Another birthday. 19 this time. So I decided to repeat what I did with my 18th & Stockholm.
I love AMS, so I decided to go there. I decided to save the KLM Fokker F70 for later that year for better weather. So I decided to go for the Garuda Boeing 777-300(ER) that does a 5th Freedom service on its Jakarta-Amsterdam-London service. My first time on this airline, plus my first flight on a Boeing 777 in 16 years (my first flight was on G-VIIM of BA 772 fleet in June 2000). About 5 weeks before I was due to fly in early January 2016, Garuda Indonesia announced that at the end of March 2016 they were to end the AMS-LGW-AMS service and move to London Heathrow doing direct flights between LHR & AMS from Jakarta. So this would result in what will be my only time on the Garuda 777 for the foreseeable future, and an experience to enjoy and say "I did it".
I booked the flight for £39 one way which was a beautiful bargain, only slight issue being I had to wait until 24 hours before my flight to pick a seat- it topped up my Flying Blue miles account by a few miles. My return journey I looked up three candidates: easyJet to LGW/LTN/STN/SEN, CityJet to LCY and Flybe to BOH. My next report will reveal the chosen decision…
I arrived at Balcombe Road, a small area with a few houses and did some spotting before my flight (I deliberately made time to try and catch the plane coming in). I spent around 90 minutes getting arrivals before going to the North Terminal.
Interesting thing about Garuda, I checked in online- I gave my details and chose my seat (40K), but I had to go to check in anyway to get a boarding pass printed off… I am no expert- But doesn't that defeat the object to an online check in?
I checked in and went airside- where I caught pictures of the purple WOW Air Airbus A321 (TF-MOM) and Air Transat Airbus A310 that day.
I then met my friend- how was travelling with me that day, and we went to Gate 53 where the Boeing 777 awaited us. Some more images were taken, and I also began to film my Flight Review.
We began boarding at 10:20am, our flight was due to depart at 11:15am. However after 30 minutes- we pushed back. I found that Row 40 Seats H & J went unoccupied, so for the 6th flight in 4 months- I had a whole row to myself! Some of the Seat contents included the following items:
We departed earlier than scheduled. Departing around 11am. On the way to the runway I took some images of parked aircraft around London Gatwick.
Our flight departed a dull and cloudy London Gatwick and within a good 10-20 minutes we had broken through the clouds and had a nice clear and sunny flight ahead of us.
The flight was nice and smooth. Got some nice pictures & film around the aircraft. The food was served up about 10 minutes into the flight. As I didn't order anything special- I got the standard snack. A coconut and raspberry cake, a tomato/cheese & mushroom wrap with a bottle of water. It was really nice and ample for a short hop like London-Amsterdam.
We began to descend toward AMS after a good 30 minute of flying. As we descended I noted that the weather around the Netherlands was quite nice and sunny. Ideal for spotting and a good sign that a certain Viewing Deck would be open…
We came into AMS and landed ahead of schedule, nice and early. However- it turns out we were brought in on a runway I was familiar with as a passenger flying on a aircraft… The Polderbaan. Which meant a taxi that was half the length of our flight. In my CityJet flight in April 2015, we had departed on the Polderbaan and the taxi felt longer than the flight…
We eventually parked up at the gate. I asked about visiting the flight deck, however the crew were switching over and as I result- I left the plane with my friend, taking pictures of the Economy & Business Class cabins. However some nice shots of parked jets around the Terminal on the way out were done as an alternative. Including some nice ones of PK-GIA parked up and getting ready for the flight to Jakarta.
As soon as we got airside- I hailed a cab and we went to the Aviation Megastore at the end of the airport. On this trip I picked up three models: Norwegian Air Shuttle Boeing 737-800(WL), Aegean Avro RJ85 and Icelandair Boeing 757-200(WL) Hekla Aroura.
We then went to the Viewing Deck, to be greeted with the amazing weather and sight of up-close aircraft.
In the evening, me and my friend had dinner at Burger King before he had to head off on his 20:55pm flight with Flybe to Southampton. I was left to spend the evening roughing in the AMS Terminal. Which I was going to enjoy every minute of it…
Video of Garuda Indonesia Boeing 777-300(ER) GA88 Flight Review:
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Verdict
Garuda Indonesia
10.0/10
Cabin10.0
Cabin crew10.0
Entertainment/wifi10.0
Meal/catering10.0
London - LGW
9.4/10
Efficiency10.0
Access9.5
Services8.0
Cleanliness10.0
Amsterdam - AMS
10.0/10
Efficiency10.0
Access10.0
Services10.0
Cleanliness10.0
Conclusion
London Gatwick- Very good airport as always when I fly. Managed to get a good view of the airport, all though it is difficult to get perfection shots through tinted-glass.
Amsterdam Schipol- Great views, very clean and modern. Some building work still going on. Over all- I still think its the best airport in Europe. Can't wait to visit again.
Garuda Indonesia Boeing 777-300(ER)- Apart from not being able to visit the flight deck and the online check in system they go by, I really could not fault Garuda Indonesia for the service on the flight. It was brilliant and the best flight I've been on!
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Well, the OLCI let you choose in advance your seat, which saved a few seconds at check-in, and (more interestingly) secured a window seat, but I agree that being able to self print the BP would save a lot more traveler and staff time. Lots of blue sky and blue planes in AMS :) Thanks for sharing !
Thanks for this flight report. Regarding advance seat selection, Garuda does have a strange policy. You can only choose your seat in advance if your ticket is in the higher fare bracket (most likely the full fare brackets) like Y and B or if you are Skyteam's or GA's elite member. Other than that, you have to wait until 24 hours before departure.
Their IT system is a bit archaic though lately i've seen major improvements :)
It's different compared to what I am used to for online check ins. I do have an Ivory Level KLM/Air France account, but that didn't help. I am just glad I got a window seat at the end of it. Glad you liked the review!
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4 Comments
Lots of blue sky and blue planes in AMS :)
Thanks for sharing !
Thanks for this flight report. Regarding advance seat selection, Garuda does have a strange policy. You can only choose your seat in advance if your ticket is in the higher fare bracket (most likely the full fare brackets) like Y and B or if you are Skyteam's or GA's elite member. Other than that, you have to wait until 24 hours before departure.
Their IT system is a bit archaic though lately i've seen major improvements :)
-Bombieflyer-
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