Diary dates: Oman Air joining oneworld, Bristol Airport’s new Escape lounge opening

Two bits of news, which have nothing in common except that we now have confirmed dates for certain things!

Oman Air’s oneworld entry date is confirmed

First up, the (very) long awaited joining of the oneworld airline alliance by Oman Air.

This will allow you to redeem (and earn) Avios on Oman Air flights. With British Airways no longer flying to Muscat, and Oman Air offering a high quality product, this is worth a look.

Whilst there has been no media release, various documents sent to travel agents in recent days confirm what I was told by the UK team a couple of months ago and, indeed, had been reported since last year. Oman Air will join oneworld on 30th June.

I suspect that a lot of Avios availability will be showing on Day 1, but that it will quickly be snapped up.

We ran two hotel reviews in 2023 after my last visit – the beach resort of Jumeirah Muscat Bay and the mountain resort of Alila Jabal Akhdar. An older review of The Al Bustan Palace, A Ritz Carlton Hotel, is here.

New openings this year have included a Hotel Indigo in the mountains near Alila and a St Regis resort in Muscat.

We will try to do a fresh flight review before the end of the year.

Bristol Airport confirms the opening date for its new lounge

In 2023, Manchester Airports Group took over the two airport lounges at Bristol.

Since then there has been a bit of rebranding and space closures. At present, there is an Escape lounge on the Mezzanine floor, next to Frankie & Benny’s.

This will close on 27th July and a brand new lounge will open the following day.

The new lounge will be on the Mezzanine floor adjacent to the Cabin Bar.

It looks pretty smart as you can see from the pictures here. To quote:

On 28 July 2025, we will be opening a brand-new Escape lounge, offering an additional 140 seats and floor-to-ceiling glass windows looking out on to the Eastern apron (aircraft stands).

The new Escape Lounge will be inspired by its local area and will be designed to cater to all types of travellers, offering multiple zones suited for dining, working, and relaxing, including a cosy relaxation area, with comfortable seating and soft cushions – a perfect way for couples and families to start their holidays. There will also be areas for business travellers seeking a quiet workspace.

In the dining area, there will be breakfast bars as well as table and chairs with dedicated self-serve islands for tea, coffee and cold drinks, as well as hot and cold food ranging from breakfast and brunch to lunch and dinner, as well as light suppers.

Each area is divided by tasteful screens to separate the dining area from the lounge area. All with neutral decoration and ambient lighting.

You can find out more on this page of the airport website here. If there is a media event we will try to get down to take a look.