Firstly, as usual, please apologize for my bad English, and also bad photo quality as I took all shots by my cellphone.
This report is continuing my story with KLM from Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur. After the overland journey from Kuala Lumpur to Kuantan (Pahang) and Johor Bahru by express buses, I spent a night in Johor Bahru (popularly shortened as "JB"), a city located in the southernmost part of Peninsular Malaysia and Mainland Eurasia, also bordering Singapore on its southern side. Why did I stay there? Because the living cost in JB is much cheaper than Singapore. You can stay in a private room (single / double) for only MYR 30 (around USD 7.00), while in Singapore you have to pay SGD 30 (USD 22.00) for the same room.
Actually there is a direct flight from JB to Jakarta v.v. by Malaysian AirAsia, but as you know, Singapore's Changi Airport offers more facilities and better "view" (more airlines depart & arrive). That's why I decide to return to Jakarta through Singapore, and the cheapest ticket price was offered by Tigerair for only IDR 400,000 (around USD 30). Tigerair is a Singapore-based LCC which was recently acquired by Singapore Airlines Group. This was my first experience with the carrier.
A day before the trip, I did the online check in, and here is the boarding pass.
May 13th, 2017. I arrived in Changi Airport from Singapore's central district by MRT train, after a transit at Tanah Merah Station.
Airport's MRT station.
The station was on the terminal 3, while our flight would depart from terminal 2. Long way to go.
Terminal 2 check in area. I only spent less than 5 minutes here to print my boarding pass on the self-check-in computer.
Entering the airside. As usual, there were safety and immigration checks.
Still in terminal 2.
The terminal is mainly used by Singapore Airlines group (Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, Scoot, Tigerair). That's why sights outside the window were quite boring.
There were more than 90 minutes before boarding, so I decided to move to terminal 1 for a while. To reach there, I had to take the aerotrain.
On terminal 1 I searched a suitable spot to see some views on the apron. Then I saw this: an A350 of Finnair.
Other sights. I think I don't need to describe these.
Boarding time was less than 15 minutes again, so I decided to return to terminal 2.
On the way to terminal 2, there was an A350 of Singapore Airlines. It was the 10,000th aircraft assembled by Airbus.
Other sights from terminal 2.
Reached the boarding gate. Sorry for blurry pics, as I was in hurry to board the plane.
Our aircraft ready to fly to Jakarta. Its registration code was 9V-TAT, having been operated since December 2010 (according to FR24).
I proceed to my seat on the last row, and the last row seats could not be reclined too far, perhaps only less than 5 degrees. But I did not have other choice, as in other LCCs, you have to pay if you want to choose your desired seats, and additional costs in Singaporean LCCs (Tigerair and Jetstar) are too expensive compared to, for example, AirAsia.
Outside the window, there was an A330 of Singapore Airlines.
The flight was at full capacity. All seats were occupied. It was Saturday, and 2 days before it was national holiday in Indonesia, the Vesak day (birth, enlightenment, and death of Buddha). That's perhaps the cause. Majority of passengers were Indonesian, but 2 people beside me were Indian Singaporean and talking to each other in Tamil language.
No pictures during take-off process, as I switched off my cellphone. The process was very smooth, and thanks God, the weather was very friendly. Some minutes after take-off, the sun set.
As usual, I did not forget to check anything inside the seat pocket.
"Tiger Tales" magazine. This would be your primary source of entertainment of the flight (other than your own gadgets, of course) as it did not have IFE system.
"Tiger Bites" in-flight meal menu. The prices were too expensive for me, but I guess it was normal for Singaporean. What makes me more disappointed is that they don't offer cheaper price or discount for pre-ordered meal. Same price with the menu.
In-flight shopping catalogue.
A brief snapshot of the cabin.
The lavatory.
The cabin crews started to serve passengers who had buy the pre-ordered meals or want to buy meals and other stuffs. But I did not want to buy anything at that time. They also distributed a Custom Form, compulsory for all passengers entering Indonesia.
I spent rest of time listening to musics in my cellphone before landing. Some minutes before landing, the night lamps of Jakarta city could be seen.
The aircraft landed safely and smoothly on the southern runway of Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Jakarta. The southern runway, the same runway which used by my flight with KLM 2 days before that, was closer to the domestic terminal 1. We needed about 5 minutes to reach the terminal 2.
A Citilink's aircraft ready to take-off.
Passing GMF AeroAsia hangar owned by Garuda Indonesia.
Reaching Terminal 2. A 787 of Japan Airlines just landed from Tokyo. Its main rival, ANA, was in its left side.
Time to leave the plane. This was my seat.
Final shot of the plane.
On the other side was a Turkish Airlines just arrived from Istanbul.
After leaving the plane, I proceed to the immigration counter and baggage claim zone.
Public area of terminal 2.
Finally I took an express bus from the bus stop to my lovely home.
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Verdict
Tiger Airways
5.9/10
Cabin7.0
Cabin crew6.5
Entertainment/wifi5.0
Buy-on-board menu5.0
Singapore - SIN
9.3/10
Efficiency9.5
Access9.0
Services9.0
Cleanliness9.5
Jakarta - CGK
6.8/10
Efficiency7.0
Access6.5
Services6.5
Cleanliness7.0
Conclusion
This is my first experience with Singaporean Tigerair, while I had ever tried the Indonesian Tigerair Mandala before its collapse in 2014.
It was good enough for me, but nothing special. I was unlucky to get seat on the last row, it was quite uncomfortable for my back. The seat pitch was LCC standard. No IFEs and no meals I tried, so I can't give scores for them. The cabin was well-maintained. Cabin crews were and helpful, but I don't know why, I guess they were lack of smiles.
If I need to compare the 2 Singaporean LCCs (Jetstar vs Tigerair), I will say that Jetstar is better, with wider seat pitch and more friendly crews. But the price of in-flight meals are same.
But if I must compare those LCCs with another LCCs of ASEAN, for me the winner is still AirAsia.
Then about the airports. Singapore Changi Airport is probably the best airport in the world, with lots of facilities. Here I can do anything; taking plane photos, watching TV and movies, playing XBOX games, surfing the internet, and even swimming. Its signs and staffs are helpful. I don't have problem to spend more than 5 hours here.
Soekarno-Hatta Airport? No comment.
Thanks for reading. Any suggestions are appreciated.
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2 Comments
Great spotting shots at SIN, especially of that AY A350.
Nice pictures throughout the FR!
Have a good one, see you.
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