Garuda Indonesia

MEL-DPS-MEL. Flight to Bali in a A330-300 8th July. Older style plane. Reasonable service except they didn't load correct food so everyone got the same chicken dish - which was fine. Poor service however - I pressed the button 18 times and was completely ignored. When an FA did walk past and I asked for a drink she rolled her eyes and checked her watch. Average choice of IFE - lots of old films nothing really new. Plane itself however was comfortable. They did miss the safety check prior to landing and people had tray tables down seat reclined. Flight 18th July DPS-MEL new A330-200. New plane but very limited and poor choice of IFE. FA's attentive but they had no western breakfast left after row 10. Otherwise a good flight and we got a good thorough safety check prior to landing. For the price and the service they are a good option for flying to Bali.

SYD-DXB-AMS return. Planes are relatively new with very attentive cabin crew. Food was excellent and tasty. Flights on time except on the return - delay of 1.5 hours unexplained in Dubai whereby guests were left waiting on the plane and outside in Dubai airport. Very comfortable trip. Only negative is that online check in is not possible and their website is temperamental so recommend you arrive very early to secure good seats.

CGK-UPG on economy class A330-200 and UPG-CGK on business class B737-800. CGK-UPG trip was nice their newest A332 product has been improved well. IFE was good but movies must be updated with the latest. Food was ok though too small in quantity. Both leg FAs very attentive. Always smile. UPG-CGK on their newest business class really enjoyable. IFE was fine movies selection are better than the Economy class. Seat was comfortable. Food was great but expected a little more in quantity since it was Business Class. The price paid was awesome! Got 25% off by Student ID Card on my business class ticket. Definitely fly Garuda in the future.

Singapore via Denpasar. Upon check-in at Perth on Saturday 7 July we were informed that we had to collect our bags in Denpasar and clear immigration - despite the fact that we were given boarding passes for our connecting flight to Singapore on the same day. When I enquired about the lounge passes we were informed that Garuda had no lounge in Denpasar. Having arrived we cleared customs but were unable to collect our bags - these had been correctly transferred and would be on the flight to Singapore with us later in the day. Somehow we missed the rep that was sent to collect us at the gate as we were transferring. Flights to Denpasar and later to Singapore were of a very high standard except for some very annoying children in the business class cabin I had to ask the parents to contain their two toddlers who were being real nuisances. Service and food on both flight were excellent and we were addressed by name at all times. Flight from Singapore to Bali on the 10th of July also excellent. However - flight from Denpasar to Perth on the 13th of July was average to poor - we had to ask for everything (wet towels drinks etc.). No menus distributed and staff rushed through the lunch service as soon as possible after take-off and then spent the rest of the 3.5 flight hiding behind the curtain. This is unacceptable for business class service. Garuda really needs to get the business class staff to step up their service on this route. We will be flying again in October and it will be interesting to see whether there is any improvement on the Denpasar - Perth route.

BDO-SUB. A new domestic route opened in 2012. Very enjoyable 1-hour flight compared to other airlines which also serves this route. Great B735 interior and comfort entertainment was OK though it was only 'Just For Laughs' screened on the overhead TVs but it's understandable since it's a short flight. Newspapers were offered as reading materials in addition to meals and choices of drinks. The only lack was that the male flight attendant did not smile at all. Garuda should improve the friendliness of male flight attendants.

SIN-JAK-SUB-DPS-SIN. A pleasant experience on a Boeing 737-800. Flight attendants were friendly but cabin service was rushed during the Jakarta- Surabaya and Surabaya-Denpasar sectors and food was so-so during the Singapore-Jakarta Denpasar-Singapore sectors. The entertainment system was good but could be better. The choice of films is not so exciting though.

CGK-HKG return on their new A330. Nice IFE at all seats and easy to use. Nice attitude of FA's who made us feel comfortable on board. The catering was delicious but portion a bit small. Will fly GA on my next trip to SYD.

SYD-AMS-DXB return. Food was great service was as attentive as any other major airlines I have flown. Seats were perhaps a little uncomfortable but it appears they have two different A300 aircraft they use and one of them has wider seats. iFE was fine nothing amazing but certainly did the job and had some very recent movies. Staff were excellent and went over and above. Price was dirt cheap at $1250 return. Highly recommended.

NRT-CGK-MEL with A332 and A333. Both flights were nice and comfortable. Flight attendants were some of the best. However still need to update the AVOD. Overall the flight was flawless.

Return flights from Perth to Osaka KIX via Denpasar Bali in business class. Flights were OK clean aircraft good seats meal selection geared to Asian audience good wine selection. Service uneven but not indifferent. However the stops in Bali (6 hours outward and 3 hrs inbound) reveal an area for vast improvement. The business lounge at Denpasar is not worthy of the name and airport authorities can be very unpleasant. A pity that an otherwise positive travel experience is spoiled by such easily remediable incompetence.