Garuda Indonesia

MEL-CGK on 29 Dec. Have been flying this route on regular basis and as usual the standard of Garuda has always been excellent throughout. First time using online check-in system which also working conveniently although for some reason unable to generate and print the boarding pass. The only downside this time was the uncomfortable feeling boarding into a rather hot cabin because the air conditioning was turned off whilst aircraft was parked in tarmac.

Garuda Indonesia was not my first choice to travel from Europe to Southeast Asia since it just started its LGW- CGK leg in September 2014 and I really did not know what to expect from this brand new routing. Fortunately everything turned out to be really great. LGW-AMS-CGK was a very long road to travel but the entertainment system that Garuda has made the journey bearable. The food was fine but the portion was a bit small for me. We landed in Jakarta about 45 minutes later than scheduled so that we missed our connecting flight to BKK. The ground staff in Jakarta took care everything for us and got us to the next available flight to BKK and even gave us vouchers for one of the airport lounges so that we could get freshened up before boarding. All in all the crew was brilliant and either on the ground or in the air the service was much better than I had expected. I travel at least once a year to Asia especially to Bali and I think Garuda Indonesia would be the best airline to go if I lived in London.

When I set out to book our family holiday to Australia Garuda come up as the quickest most direct route. They were also very competitive on their pricing and having read some reviews I thought we had a great deal. Anyway I bought 4 tickets flying from Gatwick airport via Jakarta to Sydney with an initial stopover time in Jakarta of 1 and a half hours meaning our total flight time was going to be around 22 hours. Below are the bullet points of what happened since the time we booked our flight these are the ones I can add. I will definitely not be using Garuda again. Flight time changed 6 times. Actual outbound flight became Gatwick to Amsterdam (had to get off the plane and sit in gate for 1 and a half hours) Amsterdam to Jakarta (now a 10 hour stop over) Jakarta to Sydney. Total flight time increased by 10 hours. Inbound flight took the same form. Sydney to Jakarta Jakarta to Amsterdam Amsterdam to UK. 10 hour stopover in Jakarta and another hour and a half in Amsterdam. So added over 10 hours to the journey. Total time lost for both flights = 20+ hours. Most airlines let you check in 24 hours before –Garuda is 12 hours. Our flight was at 1.10pm on the Saturday so we had to check in at 1.10am (set the alarm). Logged in and they basically gave only 18 seats to choose from out of 150+ seats. What is the point? We ended up having to keep the seats they already had allocated to us as there weren't 4 other seats together so it was a complete waste of time getting up and checking in. On talking to others at the airport they couldn't even login at all! The return leg was better from a flight perspective as we knew what we were in for however we could not even check in online this time. There was no online check in facility available although they didn't say this on the website. We stayed up until 11.30pm to be told we couldn't check in online but had to do this at the airport. Got to the airport 3 hours before the flight and still had to wait over an hour in a check in line. Back to the dark ages of how travel used to be! To sum it up completely messed around with our booking poor check in and website no Garuda officials to be found anywhere in Jakarta. Serious lack of communication around the initial stopover and absolutely nothing regarding non delivery of cases.

KOE-DPS and DPS-CGK GA443 and GA417 27 December and 29 December GA443 flight using Bombardier CRJ1000 the flight was on-time. The check in was smooth the staff was polite. Overall this is a very pleasant experience. GA417 using Boeing 777-300ER I could hardly fault Garuda at all. Near-impeccable service attentive and polite cabin crew decent food and comfortable seats. But GA417 flight was delayed from 17:55 to 19:40 and 19:40 to 20:40 I'm only disappointed with the long delay but Garuda had already told the delay one day before and the second change was told 2-3 hours before departure.

GA717 MEL-CGK 13 December 2014. Plane was PK-GPM (A332) and I was immediately impressed the moment I stepped on board. The always-friendly FAs truly went above and beyond in ensuring that the passengers settled into their seats comfortably and our hand-carried luggage are looked after properly. The flight left 20 minutes late due to traffic at MEL but arrived in CGK ahead of schedule. The in-flight food was delicious and IFE was excellent. Overall I enjoyed a superbly pleasant experience flying with GA as always - but as a newly-minted 5 Star Airline who would expect less?

GA828 Jakarta to Singapore on 1 January 2015. The check in was smooth the staff polite the flight was on-time with the A330-200 was absolutely flawless flight with Garuda. I was impressed by their overall service quality that they had. My only criticisms were the entertainment system could have had more choice of music and films the A330-200 inflight entertainment were old only can select movies songs and games. Nevertheless these issues were minor and I would not hesitate to fly Garuda again.

MEL to DPS on 18 Dec. This flight was without doubt the best I have ever been fortunate to take. Flight crew were excellent the food was exceptional and just the right portion size. New and well maintained aircraft. I'm a difficult one to please and have been spoilt on QF SQ BA and other carriers in First and Business Class but Garuda is now in a class of their own. Given the competition to DPS with Jetstar and Virgin Australia Garuda is so far ahead but is not that much more in terms of fare cost. I would not hesitate to recommend Garuda.

PER-DPS-PER. We travelled with my parents in law and our two children in mid November to Bali for a two week holiday. We flew Garuda on both trips and we all really enjoyed it. The crew were very kind and catered to our every need. The food had a average taste but was very filling. Airport lounge at Denpasar and Perth were very luxurious. The entertainment aboard was extremely good especially traveling with children. Overall a very pleasing experience I would definitely fly with them again.

GA88 from Jakarta to Amsterdam. I could hardly fault Garuda at all. Near-impeccable service attentive and polite cabin crew decent food and comfortable seats. My only criticisms were the entertainment system could have had more choice of music and films and it was annoying having to take a bus to the aircraft from the international terminal to the domestic terminal where the aircraft was parked. Nevertheless these issues were minor and I would not hesitate to fly Garuda again.

I flew from Jakarta to London on November 12th and returned on November 21st 2014 London to Jakarta. I found the First Class service to be excellent. All the way from check-in at Jakarta until arrival in London. Ground and on- board crews were without a doubt the best I have come across in the industry and I have flown many airlines in First Class and Grauda have got it right.