Can You Survive A 10-Hour Ride On A Boeing 737?

Usually, airlines give a few months’ notice between announcing a route and the first flight. That makes a lot of sense, as time is needed to drive awareness and bookings. Some airlines have a huge amount of lead time. For example, Finnair has announced Melbourne flights ten months in advance.

Not so Oman Air on its brand-new fifth freedom route to Europe, which will use the Boeing 737 MAX 8. While it has been scheduled for a week or so now, its upcoming Muscat to Copenhagen via Baghdad flights were only officially announced on December 17. But the first departure won’t take place in the spring or the summer. It’ll be on December 20.

Oman Air To Copenhagen Via Iraq

Credit: GCMap

The carrier, which joined oneworld earlier this year, has not previously flown to Baghdad or Copenhagen, but now it will. While originally scheduled to commence on December 16, the start date was pushed back by four days. The route will cover 2,818 nautical miles (5,219 km) each way. In reality, it’ll be more than that, as it’ll have to detour to avoid Ukrainian airspace.

The brand-new market will be served on Tuesdays and Saturdays on the two-class, 162-seat 737 MAX 8. It is a strong contender for my celebratory Weekly Routes article (see the most recent edition). It is Oman Air’s sole one-stop route to Europe.

Fifth freedom rights are available, meaning passengers can book standalone Baghdad-Copenhagen-Baghdad tickets. In an unusual and exciting opportunity, people can, of course, also book Copenhagen-Baghdad-Muscat and Copenhagen-Bahgdad-Muscat-XXX tickets. And some attractive fares are available, particularly from Muscat to Denmark.

Why On Earth Would It Begin This 1-Stop Route?

Credit: Flickr

It appears to be more about targeting the traffic between Iraq and Denmark than anything else. This follows Iraqi Airways flying from Baghdad to Copenhagen until May 2024, according to the carrier’s schedule submission to both OAG and Cirium Diio. The data sources show that it stopped en route in Najaf or Erbil.

Oman Air, like Iraqi Airways, was attracted to the considerable Iraqi diaspora in Denmark. According to booking data, nearly 30,000 round-trip passengers traveled in the 12 months to October 2025, which was after the Iraqi flag carrier’s exit. Approximately two in three passengers connected to another flight at Istanbul Airport (with Turkish Airlines) or Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (with AJet and Pegasus).

While Baghdad-Copenhagen had ~30,000 passengers, Muscat-Copenhagen had about 4,000. It was an absolutely tiny market. Of course, some passengers will connect in the Omani capital to reach other cities. However, a two-stop option—in Baghdad and Muscat—will obviously mean it’s a far less competitive option than the majority of the alternatives. This won’t matter, as it doesn’t have many seats to fill each week.

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The 737 MAX 8 Now Operates 41% Of The Airline’s European Flights

Credit: Shutterstock

The latest Cirium data for Q1 2026 (January-March) shows that Oman Air plans 11 routes to Europe. In alphabetical order, it’ll operate from Muscat to Amsterdam (787-9), Copenhagen (via Baghdad; MAX 8), Frankfurt (787-9), Istanbul Airport (it’s on the European side of the Bosphorus; MAX 8), London Heathrow (787-9), Milan Malpensa (787-9), Moscow Sheremetyevo (MAX 8), Munich (MAX 8), Paris CDG (787-9), Rome Fiumicino (MAX 8), and Zurich (787-9).

It plans an average of 59 weekly departing flights to Europe in these three months (double for both ways). Its offering has jumped by a fifth compared to the same quarter in 2025. The MAX will now operate 41% of its European flights, which is a considerable proportion. It comes as other long narrowbody services begin, such as Qanot Sharq’s A321neo operation from Tashkent to London Gatwick in the past week.