FLYING BUSINESS CLASS AT ECONOMY PRICE – Ladies who online

If you know me or if you’re connected to any of my social media accounts, you must have noticed that My Big Guy and I have been traveling on Oman Air business class when we go on holidays. Would you believe me if I tell you we never pay for business class tickets? I kid you not; it’s the truth. Although we would prefer traveling in business class all the time, paying double (or more) of economy price is impractical for us (we don’t have that much money to spare). However, we sought a way of flying business class while paying for economy tickets.

If you frequently travel, whether it’s for holiday or work, try to stick with one airline and join their frequent flyer program. In our case, it’s Sindbad (Oman Air’s frequent flyer) as I used to be in a long-distance relationship with My Big Guy. I lived in Dubai, while he lived in Muscat. Apart from 3 to 4 holidays a year, we both travel from Dubai to Muscat and vice versa, at least once a month to spend our weekends together. For this reason, it wasn’t hard for us to move from Sindbad Blue to Silver, and finally to Gold (where the business class upgrade vouchers are up for grabs).

Note: You wouldn’t get tier sector or tier miles, if you purchased the ticket using your Sindbad miles.

My Big Guy and I moved up to Gold through the tier sector, which is a flight segment. Take, for example, if you are flying from Dubai to Muscat (one-way), that’s one tier sector (or two if it’s a return flight). If you are flying from Dubai to any destination other than Oman, it’s two sectors (or four if it’s a return flight) since there’s a stopover in Muscat.

As I mentioned, I used to travel to Oman at least once a month. Since Dubai is only an hour flight from Muscat, I could merely earn 600 tier miles for a return flight. Hence the most suitable option for me is to work in the tier sector as I travel frequently. If you fly 3-4 times a year to countries of long-haul flights, it’s best to look at the tier miles since you can earn more. Regardless, you can check your progress on both tier sector and tier miles so you can take it from there and work on what’s best for you.

Mentioned in the table above, once you move to Gold, you’ll receive two upgrade vouchers (Yay!). One voucher per sector means you will only get upgraded to the sector you choose to upgrade. The rest will stay in economy. For example, you booked a return economy ticket from Dubai to Bangkok, so your sectors will be:

1. Dubai – Muscat 
2. Muscat – Bangkok
3. Bangkok – Muscat
4. Muscat – Dubai

You can use both vouchers on the same flight or use just one. If you are traveling with your partner, a friend or family, you can use both vouchers to upgrade both tickets (of your chosen sector), so you can share the experience with them. You would want to use the vouchers for a longer flight sector to enjoy the experience of being in the business class cabin.

Here’s the copy of the itinerary details of our most recent flight with Oman Air, where one sector got upgraded to business using the upgrade voucher.

Although My Big Guy and I both have Sindbad Gold (between us, we receive four upgrade vouchers each year), we only upgrade one sector using two vouchers. We choose the longest flight and the more inconvenient timings where we want to get a good sleep and get that upgraded. That way, we can use the other two vouchers for the future long-haul trips we have.

Having Sindbad Gold and one business class in our ticket provides us with better leverage in getting bumped up to business class when a flight is overbooked on other sectors (it rarely happens, though). Once more, it’s up to you on how you want to use your upgrade vouchers. The vouchers are valid for one year so you can plan on how you would like to use them. 

You might think it’s inconvenient to travel on a connecting flight (with a stop-over before you reach your final destination). Well, honestly, it is. But there are pros to it, too. Connecting flights usually are cheaper than direct flights, and you get four tier sectors instead of two. By doing so, the amount of travel you’ll need to move to the following tier will be cut in half (not applicable for residents in Oman since the flight will be direct). If you have a couple of hours to spare during your holiday and on a limited budget, then connecting flights are a suitable option.

After progressing to Silver or Gold, flying will be more comfortable since you are entitled to a wide range of privileges at the airport similar to what a business class passenger gets while you are only flying economy. It includes the business class check-in counter, the extra baggage allowance, priority bag handling, and complimentary lounge access for you and a guest who’s travelling with you.

Most airlines have a frequent flyer program. Although I don’t know what the benefits are or how they work, I’m sure it’s something similar to Oman Air. The more flights you take, the better rewards you get. Some might give better benefits than the other. Therefore, research and find the best frequent flyer program from the airline that is most suitable for you. One day, you might get lucky and get bumped up to business class for free!

Disclaimer: The author of this article makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. Hence it is highly advisable to contact Oman Air directly should there be changes in their frequent flyer program.