Hello everyone!
It’s been a while since I wrote a report. I have my leave allowance to thank for that (total sarcasm, btw).
Anyway, this is my first ever report on board of Air France freedom flight from Jakarta to Singapore!
Singapore is a strategic destination for a lot of airlines in Indonesia. If you searched by google, you'll stumble upon 39 daily flights. That's a lot
How did I get on this flight? Well, my mother asked me to get some medication she needs, which, only available in Singapore. Me? I was more than happy to oblige. So my father (who’s also joining this trip btw) scrambled me to find a great airfare deal. We decided that we want to fly with Garuda once again. But truth be told, prices were not good for the short period of flight. So I looked up to a lot of websites, before my father told me “come on, $350 for a ticket is okay, just get one already!” I didn’t want to.
I once scored a very cheap $35 ticket to Singapore, and will not settle for a $300-$350 ticket. Even though if it’s Garuda!. So I was browsing through FR website, when I stumbled upon the CGK-SIN FR from one of the members here. I forgot that AF operates a daily freedom flight from here to Singapore onwards to Paris. I instantly went to the websites. And boom.
$160 for a return flight.
That was a no brainer, considering I ordered the tickets only a week before the departure date. So we booked it, and off we go!
So I left work around 4 PM, and it took me 1,5 hour to get to the airport. Our driver dropped us off at Terminal 2D (because for some reason, I remembered that AF operates from this side of the terminal). Never have I been so wrong in my life. Well, I forgot that GA being a Skyteam member means that other Skyteam members also had their check in desk right beside it.
Anyway, we went through Terminal 2E, found our check-in booth and had our boarding pass issued. Me and my dad are GarudaMiles member. So we were anxious to try whether our membership worked for AF, and you know what? It Does! *YAY*
The check-in agent was a friendly young man. He told us that since my father is a Gold member of GarudaMiles, he is entitled to get 2 checked baggage instead of 1. So we can bring a total of 3 luggage. That’s a really nice thing to hear if you’re traveling with the whole family!
Oh yeah, little did I know that we are traveling on board the NEW AF cabin! I was getting more and more excited to actually fly in the lovely B773 !
We found a lounge to settle in. Not much to say other than the mediocre food.
So we went airside to the boarding gate, and there I spot the lovely beast.
My father was so excited to see this standee!
Boarding process went smoothly with Skypriority passengers first, followed by the rest. I went by the new business class cabin. It looked awesome. But I didn’t really like the white color, kinda prone to be dirty anytime soon :|
Then I reached the Premium Economy, which I think it’s absolutely waste of money for this short flight. But I’m keen to try one for long haul flights someday.
Then, the Economy. Tell you the truth, I was stunned in a very good way. All I ever hear about AF’s Economy Cabin was Small IFE, terrible seat pitch, bla bla bla, the list goes on. But this? No no no, I LOVE THIS.
Seat pitch was great for my 5’6” figure. Loved the fluffy pillow, in love with the IFE system (highly responsive and very user friendly too!), and kudos to the USB port and Electrical port! Headset quality was mediocre, but still far better than Garuda's.
Takeoffs were on time and goes by smoothly. Soon we were on cruising attitude, then comes the dinner service. Tonight, it consisted of a cucumber salad with grilled chicken (?) on top. Dressing was a bit tangy and tasty, chicken were a bit dry (probably my tongue got numb at high altitude?). The bread was okay, cheese was a standard Camembert (still tasty nonetheless, since I love cheese). The lemon cake was sweet and sour, perfect match for my black coffee after the meal.
Played around with the IFE, tried to watch some movies, but I ended up playing with the flight route display a lot.
Mandatory lavatory visit was done, nothing special whatsoever.
And in the blink of an eye, we’ve arrived in Singapore, 15 minutes earlier than expected arrival time.
A great fifth freedom option between SIN and CGK.
agreed! not to mention the excellent schedule for weekend traveler!
Thanks for sharing this report with us. You were lucky to have the new cabin on this short flight. The IFE looks great and the meal is ok for the duration of the flight .good to see that you had à good crew!
yes, it surprised me that the crew was so attentive on this flight!
Thank you for sharing your report.
It seems that AF has very competitive prices on this route. I was checking a few days and AF usually had the cheapest prices, especially in J.
There is no shortage of good airlines servicing this segment like SQ and GA.
prices were amazing! I stumbled upon another fare of USD 129.10 for a return trip CGK-SIN. Nothing can beat that at the moment!
Thanks for sharing this FR
You were very lucky to find this good fare and to have the new cabin for your flight
Looking for your return trip
too bad the return flight was using the old cabin, which i believe had been featured here a lot. So i don't think there's much to see
Thanks for this FR.
With many reports mentioning cheap prices on AF on this route, I actually wonder how well the airline is doing.
Otherwise the service is pretty good for a flight of this duration and the new cabin does look very good, although still in 3-4-3 :-(
i think AF's move to have a full plane on this short fifth freedom flight is a great decision. During my return trip, i think i only counted a good 40-50% load that originated from Paris.
How lucky to be able to have a nice option like AF on such a short route!
agreed! i was very lucky!