Short review
Lounge (Garuda Indonesia Executive Lounge in Denpasar): 3/5
Cabin: 3.5/5
Service: 5/5
Food and beverages: 4/5
Pros:
- Excellent service from the cabin crew
Cons:
- The lounge in Denpasar was disappointing
- The 2-2-2 seat configuration with no direct access to the aisle for some passengers
Long review
This time my wife and I and our nearly 9-month daughter, Josie, flew with Garuda Indonesia Business Class from Denpasar (Bali), Indonesia, to Sydney, Australia. You can read the review of our previous Sydney-to-Jakarta flight here. Actually, this time our journey started in Surabaya. We also flew with Garuda Indonesia Business Class from Surabaya to Sydney. The plane was B737-800 and the total flight time was only slightly over than 1 hour. The service was great though for such a short flight. The plane was parked in a remote area, but there was a van provided for business class passengers from the plane to the terminal. In the terminal, a Garuda staff was waiting for international transit passengers. He then escorted us to the international transfer desk where another staff helped us with the immigration process. The service was quite good. Probably more chairs around the international transfer desk would be useful.
After getting our passports back and passing the security, we went directly to the Garuda Indonesia Executive Lounge on the mezzanine level. I have been a number of times and I immediately saw a significant improvement. The lounge is now enclosed, meaning it has transparent walls and roofs separating the lounge and the terminal. This separation did not exist in the past, making the lounge uncomfortably warm. After the improvement, the part near the dining area was reasonably cool, but the space further from the dining area was still rather warm. Unfortunately, I forgot to take any photos in the lounge because we were occupied by Josie.
The food was just ok; I’ve been to better lounges before. Alcoholic drinks were available, but you had to approach a staff to get one. There was also a small bar where alcoholic drinks were served, but it was not manned often, so it was better to speak to a staff directly. Shower rooms were available as expected. I didn’t take a shower this time, but I tried it previously. We happily found that a nursery was available in the lounge. Unfortunately it was dirty, so my wife had to wipe the table first. Wi-fi was supposed to be available, but it didn’t work most of the time. Disappointing for a 5-star airline.
Boarding was fast and uneventful. The boarding staff kindly took care of Josie’s pram at the gate. The plane was A330-300, which was equipped with the older version of Garuda’s business class seats. These seats were organised into 2-2-2 configuration in each row, thus those sitting in the window seats would not have direct access to the aisle. The seat itself was a lie flat seat, but not parallel with the floor. The angle was very small though, so it was not a ‘sloping sleeper’ which would not be comfortable for sleeping. A few of Garuda’s A330 fleet were equipped with super diamond seats with its 1-2-1 seat configuration, but somehow I have never had the opportunity to try them even though I flew quite often with Garuda.
The usual pre-flight routine began with welcome drinks and warm towel. A flight attendant then introduced herself and took our breakfast order. Below was the menu in this flight and my choices were in asterisk.
Breakfast
Starter
- Fresh fruit*
- Yoghurt
- Cereal*
Main course
- Coconut rice, beef semur, sautéed long beans, anchovy nuts and egg balado*
- Home-made bircher muesli, poached pear, fresh strawberries and blueberries
- Eggs, freshly cooked on board anyway you wish
In Between Fuel
- Japanese satay and soy sauce
- Square panini with beef schnitzel and mozzarella cheese
- Meatball soup*
- Fresh fruit
- Tortilla chips with cheese and tomato salsa
Soon it was time to take off. This was a red-eye flight, leaving Denpasar at 22:20 and arriving in Sydney at 07:25 with a total flight time of slightly more than 6 hours. The business class cabin was quite empty. We were the only ones in the row so we could put Josie, our daughter, to sleep on an empty seat, while my wife and I slept on the remaining seats. I appreciated the attentiveness of a flight attendant as well. When Josie cried while we were sleeping, she immediately came to the seat to help my wife soothe her. Obviously, it was important not to disturb the other passengers too.
I ordered a bowl of meatball soup before sleeping. I liked the soft meatballs and the warm soup. A good dish to calm the nerve before bed. I also noticed that the purser turned off the three screens mounted on the bulkhead. I appreciated this simple touch because those screens were super bright in the darkened cabin.
I managed to sleep for a couple of hours before being woken up about 1.5 hours before landing for breakfast. My coconut rice and beef semur dish was nice enough, although it was a bit hard for me to enjoy it since I was still sleepy and tired. I also took a photo of my wife’s omelette dish, which looked appetising I must say. Again the flight attendants were very accommodating again when serving us because we had to take turn in taking care of Josie.
Soon we landed in a chaotic Sydney Airport. The gate staff kindly brought our stroller to the gate. Somehow the airport was extremely crowded this morning. Even the queue in the express lane was quite long, which was rather annoying after a lack of sleep. Sydney Airport is terrible. We had unpleasant experience when we departed and the same was repeated when we landed.
Neglecting the experience in the Sydney Airport, the overall flight experience was decent. The lounge experience in Denpasar still needs improvements. When it comes to the flight itself, the 2-2-2 seat configuration has become dated. Fortunately, the excellent service from the flight attendants made this flight pleasurable.
