The verdict on Oman Air is mixed

Oman Air is the national airline of the Sultanate of Oman but has a much lower profile than fellow Middle East carriers Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways.

Based at Muscat International Airport it operates domestic and international passenger services.

Oman Air hit the headlines a few weeks back when it was announced that Oman Air will be joining the Oneworld alliance from 2024.

It clearly has some work to do before then.

Through some complicated circumstances I found myself flying Oman Air last week from Milan to Muscat and then Muscat to Bangkok.

Both flights were close to full but departed and arrived on time and my baggage was delivered - which is a blessing nowadays.

Service, however, was perfunctory at best - nothing like the quality of its Middle Eastern counterparts.

Even the simplest request for a soft drink somehow turned into a hassle.

The wifi costs are exorbitant, should you wish to do some work during your flight, and the entertainment program extremely limited. I was not given headphones for my second Boeing 737 leg.

The food is uninspired but edible - the lamb kofta with rice on the first leg was tasty and the panna cotta fine, but a "fish with rice" on the second leg was dry and uninspired.

Alcoholic beverages are only available on long-haul international flights but alcohol is not served inflight during the Ramadan season or on inter-Middle East flights

Oman Air appears to attract an undisciplined crowd. Several people of my flights sat in the wrong seats and were reluctant to move. Another wanted to use the toilet before take-off.

The crew response was half-hearted, to say the least and no effort was made to stop passengers from fully reclining their seats during meal service.

A pretty mixed bag, then. From the evidence of my two flights in economy, Oman Air is basically a low-cost carrier.

Still, it's cheap - and you get what you pay for.

A serious Oasis in Bangkok

Bangkok is one of the busiest, most bustling metropolises on the planet. 

It's a city that is alive 24 hours a day, full of noise and vitality: loud music, car horns, sirens and general hubbub are all part its charm. 

You can get a massage just about anywhere in the city. If you are on foot you will be assailed every 10 metres or so with the plaintive cry: "massaage".

If you are looking to spend 300 baht on a foot massage, or perhaps a neck-and-shoulder massage then you are in luck. Your chosen service provider may also offer a bottle of water, free wifi and even air-conditioning. 

Or maybe not.

If you are looking for a real oasis to escape the sights and sounds of the city for an hour or two, then I can heartily recommend Oasis Spa, which operate two facilities in Bangkok, as well as in Phuket, Chiang Mai and Pattaya. 

These are serious locations for anyone looking to chill out and have a serious massage experience; and there are free shuttles running to/from the nearest Skytrain station in Bangkok - ideal on a warm day. 

The kind people at the Tourism Authority of Thailand in Sydney treated me to a choice of one-hour treatments; hot oil massage, foot massage, traditional Thai massage or a facial. 

Given my unredeemable face, I opted for an aromatherapy hot oil massage after enjoying a delicious chilled lotus root drink and filling in my health survey. 

The massage lady hit all my tight spots: perfect with a flight to Australia coming up within 24 hours, and left me in a state somewhere just short of deep sleep.  And no, you are not getting a photo of me having a massage!

The surroundings are delightful; quiet, with gardens, running water and huge massage rooms with toilets and showers. No rush. Just bliss. Think relaxation platforms, lotus ponds and steam rooms. The range of treatment options is enormous.  

The experience ends with a cup of Thai tea in a relaxing, cool space.  

One of the locations is in hip Thonglor, the other just off Sukhumvit Soi 31. One-hour treatments at both start from around 1,200 baht (around $48). It is certainly worth spoiling yourself at least once during a Bangkok visit. 

See www.oasisspa.net      

 

Positive news for Australian wine exporters

Good news for Australian wine exporters hit by the Chinese tariffs issue.

Austrade has partnered with Wine Australia to develop "a comprehensive digital knowledge hub" to help Australian wine producers grow their wine sales internationally.

The Wine Export Ready Hub aims to bring together information, templates and how-to guides to help wine producers understand export process, find buyers and develop export plans.

Austrade CEO Xavier Simonet said the industry-first free digital hub will fuel Australia’s wine exporters to go further, faster.

“Australia produces some of the world’s most sought-after wines, and the new Wine Export Ready Hub will help our producers get more product to consumers the world-over,” he said.

“This one-stop-shop, developed by Austrade and Wine Australia, will provide clear, comprehensive answers to wine producers’ most pertinent export questions.”

Wine Australia Chief Executive Officer Dr Martin Cole said: “With around 60% of Australia’s wine production exported each year, the profitability of the wine sector is strongly linked with exports.

"Many wine producers are developing strategies to intensify exports and to enter new markets, and we’re delighted to launch the Wine Export Ready Hub in partnership with Austrade to support these activities.”

The Export Ready Hub complements Austrade and Wine Australia’s existing suite of export resources including market insights, market entry programs and regulatory services, as well as virtual platform to showcase Australian wines to international buyers, Australian Wine Connect.

While Australia’s wine producers faced challenging trading conditions in recent years, the values of wine exports grew in 71 destinations in the year to March 2022, according to Wine Australia’s Export Report. Growing markets included Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan.

Australia produces around 4% cent of the world’s wine and is the fifth-largest wine exporter.

For more information on the Wine Export Ready Hub, see wineaustralia.com/exportready

Catch the train - for free

One of the great pleasures of a recent trip to Europe was the quality of the trains services.

I caught several trains in Italy - across both commuter and long-distance routes - and the trains were on time, clean and efficient. And cheap.

At peak times they were close to being over-subscribed, but the quality of the service puts Australian trains to shame.

Australians, of course, always prefer to drive. Sad.

Spain - another country with an efficient train service - has announced it will soon make some short- and medium-length train journeys completely free.

The move comes into effect on September 1, allowing free rides on certain routes run by state-owned operator Renfe.

The free rides will be on regional lines for journeys of fewer than 300km, and on commuter lines.

Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez said it is a response to help alleviate the impact of the cost-of-living crisis, Travel Mole reported.

Spain has also reduced fares on other state-owned public transport by half.

Anxious times for winemakers in Europe

Winemakers across France and Spain are anxious after wild fires continued to burn across both countries over the weekend.

More than 10,000 people were evacuated from Gironde prefecture in south-western France, part of the Bordeaux wine region (above).

Smoke taint looms as a possible threat to grapes ahead of the 2022 harvest.

Over 10,000 hectares (24,000 acres) were on fire in the Gironde, triggered by a summer heat wave in Europe.

Parts of the continent are bracing for new temperature records early next week.

Meteo France forecast temperatures of up to 41 degrees Celsius in parts of southern France.

The fire season has hit after an unusually dry, hot spring that left the soil parched and which authorities attribute to climate change.

Across Spain, firefighters were also battling several wild fires after days of soaring temperatures hit as high as 45.7 C.

Not your average airport hotel

The Moxy hotel brand is designed to be a funky alternative to traditional Marriotts - and the one at Milan’s Malpensa Airport certainly fits the bill. 

There are minimal staff (just one person at check-in and one behind the bar were all that were immediately visible). 

But the rooms are clean and comfortable with plenty of power points, USB chargers and fast, reliable wifi. 

The bathrooms are tiny (understandable given most stays would be for one night). The water is hot and all facilities work. 

There are, however, a few quirks. The hotel is located at remote terminal 2 - most flights arrive and depart from terminal 1, which involves a 15-minute shuttle ride. 

Hot food is only available for a few hours each evening. Otherwise there is a “grab and go” facility offering an over-priced selection of takeaway items, including a tuna/mayo sandwich with a use-by date of August 3 - quite alarming on July 14. 

There is also the bizarre selection of TV channels - most of which are “not available”. 

Still, if you have time to kill there is a very homoerotic ironing room to enjoy. 

And some fun shared social spaces with idiosyncratic design elements  

Slightly weird? Sure. Quirky? Yep. There is even a bear to hug.

But a welcome change from your bog standard airport hotel. 

And they let you extend checkout for four hours for a payment of €25. That’s a win.