″ Personal IFE screen.
  • A la carte dining.
  • Massive 82″ seat pitch.
  • Wi-Fi internet connectivity

The seats will go on sale, as a premium business class option, starting September 9th 2024. Furthermore, the airline’s CEO stated that:

Oman Air Business Studio Cabin
Image by Oman Air

Only 2 Planes Have What is Now Business Studio

We’re however talking about a tiny number of planes fitted with these cabin interiors. Only two Oman Air aircraft have what is now called Business Studios. Those aircraft are:

  • A4O-SG
  • A4O-SF

They are both Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners featuring:

  • 8 Business Studio seats in a 1-2-1 layout
  • 24 Business Class seats in a 2-2-2 layout
  • 232 Economy Class seats in a 3-3-3 layout

However, despite featuing a 2-2-2 layout in traditional business class, Oman Air offers all passengers direct aisle access. That is thanks to the use of the luxurious and spacious Collins Aerospace Apex suites. Only caveat that window side seats on the aisle are slightly shorter than those next to the window.

Alex Achille
Alex Achille
Ex Emirates Cabin Crew and long time aviation enthusiast. I can remember loving aviation and planes since I was a very little boy. I have developed my passion into a deep knowledge of the sector and industry to offer on my sites in depth and precise analyses of what is going on. I also completed cabin crew training with Ryanair, however, I never worked for the company (more on that another time). Finally I also have taken flying lessons completing my first solo flights.

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