I live in Indonesia, and grew up on a steady diet of Japanese anime and manga (comics). I always dreamed of going there, but who am i to kid? A trip to Japan cost quite a buck to my wallet, and there's no way i can afford it unless i kept a steady saving from my salary income for a year or two! And then, there's my father. He is a retired man, and a flight enthusiast (well, actually, he went on several flights across the world to attend several conferences and gain airline mileage from time to time).
One day, my father asked whether i'm up for a trip to Japan. WHO AM I TO SAY NO RIGHT? Turns out, he had amassed a quite large amount of mileage enough for us to get a round trip from Jakarta to Japan on Economy. SCORE!
It was New Years Eve, and Jakarta was bustlin' with people looking forward to party. One of the main roads here, Sudirman st., is slated to be closed from 6 PM till 2/3 AM in the morning, to accommodate more than 10 stages and a crowd of 10K+.
That means i had to leave for the airport early.
Our driver drop us off the airport at 8:30 PM, we went through the security check, check in, and immigration smoothly. My father huddled up in the Citibank lounge. Lounge was a bit empty when we arrive, but it got pretty crowded with other people boarding exact same flight as ours few hours later. The lounge itself is pretty average, with several hot foods and sandwiches, with endless supply of mediocre tea and coffee. Can't complain, honestly.
The boarding call was done around 11:00 PM, and we were ushered into the waiting room. I was expecting to board the aircraft with the aerobridges, but turns out, the aircraft had stayed in the tarmac for the day (i'm assuming it got parked in the remote area after it's duty to accommodate other aircraft using the aerobridges after it), therefore we are riding the bus!
Who am i to kid, this is my first ever ride on Garuda's 777-300ER. I'd be more than delighted to be able to stand right beside this beast!.
There were 2 set of stairs for the boarding process, the 1st set is for the First and Executive (Business) class passenger, the second one is for us, the Economy.
Lo and behold, all of the pursuer greeted us upon boarding and handed us a Party Blower and Party Hat, both branded with GA logo! The atmosphere was fun, smiles all around! It was definitely a great start for my trip!
I was amazed by the 777 interior. Having only flown a couple 737-800 and A330 (also of GA), A320 (AirAsia and Tiger), 777 is definitely a new experience for me. The economy is arranged in a 3-3-3 formation, with the middle section positioned to be slightly behind by a fraction of few centimeters from the left+right side of the seat. Purely aesthetic i guess?
I got the window seat (YAY!), and my father got the aisle. The seat between us was empty for the rest of the flight, so it was nice to get an extra room for the night.
The Safety Card
The view from my seat
Mood lighting at work. I LOVE THIS SO MUCH! It changes from a shade of blue, to a dark red, to a light green.
Welcome onboard!
Bit of GPS action. The GPS system ran well throughout the entire flight.
Flight was estimated to be 30 minutes earlier than the scheduled time.
My entertainment during the flight.
After the takeoff, the FA handed out packets of Peanuts and a bottle of Water. It was way too late for supper, so there were no dinner service, but there is going to be a breakfast. The FA consisted of both Indonesian and Japanese FA. I was quite surprised to see how well the Japanese FA spoke Indonesian! Now that's an extra mile often left behind nowadays!
There were 2 sets of Menu,as seen below
The cabin light was turned off for sleeping. So dark actually, that it kinda scares me. But i managed to get some sleep, only to be awoken above Taiwan and managed to see the first sunrise of 2014!
I stretched my legs couple of times. I visited the lavatory too. It was stocked with amenities (took me a couple of toothbrushes), more than enough for Economy flight standard.
Took a tour of the IFE system. Entertainment was more than enough for this flight. Both music and movies were up to date, and i'm even surprised to see my favorite KPOP group on the playlist ;)
Oh, how much i love Girls' Generation ;)
Around 2 hours before we land, breakfast was finally served, and it was delish!
We landed at Narita 30 minutes ahead, immigration was quite empty, and we breeze through customs in a flash.
Took one shot of the lovely bird that took me and my father to Japan
And finally..
Safe to say i'll return here soon!
==========================================
This is the end of my report, and hopefully the first of many.
I'm embarking on GA first ever direct flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam this friday (May 30th 2014), and i'm going to try my best to make a better FR about it!
Thanks for reading, and sorry for my mediocre english :)
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Verdict
Garuda Indonesia
9.1/10
Cabin9.0
Cabin crew9.5
Entertainment/wifi9.0
Meal/catering9.0
Jakarta - CGK
5.2/10
Efficiency7.0
Access4.5
Services5.5
Cleanliness4.0
Tokyo - NRT
10.0/10
Efficiency10.0
Access10.0
Services10.0
Cleanliness10.0
Conclusion
Being the best airline in Indonesia (in my opinion), Garuda Indonesia has exceed my expectations. Sure there are few rooms of improvement needed, but with the Quantum Leap program on full force, i'm certain GA can handle these improvement well.
If GA can cope with what the market wants and constantly improve their service, i can safely say that the competitor on this exact same route (JAL and ANA), has some tough competition to fight!
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Thank you for sharing this report and welcome. I've heard alot of good things about Garuda and honestly your report shows this is a very good choice event in economy!
I hope you enjoyed your time in Tokyo, must be a shock when arriving from a hot and humid Indonesia :)
A warm welcome to you :) Thank you for this nice FR, GA looks indeed very good with a nice cabin and descent service, I am not a fan of the breakfast though.
Can't wait to read your next FR on the AMS non-stop flight, I hope they planned some sort of celebration.
Yes, i really hope there's going to be some sort of celebration or something, it's not everyday you find airlines that flew directly to AMS from JKT! Keep on a lookout for the FR :)
To be honest, i thought GA was a bit stingy too. But considering most passengers slept right after take off, no wonder GA is not offering anything other than peanuts. But i remember the FA told me that there is indeed small foods available just in case i need it. But since i slept, never got a chance to taste it :(
Hi there and thanks for sharing this first Fligh-report with us! A very interesting and detailed report. I love your enthusiasm; it's very refreshing! Garuda Indonesia offers a very good product with a nice looking comfortable cabin. Looking forward to seeing your report from CGK-AMS.
Thank you for sharing your first Flight Report, and welcome here.
Good result for a first try ! Few pictures of the lounge, the check in process as well as the boarding would have been appreciated, though. ;)
Nice to see that FR.com becomes more and more popular in Southeast Asia. :) It seems that Japan is an attractive country for quite a lot of people around the world !
Nice and comfortable 3-3-3 cabin configuration. I'm surprised that GA doesn't offer a complete meal service on a long haul flight which take off before midnight. You chose the Japanese option for the breakfast, did your father do the same ?
I'm looking forward to read your future FR with KL. Is AMS your final destination ?
I know! i should've taken pictures of it, but i took all these pictures before discovering FR, was only planning to use this picture for my blog :)
Yes, Japan is one of GA's most popular long haul flights destination. The flight that night (i think) is around 70% occupancy. Considering it is NYE, that's not a shabby number i think!
My father also ordered the Japanese breakfast. GA's western breakfast is not exactly really good, had a lot of dry potatoes and overcooked eggs before :|
Yes, I'll be traveling JKT-AMS, to be continued 2 days later with AMS-SXF with EasyJet!
Thanks for your first FR and welcome! Very cool present from your dad. There's no better gift in the world than an air ticket :) The Garuda's 777 Eco seats look comfortable. Did you try any of the live TV channels? Have a nice trip to Amsterdam and Berlin
I wonder, apart from the hats did you have any sort of party or had something to toast with? The plane looked great, nice to see GA hasn't gone with the 3x4x3 fashion of these days.
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19 Comments
I hope we'll have the pleasure to see more of your reports :)
Yes, i hope to come up with better and more reports in the future! :)
I hope you enjoyed your time in Tokyo, must be a shock when arriving from a hot and humid Indonesia :)
IT WAS A SHOCK! I literally shaken from the cold wind. Going from 35 degrees Celcius to 5 degrees is insane! But still awesome nonetheless :D
Thank you for this nice FR, GA looks indeed very good with a nice cabin and descent service, I am not a fan of the breakfast though.
Can't wait to read your next FR on the AMS non-stop flight, I hope they planned some sort of celebration.
Thank you ;)
GA seems to offer a decent product
Anyway even if it was a late departure I think that GA is a bit stingy not offering a collation
Looking for your next report to come
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Yes! i'll try my best on the JKT-AMS FR this weekend. Be on a lookout :)
Good result for a first try ! Few pictures of the lounge, the check in process as well as the boarding would have been appreciated, though. ;)
Nice to see that FR.com becomes more and more popular in Southeast Asia. :)
It seems that Japan is an attractive country for quite a lot of people around the world !
Nice and comfortable 3-3-3 cabin configuration.
I'm surprised that GA doesn't offer a complete meal service on a long haul flight which take off before midnight.
You chose the Japanese option for the breakfast, did your father do the same ?
I'm looking forward to read your future FR with KL. Is AMS your final destination ?
I know! i should've taken pictures of it, but i took all these pictures before discovering FR, was only planning to use this picture for my blog :)
Yes, Japan is one of GA's most popular long haul flights destination. The flight that night (i think) is around 70% occupancy. Considering it is NYE, that's not a shabby number i think!
My father also ordered the Japanese breakfast. GA's western breakfast is not exactly really good, had a lot of dry potatoes and overcooked eggs before :|
Yes, I'll be traveling JKT-AMS, to be continued 2 days later with AMS-SXF with EasyJet!
Very cool present from your dad. There's no better gift in the world than an air ticket :)
The Garuda's 777 Eco seats look comfortable.
Did you try any of the live TV channels?
Have a nice trip to Amsterdam and Berlin
I did try the live TV, but if i remembered correctly, i think the channel that work was only BBC at that time.
I will! thanks again!
I wonder, apart from the hats did you have any sort of party or had something to toast with?
The plane looked great, nice to see GA hasn't gone with the 3x4x3 fashion of these days.
Hope to read more from Indonesia,
Saludos!
Nothing like being in a festive mood at the start of a trip. GA seems to keep improving.
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