I’d spotted highly-unusual air fares for Oman Air Business Class flights from Manila/Jakarta to Istanbul (over 14 hours total flying time), which are likely error fares.
IMPORTANT: Things to note before booking an Error Fare
With any error fare, it’s wise to hold off on making firm travel plans for at least a couple of weeks, as the airline or OTA might cancel your booking and issue a refund.
Currency fluctuations and credit card foreign currency fees may also result in some monetary loss, when the refund is processed. There may also be some delays in processing the cancellation and refund, depending on the airline/OTA.
The airline/OTA may not even make any public announcement to address the error fare, and keep all tickets valid.
If you tend to get anxious over last-minute travel cancellations or uncertainties, you should avoid booking error fares.
If you are not based in the departing city, you will probably need to make a separate transport/flight booking to get there. There is a risk that you will not be able to board the error fare flight, and waste the time/money to get there. I highly-recommend having a Plan B to at least visit the departing city.
Travellers who book obvious error fares are generally advised not to contact the airline to check on the “cheap” ticket.
Historically, travellers who book error fares for flights departing in the coming days have greater success of flying the itinerary (before the airline/OTA has time to react).
Keep in mind that there may be internet trolls posting false information about these fares, involving “cancellations”, “flight changes” and more. Suitesmile’s admins moderate our Telegram chat group, and try our best to keep these trolls out.
UPDATE: One-Way Business Class Manila to Dubai for S$106
Member 0010 Xo from Suitesmile Chat Telegram group shared that you can also fly to Dubai (via Muscat) for just S$106!
Travel period is similar, up till 30 Nov 2024.
One-Way Business Class Manila to Istanbul for S$617
Travellers can find this amazing Oman Air Business Class fare through Kiwi or SkyScanner, for travel from 9 Oct till 30 Nov 2024.
It is also possible to click through SkyScanner to book directly on Oman Air’s official website. Doing this automatically applies promo code WYNW0818, which would display an error, if applied directly on omanair.com.
If you’re not based in Manila, keep in mind that there is only one Oman Air flight daily, and it departs early in the morning, at 7.15am. There are late flights from Singapore that arrives in Manila by 5am though!
One-Way Business Class Jakarta to Istanbul for S$780
Travellers can also find this fare through Kiwi or SkyScanner, for travel from 9 Oct till 30 Nov 2024.
What’s included in the fare?
Hereโs what’s included with an Oman Air Business Lite fare:
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Cabin baggage: 2x 7kg
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Checked baggage: 50kg
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In-flight meals: Included
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Seat selection: Included
How is it like, flying in Oman Air Business Class?
From the seat, to the inflight dining, to the airport lounge, Oman Air’s Business Class experience is superb.
Flights from Manila to Muscat should be in the Boeing 787 aircraft, where you’d find the famous Apex suites, which needs no introduction.
I’ll share some photos here, but you can also check out my full review of Oman Air’s Business Class.
Oman Air Boeing 787-9 Business Class seat
Dining in Oman Air Business Class
Oman Air Business Class lounge in Muscat
The airline’s Business Class lounge in Muscat is also great, but unfortunately, if you’re flying from Manila, you’d only have 1 hr 25 mins layover duration, hardly enough time to truly enjoy it.
Where to credit?
Travellers can earn miles on paid flights, when flying with full-service airlines.
Unfortunately, although Oman Air is a future member of oneworld alliance, it has not yet happened. So, you will not be able to credit these flights to oneworld Frequent Flyer Programs like AAdvantage or Asia Miles.
These Business Lite fares should book you into fare class ‘R’. With a total flight distance of about 6,200 miles, you should receive the following accruals:
Frequent Flyer Program | Accrual | Miles Earned |
---|---|---|
KLM/Air France Flying Blue | 150% | ~9,300 |
Etihad Guest | 150% | ~9,300 |
Best cards for Oman Air flight bookings
Singapore-based travellers can earn a further 3,000 miles with this booking, with the right cards.
Related: Best Singapore cards for Flight bookings
Triple stack: You can also earn 5 miles per dollar, plus $200 cashback, plus $88 cashback with the DBS Altitude card in Oct 2024.
๐ก Click on the + Card Summary buttons below to view the key details of each card.
DBS Altitude
Earn 1.3 mpd on local spend, 2.2 mpd on foreign currency
๐ Sign-up bonus
What’s the best way to fly home from Istanbul?
Not sure how to fly home from Istanbul?
I recommend booking Singapore Airlines Premium Economy with just 43k KrisFlyer miles and US$25 in taxes/fees. This KrisFlyer sweet spot still has good availability in Oct and Nov 2024.
P.S. The cash fare for this flight is over S$1,800.
Bottom line
Airlines typically charge over S$1,500 for a one-way Business Class flight between Southeast Asia and Istanbul, so this S$617 fare is a steal, even if it requires you to position in Manila.
In fact, this Business Class fare costs just 3 USD more than what Oman Air is asking for Economy Class:
As this fare was founded by me and not (yet) shared anywhere else, Suitesmile readers should have no problems finding an eligible travel date in the next few hours.
Historically, travellers who book error fares for flights in the coming days have greater success of flying the itinerary (before the airline/OTA has time to react).
If you are based in Singapore, the promo stacks are pretty tasty, so, try to stack all of them, if possible, to receive 12,000 miles and up to $288 cashback with this booking.
- 5 mpd earn rate
- $200 cashback
- $88 cashback
- 9,300 miles accrual (worth S$177)
Are you grabbing this error fare? Join Suitesmile’s Telegram channel to get first dibs on travel hacking alerts like this.
๐ In case you missed it
You can only credit Oman air flights to Qatar privilege club on Doh- muscat -doh. No other flights will credit to QR Privilege club until they become a One world partner…which is delayed to 2nd quarter 2025.
Thanks for pointing that out! I’ve updated the table.