Hello friends!
This is a report of my long journey from Jakarta to Medan, Aceh, and Malaysia. Here is the parts:
NOV 13, 2016: Jakarta (CGK) - Medan (KNO) by Citilink QG836 Airbus A320: click here
NOV 13, 2016: Medan - Banda Aceh overland by bus
NOV 15, 2016: Banda Aceh (BTJ) - Kuala Lumpur (KUL) by AirAsia AK422 Airbus A320: click here
NOV 16, 2016: Kuala Lumpur (KUL) - Jakarta (CGK) by KLM KL809 Boeing 777-200ER: you are here
As usual, there will be pictures than words, as I'm not fluent in English and don't know too much about aviation terms. Any suggestions and feedbacks are appreciated. Thanks.
November 16, 2016
I spent a night in Malacca city from November 15, and this was the lovely place where I stayed, Sayang Selalu Guest House. ("sayang selalu" in Malay/Indonesian means "always love").
While enjoying my breakfast at the guest house, I checked the Flightradar24 to know the position of the KLM aircraft taking me to Jakarta today. Then I knew that the registration code was PH-BQD "Darjeeling Railway", delivered December 2003.
In the morning, I took some snapshots of the historical Malacca city.
The replica of Malay Sultanate palace. (The sultanate was defeated by Portuguese army in 16th century).
"Stadthuys" (city hall, built by Dutch colony), and the Christ Church.
Independence Memorial.
Jonker Walk.
Dataran Pahlawan and Mahkota Parade, 2 large shopping centres facing each other.
Having lunch at Asam Pedas Selera Kampung, a tradiitional Malay restaurant.
From the Dataran Pahlawan, I took the city bus to Melaka Sentral, Malacca's main bus terminal, to hop the bus taking me to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). The bus arrived in KLIA at 3.50 p.m, 50 minutes before boarding.
The departure hall with check-in counters.
KLM's counter. For this trip, I did not done the online check in. Why? Because the KLM's boarding pass was special for me, so I had to have it printed at the airport.
Then I proceed to the immigration and safety checks. After that, we were welcomed by these unique miniatures.
The main terminal.
We would board the aircraft through gate C3, and it was in the satellite building. So we had to take the aerotrain to reach there.
Here are some snapshots taken from the aerotrain.
KLIA was the main hub of Malaysia Airlines, national flag-carrier, and Malindo Air, while AirAsia was operating from KLIA2.
Then we arrived at the satellite terminal.
Gate C3 had been opened to all KL809 passengers. There was a long queue for security check.
At its left side was gate C1, boarding gate of Saudia to Jeddah.
Our aircraft had landed from Amsterdam. It was waiting for departure to Jakarta, final destination of KL809 flight.
PH-BQD "Darjeeling Railway", Boeing 777-200ER.
Passengers waiting for boarding. Some of them departed from Amsterdam. There were also Indonesians (like me) returning home from Malaysia, and also some Malaysians.
Time for boarding. We were welcomed by friendly cabin crews.
Passing the business class. I wonder when will I have a chance to sit there.
The economy class.
My seat, 39E. At my left side was an Indonesian lady, while my right side was vacant.
Unfortunately, I forgot to take picture of the seat pitch.
I was surprised that this aircraft was 13 years old but it was really like 1 or 2. Very fresh and well-maintained. All equipments and facilities were working well.
All passengers had embarked, and the safety instructions video was shown through the IFE screen. An interesting animation video.
The aircraft then started to fly at 5.25 p.m. (GMT+8). The take-off process was very smooth and without any turbulences. The IFE was switched off until around 5 minutes after the take-off. It was different with my KLM experience on July 2016, where we could enjoy the IFE while waiting to take-off.
Let's check the stuffs inside the seatpocket.
Safety card.
An unique disposal bag.
"Holland Herald" magazine.
"Sky High" shopping catalogue.
The audio headset.
Cabin condition was very clean and fresh.
Then the IFE was switched on.
I connected my flash drive to the IFE, and it successfully read and play MP3 files in my drive.
Then the cabin crews started giving me and other passengers a snack. I don't know the name until today. The snack's paper bag only showed that it was "Veggie".
I also requested a cup of orange juice.
Not so long after that, the aircraft entered a bad weather condition for around 5 minutes. The location was at the southern side of Bangka Island.
After that brief small scale turbulence, the condition turned back to normal, then I checked the lavatory. Very clean.
34 minutes before landing.
Smoothly and safely, our Boeing 777-200ER aircraft landed at Soekarno-Hatta Airport. While landing, the IFE was not turned off. I also did not realize that the aircraft had landed.
Time to say goodbye. It was really short trip, only 1 hour 40 minutes.
KLM was parked at the left side of Turkish Airlines.
There was also a Boeing 777-300ER of Garuda Indonesia, just landed from London (Heathrow).
Way to the main terminal area.
After the immigration checks, we proceed to the baggage carousel.
Outside the arrival area.
Finally I left the airport by bus to Gambir Station.
KL809 always does the curry puff/pie like snack while the return KL810 flight will have a full meal catered. This flight you have flown in was retrofitted with KLM's brand new cabin which is less than a year old hence the brand new feel. However most older 77Ws plying the route still has the old cabin which in my opinion is slightly more comfortable than the new one.
KLM has 2 daily flights to KL one on the AMS-KUL-CGK route using 777s the other only doing AMS-KUL being flown on the newer 787s, coded KL811 and 812.
Thanks for the comment, sir.
I just know that it was retrofitted. Well, I don't know the situations of the older aircrafts. My first experience with KLM was with PH-BVP (Nationaal Park Jasper), delivered Feb 2016. It was on the KL810 flight from Jakarta to KL.
I've checked the KL811/812 flight on FR24. It's not daily, only 3 times a week.
Good observation on KL811/812s schedule....anyway forgot to say, great report btw.
KLM's new 777 cabin looks pretty good!
I agree with you. Thanks for the comment.
selamat pagi ! (dari Prancis)
thank you for this report
"I was surprised that this aircraft was 13 years old but it was really like 1 or 2" -> cause you were lucky enough to have the new cabin :-)
Selamat pagi.
You're right, I don't know that the aircraft has been retrofitted.