As usual, sorry for my bad English and bad quality of the pictures.
This time I will tell you about my 1st flight to Makassar, South Sulawesi. That was my 1st visit in my life to Sulawesi Island, a large island in eastern side of Indonesia.
Actually, I just followed my father who was going to Makassar for church purpose. He was sent by his congregation to attend a national-scale church meeting in Makassar. I had nothing to do in this occasion, but my father invited me to follow him. I was excited because I had been so curious about Sulawesi Island, especially after hearing stories from my friends about their land trips from Makassar to Toraja.
When I checked the ticket prices, Lion Air offered the cheapest, but sorry, it had been on my blacklist. The 2nd cheapest price was offered by Batik Air, Lion Air's subsidiary, which had better reputation and provided more services. It costed about IDR 900,000 (about USD 60.00). I would board the plane alone because my father and his church colleagues had booked a Lion Air flight.
JULY 4th, 2018
Before leaving home at early morning, I printed the boarding pass. I suggest anyone flying with Lion Air group to do the online check-in and print your boarding pass by yourself, because their check-in counters will usually have long queues and no dedicated line available for those who have done the online check-in.
Me and my father went together to Soekarno-Hatta Airport by bus. Upon reaching the airport, my father alighted at Terminal 1A, while me alighted at Terminal 1C. We would meet again at Makassar.
It was 6.30 a.m., while my flight was scheduled to depart at 8.30 a.m. Then I decided to have my breakfast at a "soto" stall.
Flight schedule of the day.
Check-in counters had been crowded. Luckily I had nothing to do here.
Proceeding to the airside. Security check as usual.
As stated on the boarding pass, I had to wait at Gate C6.
Do you want to drink coffee?
Charging station.
The plane, Airbus A320, with registration code PK-LAU, would bring me to Makassar. It was delivered on February 2016.
Other Batik fleets in the apron.
Time to board the plane.
Entering the business class firstly as usual. Still looked new and fresh.
Economy class.
I was sitting on the emergency row. Of course the pitch was wider than others.
Boarding completed. I guessed around 90% of the seats were occupied. I also saw some people from my father's church but different congregations. They wore clothes showing their church and congregation's names.
As usual, passengers on the emergency row like me were given additional safety briefing by the cabin crews.
Then the safety video was played on the IFE. The video was in Indonesian language with English subtitles.
Scenes outside the window.
We had to wait for an Air Asia to land, before our plane allowed to fly.
Time to leave the runway at 9.00 a.m. (UTC+7).
The take-off process was so smooth, supported by good weather and air condition.
About 5 minutes after that, the seatbelt sign was turned off.
Time to explore the IFE. USB slots were available, but only for charging. It couldn't read your files.
The movie collection was good. As Batik Air also flew to India (Chennai) it also offered good collection of Indian movies.
The downside was that the IFE didn't have musics. Only audio books. As a music lover I was disappointed.
Games also available.
Flight map & info.
I also didn't forget to check all stuff inside the seat pocket as usual.
About an hour after departure, cabin crews started the food service. Our food consisted of fried rice (mixed with potato, sausage, and sliced carrot), plain bread, and mineral water. The taste was moderate, nothing special, but good enough to fill your stomach.
As no musics available on the IFE, I chose to listen musics in my cellphone and playing the IFE's games.
About 2 hours after departure, the land started to be seen. Yaaayyyy, I finally saw the Sulawesi Island for the first time. My dream to visit the island came true.
Landed safely at Hasanuddin Airport at 12.10 p.m. (UTC+8).
The airport terminal building.
An AirAsia with special ad livery just landed from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Our plane parked beside the Citilink.
Time to leave the airplane.
Entering the terminal building.
Proceeding to baggage carousels.
The public arrival area.
I still had to wait my father whose flight was delayed for 1.5 hours. After all delegations from Jakarta arrived, we left the airport for our hotel by chartered bus.
See more
Verdict
Batik Air
7.1/10
Cabin8.0
Cabin crew7.5
Entertainment/wifi6.0
Meal/catering7.0
Jakarta - CGK
6.6/10
Efficiency6.5
Access6.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness7.0
Makassar-Celebes Island - UPG
7.1/10
Efficiency7.0
Access7.5
Services7.0
Cleanliness7.0
Conclusion
Personally for me Batik Air's service was average and nothing special. I still don't know if Batik Air can be classified as FSC, but I think it is still not "all out" to serve the passengers as a FSC. Is that because its condition as a subsidiary of LCC company?
But the 2 y.o. plane was still fresh and clean, and I hope this condition will stay for long time.
Cabin crews were still young, polite, and friendly. I always hope that Batik Air and all Indonesian carriers can improve the English skill of their cabin crews.
The food quality was moderate, nothing special, and I think only 1 kind of foods available in every Batik Air flight.
The IFE's touchscreen was still sensitive. The movie collections were good. But where's the music? IFE without musics was quite funny and disappointing for me. Please improve it, Batik Air.
Another thing to be improved is the branding. Can you see their logo? It's like a simple writing. Also the livery, especially patterns on the tail, looks too "serious" and not "fresh".
About the airports, as usual, I have no comment about the Soekarno-Hatta Airport.
Makassar's Hasanuddin Airport was nice with modern architecture and good layout. It's probably the largest and busiest airport in Eastern Indonesia. The cleanliness needed to be improved. Public buses to Makassar city center are available.
That's my report. Hope you enjoy it.
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Thanks for your fr, but may I know the reason to blacklist Lionair? I have never really had any bad experience with them (though my expectations are low for LCC)
As an indonesian myself i might be able to answer your question..
1. Frequent Delays Lion Air is probably the worst airline in indonesia in terms of On time performance 2. Poor Delay handlings Lion Air sometimes has entered the national news because of their in delay handling,which sometimes they didnt inform anything about delays 3. For me personally,Legrooms In indonesia they are probably the worst, i mean both airasia and citilink have better legrooms... 4.(Mostly) Rude flight attendant
Will i fly lion air? Yes if i get their brand new 737 MAX other than that i would say No
Yes, some reasons have been explained by davidbom.
To be honest, my standard for a good LCC is AirAsia, because it's also perhaps the pioneer of LCC in Southeast Asia. And for me Lion Air does worse than AirAsia, not only with their frequent delays, but also their low level of service, especially the airport staffs who can't communicate properly with the customers.
Yes, as an LCC, I don't expect luxury things from them, but at least a "proper" service.
Note: this is not a black campaign for Lion Air. I just share my personal thoughts.
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3 Comments
1. Frequent Delays
Lion Air is probably the worst airline in indonesia in terms of On time performance
2. Poor Delay handlings
Lion Air sometimes has entered the national news because of their in delay handling,which sometimes they didnt inform anything about delays
3. For me personally,Legrooms
In indonesia they are probably the worst, i mean both airasia and citilink have better legrooms...
4.(Mostly) Rude flight attendant
Will i fly lion air? Yes if i get their brand new 737 MAX other than that i would say No
P.S nice report anaknegeri..
To be honest, my standard for a good LCC is AirAsia, because it's also perhaps the pioneer of LCC in Southeast Asia. And for me Lion Air does worse than AirAsia, not only with their frequent delays, but also their low level of service, especially the airport staffs who can't communicate properly with the customers.
Yes, as an LCC, I don't expect luxury things from them, but at least a "proper" service.
Note: this is not a black campaign for Lion Air. I just share my personal thoughts.
Thanks for your comment.
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