Review of Batik Air flight Lombok → Jakarta in Economy

Report #54: ID6957 - If only all last-minute short-haul ticket can be this affordable

This will be my report on flying on Batik Air economy class from Lombok LOP to Jakarta CGK, a short-haul flight within Indonesia, on board its Airbus A320-200.

Here are the 3 parts of the trip:

Background

Since I booked at very last minute there was no option for a low-cost, direct flight option at a convenient time from DPS to CGK/HLP on any carrier, even more so for GA (plus, they're a terrible way to earn segments since they only earn 1 or 2 segments). To get around that, I decided to combine flying GA to LOP and then on ID to CGK, which was more affordable than what most offered for direct DPS-CGK flights on Sunday afternoon yet still offered me a couple of segments (and snacks).

I bought the economy class ticket which costed me Rp736.000 (US$49) before any OTA cashback. In terms of the miles earning, I received in total 74 KrisFlyer miles from my credit card, however that wasn't high on my priority because I took more care on the segments earned during my previous flight.

Trip to LOP and check-in

Naturally the previous flight from DPS was what brought me to LOP, so I proceeded straight to check-in hall. LOP's check-in counters are arranged like an island with the JT group's counters opposite the door from luggage claim hall.


I proceeded to the JT group's check-in counter, which was empty. I also checked the load, which was acceptable.


Having heard that the business class would otherwise be empty, I proceeded to their ticketing office and asked if there was any upgrade programme available, though it was only after they checked then they said that it would incur nothing less than the fare difference, so I skipped that (come think of it, not only would the differences be minor, I would also get access to the same lounge afforded by the business class ticket a couple of weeks later).


My boarding pass for the late afternoon was printed in the usual JT group's stock paper.


I then proceeded to the departure floor.


It was a short walk to the ticket check and then security, both of which were fast.

LOP transit area and departure

LOP, like CGK terminal 3, is designed with the shops being right behind the gates. Though still not that old, the design made it feel rather dated.


FIDS for the late afternoon.


Situation at the normal domestic gate.


LOP also has its own immigration facility since it also served SIN and KUL.


ID used the gate 5, which was above the other gates. There was no elevator and the escalator was pretty narrow, which didn't look good for the airport.


The gate was exclusively provided for ID, and since it was secluded the gate felt quiet.


View from the gate.


The gate's seating area reached all the way to the lounge entrance.


I then checked the lounge whether my credit card would be eligible, which wasn't the case so I didn't get to try it.


Some spotting time while I waited: JT's 739 taking off from LOP.


GA's -GFN that I reviewed before returning to DPS.


After a while the plane for the late afternoon arrived, which was PK-LAG, a 4 years old 320.


I proceeded to the gate ~20 minutes later and by then I was already among the last to board.


After I went trough the boarding gate I proceeded down to the interstitial corridor.


A closer look on the plane for this flight.


From the end of the interstitial corridor the expansion work could be clearly seen.


GA's -GRT, its newest CRK, could be seen about to be pushed back.


Since there were few flights around this time, we managed to be able to board through the aerobridge.


I soon reached the plane.

On board

Flight: ID6957
Plane: PK-LAG
STD/ATD: 14.15/14.14
STA/ATA: 15.15/15.00
Load factor: 0%J (0/12), 92%Y (138/150)
Seat type: Standard economy class (emergency exit row window seat)
Details: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/BTK6957/history/20180930/0615Z/WADL/WIII

After I was welcomed I first proceeded through the business class cabin.


One of the 12 business class seats that would be empty for the hop to CGK, which has quite a tight pitch.


I proceeded further back into the economy class


Has this become some sort of my natural habitat?


As usual, legroom was spacious.


The seatback feature the IFE screen, a seatback table that actually worked, and a literature pocket.


Being an emergency exit row seat, the table was also extendable by quite a bit.



Contents inside the literature pocket.


Seatbelt was nothing out of ordinary and wasn't branded.


Boarding was almost completed.


View from the window.


A briefing was conducted for passengers on the emergency exit row seats.


During pushback the safety video and IFE preview video were screened.


We then started our taxi to the runway.


As usual, the lights were turned off before departure.


We turned around the runway first before taking off to CGK.


Take-off was acceptable and we soon climbed to the cruising altitude.


A couple of minutes after we took off the Lombok island's coast could already be seen.


While it was slightly cloudy below, the weather was clear further up and the fasten seatbelt sign switched off afterwards.


Since I figured out it may take a while to get the meal out I proceeded to the lavatory, which was clean yet poorly maintained.


A view of the cabin from behind.


~10 minutes later a snack service started.


I received the snack first in a paper bag.


The snack for the day was a single piece of bread, which was disappointing since I was expecting a hot meal (which would be the case for the other way around, i.e. CGK-LOP).


For this flight the bread contained a sausage and some mayonnaise.


Drinks were offered using ID's glass.


The snack for the late afternoon flight consisted of:
Bread: Sesame seed bun with sausage and mayonnaise
Drink: Water / tea / coffee

The bread was acceptable enough, and especially with them not skimping on the sausage it was acceptable for a snack. On the other hand, giving only one piece of bread for a 2 hours flight seemed stingy enough, let alone compared with the hot meal offered when flying from CGK.

View during the cruise.


I spent most of the rest of the cruise either sleeping or looking at the rather crappy moving map.


The flight attendant checking on the passengers before approach to CGK.


It was time to enter the greater Jakarta's smoggy air.


Though ID's domestic flights arrive at terminal 1C, we descended to runway 7L which was quite far from the terminal.


CI's 359 about to return to TPE.


Landing was uneventful, save for seeing the ever-sleeping JT's 744.


We then taxied to terminal 1C, passing by GA's maintenance facility.


A couple of minutes later we reached the terminal.


We were finally parked beside QG's 320.


Just like anywhere else people had started queuing to disembark.


It was then my turn and I proceeded to exit through the front door.


This flight used aerobridge, but ….


Rather than going down using the escalator in the waiting room we were led to go down through the ramp, a staple of terminal 1.


Last view of our plane.

Arrival at CGK and post-arrival trip

After a short walk I reached the arrival area downstairs.


Typical of CGK terminal 1, a walk down the corridor to the main arrival area was required.


This was further followed by another walk to the baggage claim.


Where is the transfer desk then?


I just needed to pass through the baggage claim since I only brought my suitcase.


Soon I found myself in the crowded public area kerbside.


I considered myself lucky I had just caught the usual bus back to my place, especially since the bus only departed hourly.


Since the bus proceeded to terminal 2 and 3 first before traveling nonstop to South Jakarta, I was able to catch JT's wide-body planes together with BR and EK.


The load for the bus was especially high compared with usual since there were a lot of inbound passengers.