Report #45: JT158 - All good things must come to an end
This will be my report on flying Lion Air economy class from Jakarta CGK to Singapore SIN, a short haul international flight within SE Asia, on board their Boeing 737-900ER. This is the last part of the 12 series of the Indonesian aviation tour - but another series will be coming up soon.
A fair warning: this report will feature significantly less details than expected on my international flights as I wasn't in a particularly good mood to review and I was tired from the morning flight earlier.
Jakarta CGK - Singapore SIN on Lion Air 737-900ER economy classYou are here
Background
After partaking in quite a couple of interesting flights in the series, I opted to end the trip with a simple flight (as long as it wouldn't arrive too late so I can return to my hostel in the campus by public transport). Like on quite a few of my other SIN-CGK flights I opted for the evening flight on JT, which costed me S$61 (~US$45.3) after OTA discount, and even that was booked only < 8 hours hours to ETD.
Trip to CGK and check-in
I opted to go using the airport shuttle bus, which costed me Rp30.000 (US$2.1).
The traffic to the airport was quite acceptable.
Instead of going straight to terminal 2, I first arrived at terminal 3.
I then went down to the arrival floor, had my ID taken and was subjected to manual security check before I returned to the baggage office to get my missing bag from the earlier flight.
A short ride back to the terminal 2 followed for my flight to SIN
As the terminals 2 and 1 are built way before the idea of people mover had been conceived, I needed to go through the pick-up area and then to the arrival floor before taking an elevator to the departure floor (and no, they don't have any escalator at the public area).
Before entering the check-in area as usual preliminary ticket and security check was conducted.
I then checked in, which was done in ~3 minutes. I also checked the load, which was rather high.
The boarding pass was printed in the usual flimsy stock paper.
I then passed through the automated immigration, which cleared me in < 1 minute.
CGK transit area and departure
Lately many of JT group's international flights departed from the concourse E, including this one, so I proceeded straight after the immigration.
I then reached the security, which I quickly cleared.
There is an open rest area, which I used to rest for a while instead of waiting at the gate.
As boarding was about to start I went to the gate and had my boarding pass scanned.
The boarding gate was quite packed.
There were quite a bit of queue for take-off, and as terminal 2 was facing the runway 7L/25R like terminal 3 the queue mainly consisted of GA' planes.
The plane of the evening was -LGW, an 8 years old 739.
Boarding soon commenced from both doors (to the left and right of the corridor).
It was a short walk down the corridor and then the aerobridge.
After I was welcomed on board I proceeded into the cabin. When I walked down the cabin I also asked one f the flight attendants there if there was any chance of getting an empty exit row seat, to which she said she would check.
In the meanwhile, here is my original seat.
Typical of JT, legroom was tight.
JT apparently believed that the power of prayer was strong enough to prevent accident, so in my seat pocket I found two prayer cards yet no safety card.
Boarding was still underway.
It was only after I asked for the safety card that my seat received one, which was still pristine.
There was a safety briefing for the passengers on the exit row seats.
Somehow there was a seat available at one of the exit row seats, so I was invited to move to the front.
We soon pushed back.
During the taxi a safety demonstration was conducted.
After clearing the take-off queue we took off.
After the fasten seatbelt sign was switched off the flight attendants did a round of sales, offering biscuits and bottles of water, each costing Rp15.000 (~US$1.05) for each bottle or pack.
I bought the mineral water, which happened to be branded Batik - this has nothing to do with ID.
What followed was of course the lavatory visit, which wasn't particularly in an immaculate state.
The view of the cabin from behind.
I mostly slept through the rest of the cruise, and when I woke up we had already started approaching SIN.
Landing and taxi was uneventful and after I bid farewell I proceeded through the aerobridge and corridor.
Arrival at SIN and post-arrival trip
Instead of going to the immigration I went to the retail area at the center of the terminal.
As I arrived in the evening, I opted to get another complimentary glass of Singapore Sling from the bar above the duty-free store.
While not as functional as the one at terminal 2, at least I know where to wait for my next flight.
I made my way to the immigration, which took me seconds to clear.
The luggage area was quiet.
When I arrived my the carousel for my flight, the last bags had been put down the carousel, so I was able to quickly get out of the airport.
I returned to my place using the metro train, thus ending the Indonesia aviation tour series.
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Verdict
Lion Mentari Airlines
3.3/10
Cabin3.5
Cabin crew4.5
Entertainment/wifi2.0
Meal/catering3.0
Jakarta - CGK
6.1/10
Efficiency7.0
Access6.0
Services6.0
Cleanliness5.5
Singapore - SIN
7.8/10
Efficiency8.5
Access7.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness8.5
Conclusion
As far as bringing me from CGK to SIN on a budget (and of course with some luggage allowances), JT indeed did that right. That aside, some parts remain to be improved, however minor it is in the grand scheme of things. In terms of the airport, both CGK and SIN were fuss-free apart from the walk needed from the people mover station to the departure floor.
On overall, I would still fly with JT, although in the near future my focus would be more towards GA.
Some thing done well for the trip (airports): + Reasonable check-in time at CGK + Fast immigration and security at CGK + Fast immigration and luggage claim at CGK
Some thing done well for the trip (on board): + Reasonable price (S$61 (~US$45.3))
Things that can be improved (airports): - Access between the people mover station and terminal proper at CGK - Take-off queue at CGK
Things that can be improved (on board): - High load factor - Old aircraft - Lack of in-flight magazine - Missing safety card
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