Check-In
Check in done with no hassle, Garuda has a dedicated line in CGK to cater for Garudamiles Silver despite of I did online check in the night before. It should be my last international flight with Garuda departing from Terminal 2 as when I was back (in my previous trip report), Garuda has moved to new home - Terminal 3.
Boarding
The flight gate was E6 and the boarding room was full pack. Boarding was commenced with this order: Passenger travelling with children, Business Class passengers, Skyteam Elite Plus and Elite members, follow by the economy passenger starts from back rows.
Controller of aerobridge
Newspapers (in English and Indonesian language) were prepared just outside the aircraft door, I couldn't see any Chinese language newspaper though.
As usual, there were 2 cabin crews welcoming pax with a wide smile.
In-Flight
Cabin condition while boarding was commenced. I was amongst the last few persons who boarded the plane, you can see how light the load for today. I inquired the check in agent about today's load earlier, she informed that the total pax was 189 out of 239 seats in Y. You can see from the picture that the Chinese speaking crew was attend to pax' request.
PTV & map for the flight.
Pillow, blanket, amenity kit and mineral water were already in each seat when we boarded.
Seat pocket.
After the door was closed, we were waited for 5 minutes and the captain made an announcement that they were told to wait for another 10 minutes due to another departure/arrival in CGK. Garuda operates flight to DJJ, ICN, KIX, HND, SYD, UPG, HKG, PVG, MEL (in that order) within 25 minutes that night. Not a long taxi and the crew was told to be in take off position. It was drizzling that night.
Once the fasten seat belt sign was turned off, I was off to lavatory. It was clean as I believe I was the first one who use it.
Cabin condition 20 minutes after take off. Most of passenger were already sleeping.
In the midst of darkness, Crew started the drink+snack service. Monty's Bakehouse is the caterer for the snack. There were 2 choices, either chicken semur (Indonesian dish, chicken stew braised in sweet sauce) or peanut filled Lattice pastry. I chose the former. The snack was not to my liking, it was too dry. I did not visit the galley to see the snacks and drinks provided during this red-eye flight.
The sun has risen and 2 hours before landing, the light was on and crew brought out the cart for breakfast service.
Two choices for breakfast, either omelette with chicken sausage or fried rice with chicken in peanut sauce. I chose the fried rice. Every meal came with a "just ok" croissant, yoghurt and fruits. Wherever I fly with Garuda, I always opt for Indonesian/Asian food, especially if ex CGK except for SIN/CGK route. I am a frequent flyer between those 2 countries, which I have reached my limit of taking "fish with rice" catered from SIN and the omelette since during morning flight from SIN, "nasi goreng (fried rice)" option will always run out. Therefore, for the last 2 SIN/CGK route, I requested kosher meal. (further about Garuda Kosher meal in Bonus part below).
Cabin condition prior to decent.
Arrived in PVG on time.
As usual when you have a Kosher meal, when all the pax have boarded and before the plane taxi, crew will come to you and show that the kosher meal was still intact and requested permission to open the meal.
Garuda Kosher Meal ex Sin, Stogel - salmon with rice, you still can feel the fishy smell but it was a nice meal (compare to the normal fish with rice for ex-SIN meal). Crew delivered the tray first (consist bread, appetiser and dessert) and the meal 10 minutes later. Crew was still standing on the aisle next to me after delivering the meal, waited for me to open the aluminium lid and taste the meal whether it was hot enough or she needed to re-heat again. It was a nice touch by Garuda, after I complained that the same meal presented half frozen by crew during my previous flight (2 weeks before this flight).
Long-Life Kosher meal ex CGK, Stogel - vegetarian nugget which taste quite disappointing (Served in morning flight)
The perks of ordering special meal:
1. You are served first
2. More portion than the average meal
But do not expect anything with regards to the taste.
When it comes to Garuda, my advise is not to order Kosher Meal ex-CGK as it was a long-life meal after all. I did try the "lunch" version while they served chicken with rice meal, which taste slightly better than the vegetarian nugget.
Hot chicken meal
