Garuda Indonesia

✅ Trip Verified | Garuda Indonesia GA89. Second time flying their B777 route AMS-CGK and vise versa. Flying during pandemic doesn't stop the cabin crew to provide their best service as always. Helpful, sincere, friendly and attentive, this is how I describe GA cabin crew. Meals served as always, course by course as if you are experiencing an A'la Carte dining. Unlike other airlines that decided to serve their meals in a box and cut services from usual, but not in GA. Covid-19 measurement is nicely done, all crews wearing mask and hand gloves. There is no unnecessary attributes. Business class lavatories are huge in comparison with KLM's I flew weeks ago. Seats comes in 1-2-1 configurations while many airlines are still on 2-2-2 or even 2-3-2. Social distance is well practiced on board which is the most important case nowadays. Same goes to some of their domestic route such as CGK-DPS will fly only wide body aircrafts to ensure the social distancing. Can't wait to experience this route in a few days after 5 days compulsory quarantine in Jakarta for all international arrivals to Indonesia.

✅ Trip Verified | Denpasar Bali to Bandung on 10 January 2021 as part of family trip to SE Asia. A new government requirement of a 2x24 hours validity Rapid Antigen test or 3x24 hours validity PCR test before flying forced us to get a RA test the day before. We have to validate the test results prior to check in and shows the validated documents at Garuda check in desk. We shopped a lot in Bali so we were overweight more than the allowance (44 lbs/20 kg per person) and have to pay for excess baggage at another booth, but then all our luggage were tagged as priority due to the excess baggage payment. The aircraft for this trip is a 10 year old B738 (PK-GFA) that is still in good shape. Boarding was done a few minutes early than expected, with Business Class passengers boarding first and then all Economy passengers. The airplane was clean but we still use our Clorox wipes to clean the tray table, armrest, seatbelts and screen when we got to our seat. The seats are spacious, legroom more than enough and the entertainment screen and its content is very decent for this 1.5 hours flight. We used the provided 2-prong headphones, since our wireless transmitter that connects to bluetooth headset is using a single 3.5" jack. We were given a snack box with pastries and granola bar for this short flight, and drinks from the drink cart. Just like the Garuda flight a few days before, the FAs in this flight were very courteous, polite, helpful and cheerful when attending to their passengers. GA still have the best FA compared to other airlines in the world! Our flight left a few minutes ahead of schedule and we arrived around 32 minutes ahead of schedule. Our luggage, having the priority tags, were among the first ones being unloaded from the aircraft to the Business Class luggage arrival area, ahead of the other luggage that have to go to the regular conveyor belt. Great job by Garuda ground handling! Garuda Indonesia has kept their service level consistently high, and I can see why they are one of the few airlines that have 5 stars rating. Even for a short flight in Economy we were given a great service and one can wonder how would it be for Garuda's long haul flights. Hope Garuda can fly to more overseas destinations, and hopefully to US, so we can use GA for overseas trips and enjoy their high level of service.

✅ Trip Verified | Jakarta to Denpasar BaliS on 06 January 2021 as part of Family trip to SE Asia. Bali requires a valid PCR Test to enter and we were told to validate our papers at a validation desk at the airport before we can even check-in. Check in was done really quick. We waited at a gate area where there were 3 other airplanes were parked so it was quite crowded and only after other flights took off we were able to get some seats close to the gate. The boarding was done old style, Business class first then Economy all at the same time. However they did not announce to prepare the PCR Test to show at the gate, so after we showed them our passports I have to fish for the PCR Test papers from my rolling bag for the gate agent when we were already at the gate and she asked for it. Or perhaps she just did it randomly because we're not locals, I don't know. The airplane is a 9 year old B738 (PK-GFS) that is still in good condition and clean, however we still sanitize the tray table, seatbelts, screen and armrest with Clorox wipes. The seats are large with ample legroom, and the touch screen even though smaller but still very bright and watchable. They do not have a large selection of movies and music available but more than enough for this short 1.5 hours flight. They still use the two-prong jack so we cannot use our wireless transmitter (3.5" jack) and bluetooth headphones, but have to use the provided free headphones. The FAs were very courteous and polite, they are super friendly and helpful, and also cheerful in their disposition when interacting with passengers. No wonder GA FA's won awards years in a row for being the best FA in the world! Even for this short flight we got a snack box with savory pastry, cake and a granola bar, and a bottle of water. The FA's also offer drink service along with the snack box. They apologized that due to Covid-19 they can no longer offer hot meal but only snack box in this (short) flight. Very good engagement, again, makes me realize why they were the best FAs! We left 27 minutes behind schedule due to some late passengers, but were able to arrive 12:26 PM local time, 14 minutes early from our scheduled arrival. Even in this short flight the service is great, and the spacious seats and (even though rather limited) entertainment makes flying Garuda Indonesia a great experience. Other airlines especially in US should learn a lot from Garuda on how to make a flight that is enjoyed and not dreaded by their passengers.

Not Verified | I booked Garuda to fly back from Bali - Auckland for Dec 2, and a week before departure they changed one flight of the four flights required to return, by a week. Meaning, we got to Melbourne, then had to stay there for a week (which was impossible due to Covid restrictions), but then our flights to NZ were still scheduled to leave the week before. We had no choice but to cancel the flights because it was completely impossible to return! Then, when we cancelled and used an alternative provider, they offered us a 'Travel Credit', which a) we have no intention to use in the next 12 months as travelling is virtually impossible at this stage, and b) we want to refund because we won't be able to use it. They then, would not provide a refund at all, and all my efforts to contact them to resolve this have landed on deaf ears - they completely ignore me! As you can see, I am very frustrated at this ridiculous service. They will change your flights, make it impossible, then when you have to cancel with them because it becomes impossible to travel, they will issue you a 'travel credit', rather than give your money back.

✅ Trip Verified | I booked a ticket to Surabaya for a journey on 4 November 2020. On 7 September they mailed me that the schedule was changed. I contacted the airline's customer service and asked them for a refund. They rejected to give my money back and offer a travel voucher which is valid for a limited time. The voucher cannot be converted to cash neither it can be used to buy anything from other than Garuda's products/services.

✅ Trip Verified | I have previously flown with Garuda to Bali several times and was happy with the service. This year we had to cancel our trip due to my wife being diagnosed with Cancer. Garuda has promised to provide a refund but keep avoiding paying the refund. Allianz travel insurance would cover the cost of the flights but won't because Garuda promised a refund. I have been trying to get a refund since March. I email Garuda every week and keep getting the same response; "we do apologize for the inconvenience. Regarding your inquiry is being internally process, currently we are still waiting for confirmation and we will inform you shortly after we get the information".

✅ Trip Verified | Denpasar to Amsterdam via JakartaHave flown Garuda Indonesia domestic in economy several times. This time decided to fly their Business Class DPS-CGK-AMS in B777, it was worth it. Cabin crew were very attentive, friendly and service oriented. Food ( Indonesian) that I chose tasted good. Lavatories are bigger than other airlines i have ever flown with. The service matched the price, from VIP check in desk to the smiles. Take a seat and they will do the check in for you. Of course the Sky Priority gate through security. Keep it high Garuda

✅ Trip Verified | Jakarta to Amsterdam. Great flight! Scored an entire row of 3 seats so could lie down to sleep, too. Food was the only disappointment, with limited selection and poor quality. Selection of movies offered featured too many Indonesian ones, but enough Western ones to fill one flight's time. Crew lovely, ready to give extra drinks at any time upon request.

✅ Trip Verified | Surabaya to Jakarta. A nearly full flight. The seats were comfortable, the on-screen entertainment identical to that offered on Garuda's long-haul flights, but the in-flight meal just a very basic snack.

Not Verified | Surabaya to Tokyo via Jakarta. I can understand why Garuda Indonesia received 5 stars for their cabin crew. On this occasion, I wanted to refund my tickets regarding the coronavirus pandemic. I called the Call Center regarding the refund policy and they said that it is possible to get a cash refund. So, I decided to ask for a refund the next day. I went to the Ticket Office to be told that my tickets cannot be refunded for cash, and the cancellation also incurs penalties. At first, they told me that cancellation will incur only 2 million IDR, but in fact, I still got charged with tax. In exchange, they offered me a voucher that is exclusive to this airline. The voucher requires me to travel back and forth only to redeem it before use, and the one-year expiry date is a let down.