Review of Garuda Indonesia flight from Jakarta to Hong Kong in Economy

Intro

Waking up refreshed at the Four Seasons in Jakarta, after a lovely day exploring the city, it was time to take the next flight of the trip up to Hong Kong. A family member had business up there, and seeing as I haven't been in a while, I thought I might as well tag along for a couple of nights. In addition to that, my best friend lives in Hong Kong.

The next flight would see me flying from Jakarta to Hong Kong in economy on Garuda Indonesia. I was quite excited about this flight, having flown their business class just the day prior and finding it to be quite good. 

This flight turned out to be pretty good. Despite the very old aircraft of 25+ years, the food was good, the service was great, and thankfully, I had a "virtual" business class seat. 

There is still more much more to come, but I am too lazy at the moment.😒

How I Booked

As I've written about in a separate post, booking Garuda through Flyingblue represents some of the best value to get around Asia. This flight ended up costing me 11,000 miles and 62$ in cash. There seems to be plenty of availability in economy with roughly 80% having mileage space open.

Cash fares on my dates were around 450$ one-way, so I see this as a good redemption. However, usually, the fares will be around 235$ one-way for this route.

Unfortunately, there was no space available in business class. Otherwise, I would snapped up 5 hours in Business Class for 22,000 miles in a heartbeat.

Basically giving out free good redemption opportunities on this website🙂

Check-In

A Goldenbird taxi was waiting for me at 4:30 am at the Four Seasons lobby. Within 30 minutes, we arrived at the International Terminal, where my Jumpa fast track man was waiting to greet me.

Here is a look at my favorite four seasons in the world, something about it… It was actually ranked the best city four seasons in Asia. Have you ever gotten to a place where it just felt like home? Everyone knows you by name, exactly what you like and don't like etc..

Truly, an outstanding hotel. But it was a fun night in Jakarta filled with good food, a spin class, an amazing massage, and exploring the city! 

I digress… We headed over to the counters to quickly grab my boarding pass. Once at the desk, I enquired about a cash-paid upgrade to business since I saw the cabin was only half full. Note to others: award bookings are ineligible for upgrading from economy to business, even with cash.

Immigration is relatively quick in Jakarta, especially in the early mornings. Within a matter of minutes, I was airside and headed off to Burger King to grab some breakfast. 

Boarding

Boarding commenced at 6:40 am for a scheduled 7:25 am departure. This morning, we were departing from the 1 gates 😞 which is at the end of the terminal and about a 10-minute walk from the Plaza Premium lounge.

By 7:00 am, it was my turn to board. There was quite the queue going on in the jetbridge, even with a relatively light cabin load. 

The Seat/Cabin

Economy passengers boarded through door 2L for today's flight. This meant we passed by the business class cabin I had flown on yesterday. Once again, this cabin has certainly seen better days…

Then, we entered the first of the economy sections arranged in a 2-4-2 configuration. There are 215 economy seats on this specific sub-fleet of A330s. However, the other sub-fleet consists of more economy seats due to the lack of a mini cabin for business class behind door 2L. 

I found my seat 46A with ease. I have to say I love flying on an A330-300 when in economy. Having seats laid out with no middle on either side of the aisles is just perfect.

The legroom was adequate for an economy seat and allowed me to stretch my legs fully. For reference, I am 6 feet flat and 160 lbs (depending on the night prior). 

However, once I heard boarding was complete, there were plenty of rows towards the back that remained empty in the middle. This meant I would have three seats all to myself over to Hong Kong. A perfect way to rest on a 5-hour flight! 

A remote control was located on the right armrest and was definitely towards the dated side. The armrest even had a hole in it… 

IFE/Amenities

I was quite impressed with the amenities offered in economy for a flight that isn’t considered “long’-haul”. A decent pair of headphones were offered (for economy, I say this due to what I am used to in the USA), as well as a thick, comfortable blanket. Lastly, a basic pillow was presented on each seat. While one didn’t mean all the difference, utilizing three to sleep on made the row comfy for a good night's sleep. 

Super random side note: I have discovered that LOT has the comfiest eye-mask!

As mentioned in my last post, Wifi was also provided, but for a fee in economy. The IFE selection was of the same caliber as my previous flight, as I finished off the movie.

Departure

We ended up pushing back about 5 minutes after our scheduled departure time, despite boarding being completed 15 minutes before…

It was a relatively short taxi out to our runway, as we were airborne to the Northeast by 7:40 am. 

Weirdly, our route today would take us up over Singapore Changi airport before heading up along the coastline of Mainland Southeast Asia. Wonder why they opted not to fly as the crow flies, perhaps ATC or something else? 

Meal Service

The meal service commenced about 30 minutes into the flight. Seeing as I was in one of the last rows, it took a bit longer. The staff introduced themselves, asked how I was doing, and offered me one of two options.

I ended up deciding on the chicken and rice as usual, as well as a glass of orange juice. The croissant and yogurt were delicious and paired well with my chicken and rice. 

Additionally, the crew came around during the meal to enquire if we wanted some more beverages. Seeing as I was trying to get some sleep, no sugar high for me😅

Rest Of The Flight

Even if I did have a good and relaxing night in Jakarta, I decided to rest up for Hong Kong since I was going to do nothing on the plane anyway. I converted the seat into lie-flat mode😉 and made somewhat of a comfy bed with three pillows. 

Hey, I’m not complaining, as I ended up waking up about 15 minutes before landing in Hong Kong. The seats on Garuda are comfy, maybe because they are old and all soft now😅.

Arrival

We touched down slightly behind schedule and pulled into our gate around 10 minutes late.

And it was off to be picked up by a normal Uber (Tesla), and head over to the next Four Seasons! 

Stay tuned for the next leg of my trip… on my favorite airline in the world!