Man Oman, this maybe be a very short TR! :)

[Cossie]

Some time ago I posted about cancelling a CBR, SYD to BKK flight as I had to be in BKK by a certain time to pick up a Qatar flight to Frankfurt. The transfer time in Syd was an hour and 40 minutes last Sunday, school holidays, disruptions and all the rest. Qatar changed two of my flights from Q suites to a normal 2, 2, 2 layout, having considered this, I thought maybe i won't go, things were looking bad in Europe with delays and strikes.
So I cancelled the Qatar flights and was going just go to BKK and maybe up to Luang Prabang or perhaps a beach.

After thinking more I decided I did want to go to these rallies and catch up with friends. Changed Qantas flight to later in the week, 3 hour transfer window in Sydney. Possible to get a J class flight to Germany for a similar price?, hmmm, not easy, found a flight with Oman via Muscat into Frankfurt, then Berlin with a period of over 24 hours in BKK, should be able to do that and not stress about missed connections. Can't drop the last leg, so decide to go with it, same price as my earlier booked flights, but no status credits to Qantas.

Had reasonable transfer time in Frankfurt to go through immigration and connect to my Lufthansa flight. So feeling coughy, I booked flights to Riga, pickup a car and drive to Tartu in Estonia for the WRC event. Back to Germany and off to Daun for the Eifel Rallye Festival.

All good so far, Riga flight was iffy, so cancelled that and will go to Weiz in Austria for the Eruo Historic Rallye, I know people there as well, good to catch up.

Get an email from the online TA saying the Frankfurt Berlin flight has changed , now it gives me 40 minutes to clear formalities at Frankfurt, possibly collect my bag, change terminals to get my Lufthansa flight to Berlin, yeah right!

Call the TA, got through straight away, explained situation, various options discussed, leaving BKK later and then much later into Berlin via Zurich.

Don't care just want to get there, Computer says no. OK, via Istanbul into Berlin, same result. I say can't I just drop the Frankfurt to Berlin flight? Quite possible, but have to contact airline, they will let me know within 24 hours! Hmm leave CBR at 6am, into BKK at about 5pm.

So I'll be going to BKK regardless, after that who knows, at least it will be warmer, but no upgrade so far.

to be continued...............

 

[Black Duck]

Has Max been telling someone he needs you home?

 

[love_the_life]

You never do anything the easy way do you, Cossie?

 

[Cossie]

Been delayed out of Canberra by fog, this was a new one, plane had to be de iced, twice, left at 6:45, largest crowd I’ve seen waiting for security, but all good. No time for the lounge there, I’ll have to wait for my coffee,
5 minute wait at gate 15 for bus, flying Y but as WP was allowed to use the fast passport and security lines.
Quick light breakfast and a coffee, wonder if qf23 will leave on time, hopefully there is still fast track arrival in BKK.

 

[Cossie]

Boarded on time, pushed out a little late and then sat on the tarmac for 50 minutes in a queue. So late into BKK, no fast path for WPs in Y anymore.

No landing cards available, was told we would be given them on arrival.

Just before landing it was announced that as of 2 days ago landing cards no longer required, they do take a copy of your boarding pass though.

Email from Lufthansa stating flight had changed as said earlier. Guess I‘ll cross that bridge on Sunday. Oman was offering delayed baggage insurance, so to be sure, to be sure, I bought it.

 

[Cossie]

A good thing about staying at the airport Novotel is that your booking is for 24 hours from checkin. So this time that is very useful. You could stay close by and pay for two nights at a cheaper rate, but that means shuttles or a taxi. Bangkok taxi drivers, who doesn’t love them!
Having to wear a mask almost constantly has played havoc with the bridge of my nose. and now it is very red.
I know I am a delicate petal, this proves it and perhaps I’m thin skinned to boot!

Some good storms brewing out there

 

[Cossie]

Oman Air lounge is quite small, small range of food and drinks, alcohol isn’t self serve. male toilet is one urinal and 1 cubicle. Usual suspects as found in every lounge, one family of 7 were making a fuss, 5 children under 10.
Boarding was seamless, families, passengers with difficulties, then J.
I was going to be next to prementioned family, fortunately I was asked to move.

Flight and food were good, as was entertainment, not a huge range, but adequate. Eat on demand.


Attentive crew, arrival into Muscat and transfer was easy. As to be expected, lounge was very good.

Muscat to Frankfurt. bit over 6 hours, slept for a lot of it, breakfast just before touchdown.

This is the part I wasn’t looking forward to. Long walk to immigration from gate. Eu and a few others could use scanners, but they couldn’t for some reason. Three officers all serving “others”, then 1 packed up and left, then 1 took those that couldn’t use the scanners, so a queue that was moving very quickly, wasn’t.

I was asked to show proof of return ticket. By now the flight to Berlin had well and truely gone. Queue at the Lufthansa checkins were huge as to be expected.
Fortunately I had a J seat, so was sent to another part of the terminal. Very helpful person, unlike the Sydney post elsewhere where the passenger transferring from qf to qf but on a ba ticket was told to see ba. I could have been told to see Oman or call the ta, but, I was looked after very well, put on a later flight. Qudos to LH.
Terminal was a zoo, fast track for J, although as usual my camera gear needed further investigation. Into the lounge, highlite was seeing the cat from Beruit.
Flight in J included a shadow on a 321. Snack served, cold cuts, cheese, bread roll and a danish. Germans love their meat, good coffee all served on and in china.
Arrival into the new ”old” airport, off to Avis, got a zippy little ST Fiesta.

All good, checked it over and off down the road, the realised it wasn’t full, not happy Jan, after a longish detour I got back to the airport, cars from all companies use a the one seperate provider, they told me to go back inside and see the office.
I must have rented hundreds of cars and this was a first.



Had to change to an Opel and off again, not all autobahns are unlimited, this one had a limit of 120, most were doing 140, and of course the racers were out there way over that. Fuel/gas crisis, was ist das?

Nice to back on roads with sensible drivers and sensible limits and where drivers aren’t treated as just part of a quota system to raise revenue.

Initial thoughts on Oman Air, more than happy, probably not quite as good as Qatar yet, but it’s a carrier I wanted to try. They are also joining One World.

I was offered a job at a data centre in Oman at the end 1988 by a former shift manager at the HIC. The evening I was contacted was the day I had just picked up my tickets to go Kenya to do an overland trip to Spain, so I knocked it back. For those that don’t know this trip was where I meet SWMBO.

 

[love_the_life]

The menu on Oman looked pretty good - lucky to have missed the family as your seated neighbours - sounded like a handful.

 

[OZDUCK]

I found this very interesting as I was seriously looking at using Oman for our trip to Germany in August. They were offering excellent fares out of Singapore but the cost of getting to Singapore from Perth with very few available options at the time I was booking put a kibosh on those plans.

 

[RooFlyer]

Attentive crew, arrival into Muscat and transfer was easy. As to be expected, lounge was very good.

Is the new terminal at MCT operational yet?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Yes, new terminal at MCT.

Oman air is excellent, apex suites, good service.The real let down was the old MCT airport… buses to and from planes that weren’t air conditioned mean an unpleasant transfer, and arriving at your seat hot and sweaty in 50 degree outside temperatures.

With a new terminal and direct boarding that should all be pretty good now.

 

[RooFlyer]

Oman air is excellent, apex suites, good service.The real let down was the old MCT airport… buses to and from planes that weren’t air conditioned mean an unpleasant transfer, and arriving at your seat hot and sweaty in 50 degree outside temperatures.

Yes re the old terminal! Don't want to divert from this excellent TR, but this was my experience with Oman Air J and the old airport in 2016 - quite forgettable in the air and on the ground.

Historic Turkey (and 5 airports!), finishing in Muscat,Oman. QF, QR and WY J, TK whY

Re: Historic Turkey (and 5 airports!), finishing in Muscat,Oman. QF, QR and WY J, TK Lovely photos - have been enjoying reading, as we did a lot of the same things last year. We stayed at the Nilya in Selcuk, which is the Hotel Bellas other property. - a bit nicer, but still quite basic. I...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[MEL_Traveller]

can’t compare their narrow body short-haul fleet with international. Chalk and cheese by the look of it! I couldn’t fault WY, save for the airport transfer.

 

[Cossie]

New airport up and running.

Where am I? You can stay there but it was late and I couldn’t find anyone. I was going to go back to old Trabant factory today, but it is Monday, and museums are closed in Germany on Mondays, doh!

 

[JohnM]

I hope you remembered to take your wooden legs with you when you knotted the bed sheets together to escape Colditz Castle...

 

[Melburnian1]

I found this very interesting as I was seriously looking at using Oman for our trip to Germany in August. They were offering excellent fares out of Singapore but the cost of getting to Singapore from Perth with very few available options at the time I was booking put a kibosh on those plans.

If you travel via Manila or even via Bangkok, Oman Air J fares tend to be even cheaper, especially from the former. But it's only four days a week to/from Muscat, though with preplanning one can make it work. My travel agent says it's cheaper to book the Australia-Asia sector separately to the Asia-Muscat-Europe/UK sectors.

Oman Air is joining OneWorld.

 

[OZDUCK]

If you travel via Manila or even via Bangkok, Oman Air J fares tend to be even cheaper, especially from the former. But it's only four days a week to/from Muscat, though with preplanning one can make it work. My travel agent says it's cheaper to book the Australia-Asia sector separately to the Asia-Muscat-Europe/UK sectors.

Oman Air is joining OneWorld.

Sorry to again hijack this TR. I was intending to book the Per/Sin legs separately as we have done previously but at the time all those flights were very much in flux so it became all too hard.

 

[Cossie]

Now in Weiz in Austria, good to see friends, it’s been a long 3 years. Surprisingly warm and many flies.
Czech roads in the form of motorways are getting better, the country has changed a lot from 2005 when I first came here, a lot of the old soviet era feeling has gone, not so much greyness, many new houses and factories being built, new cars on the roads, have only seen 1 Trabant on the road and that was in Germany. on the surface things look good, not quite as neat and tidy as Germany or Austria.
Lot’s of driving, sometimes too much as once you get of the motorways you really need your wits about you. Narrow roads, many trucks and busy as it’s summer time.
Rafting is a hugely popular pastime as is cycling.
Romzberk south of Cesky Krumlov. Love just driving around, never get tired of wandering off the beaten path.

 

[Cossie]

Into Austria, as well the Czech Rep. you need to buy a vingette, it’s 20 to 30 dollars for 10 days access to drive on the motorways, although in Austria there are also toll roads, quite hefty prices for those as well.
One mistake was to order an Asian inspired dinner choice, should stick to the German staples.
As to be expected, beer is good and exact!

Lunch today at a road stop was forgettable, why do they put so much salt into the goulash soup, and as for the coffee, it may have had a bean waved over it. 15.80 euro, so about $23.




One thing that surprises me is that in both Germany and Austria for food and beverages are still heavily cash orientated.

 

[Cossie]

Just some town photos, Weitra in Austria.