This journey was done a year ago, at August 12th of 2015. As usual, during the mid-year campus break, I always have a desire to leave my home in Jakarta and go somewhere. And at the time of my journey in 2015, I chosen to go to Padang, capital of West Sumatra province.
One of the gateways to West Sumatra is Minangkabau International Airport. Some sources said that the airport is the only airport in the world named after an ethnic group, Minangkabau, which is the native ethnic of the province and has produced many intellectuals like Mr Mohammad Hatta (Indonesian independence proclamator along with Mr Soekarno, also our country's 1st vice president), Sutan Syahrir, Rasuna Said, and others. Even the 1st Singaporean president (Yusof bin Ishak) and its national anthem's composer (Zubir Said) was an ethnic Minangkabau. Many of the ethnic members migrated from their land to other regions. "Rumah Makan Padang", the restaurant containing Minangkabau authentic foods, can be found everywhere in Indonesia. They even formed a majority in the state of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia.
This journey was also my first time, and until today, only experience with Citilink, a subsidiary of Garuda Indonesia focusing on low cost sector. Personally, I really like their livery with green colour domination. Until today, I've never heard any serious complaints to the carrier, something that makes me really sure to try.
OK, enough for the introduction. Let's begin the story. As usual, more photos than words.
August 12th of 2015. It was 6.00 a.m. The "Hiba Utama" bus arrived at Terminal 1C of Soekarno-Hatta Airport, taking me from my apartment in Depok city, southern side of Jakarta.
It was still early morning, but the check in counters have been so crowded.
My flight (QG972) would depart at 7.35 a.m.
After check-in, I got this powerful paper to fly.
From the check-in counter, I proceed directly to gate C4.
There were still 40 minutes before boarding. Sorry, I forgot to take pictures of the waiting room. And finally the Citilink aircraft carrying me to Padang had reached the apron and ready for boarding.
Time to boarding. A female cabin crew greeted me warmly before I proceed to my seat. This was the cabin situation. (A friend of mine saw this picture and said that this was like an "Islamic" version of Garuda, with green colour and women wearing "hijab" dominated the cabin's view).
While waiting to take-off, I took some photos of the situations outside. This was the GMF AeroAsia hangar, owned by Garuda.
A BAe 146 of Aviastar. Also seen a Batik Air.
Another Citilink.
Citilink web address covering the A320 engine area.
At 07.40 a.m, 5 minutes later than schedule, the A320 of Citilink flew to the sky, leaving Soekarno-Hatta Airport. Thanks God, no turbulences and the take-off process was quite smooth.
Now let's check anything behind the seat. Safety card.
"Linkers" magazine.
Like majority of LCCs, Citilink didn't have IFEs. That's why, as usual, I used my cellphone as entertainment, watching videos and listening some J-Pop songs. While enjoying the entertainment from my cellphone, there were interesting sights outside window: clouds.
About 20 minutes before landing, the sights changed to "Bukit Barisan", a mountain range in western side of Sumatera. Seeing it reminded me to a Minangkabau proverb, "Alam takambang jadikan guru" (a whole of the world is our teacher).
Finally at 9.10 a.m, exactly 1.5 hours after leaving Jakarta, the Citilink landed safely at Minangkabau airport.
Lion and Garuda, both Boeing 737-800, were seen at the airport while the Citilink was reaching the arrival gate.
Time to leave the aircraft, and take my luggage at the carousel.
From the airport, I took a bus to Padang city centre.
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Verdict
Citilink Indonesia
3.9/10
Cabin7.5
Cabin crew8.0
Entertainment/wifi0.0
Buy-on-board menu0.0
Jakarta - CGK
6.3/10
Efficiency6.0
Access6.0
Services6.5
Cleanliness6.5
Ketaping - PDG
6.3/10
Efficiency6.5
Access6.0
Services6.5
Cleanliness6.0
Conclusion
Citilink was awesome. FYI, they only have A320 aircrafts. The aircraft cabin condition was still very fresh and clean. Cabin crews were good-looking and friendly. No comments of entertainment and meal: I didn't get any entertainments and meals as the carrier didn't offer both. For a relatively short trip, around 1-2 hours, it was enough.
Soekarno-Hatta Airport Terminal 1 (domestic flights) had been overcrowded, but conditions in 1C were better than 1A or 1B (both dominated by Lion Air). The 1C terminal was also the cleanest.
Padang Minangkabau Airport was good enough, but I think the capacity still needs to be expanded. Some people had complained about touts offering shuttle or rental cars to Bukittinggi on the arrival hall.
OK, that's my report. Any feedbacks are appreciated. Thanks.
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Thanks for sharing another exotic Indonesian domestic report (Exotic to me anyway ^^) on a rarely reported airline. The A320 looks nice and new with the sharklets and fresh interior. It's minty fresh with all that green! Haha. All that bright lime green reminds me of Transavia's new interiors.
Thanks for the comment, sir! It's true, the green domination makes the aircraft looks very fresh. That's also only Indonesian carrier with a green identity, while Garuda, Lion, and others are dominated by red and blue.
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