Garuda Indonesia 777 Business Class: A Mixed Bag

Hey they specially prepared the play area they thought Miles was coming

Which goes to show just how much SQ has maintained its power and prestige in ASEAN, and just how much everyone else has fallen.

Is it me or the chicken dish has no chicken in it? I only see rice and veggies 🙁

Forgive my ignorance here-does Saudi ban alcohol on all flights to it? I know obviously it’s banned in the country but a restriction on service on flights to the country is still unexpected to me.

@ hbilbao -- The chicken is in the bowl next to the main plate. 🙂

@ MRL -- Airlines aren't allowed to serve alcohol in Saudi Arabian airspace. Technically they could serve it outside of Saudi Arabian airspace enroute to the country, but most airlines don't. That's probably because of the complicated logistics of having to take away drinks once you enter Saudi Arabian airspace. It's also a nice cost saving measure for airlines.

Here’s a list of what’s going wrong at most Southeast Asian airlines. Unlike Northeast Asia, where between the Taiwanese (BR/CI/JX), the Japanese (NH/JL), the Hong Konger (CX) and the Koreans (KE/OZ) — in particular the Taiwanese — the quality and standards keep getting better, so much that they’re out of this world.

TG? Rattling old 777-200ERs swapped on pretty much any route at the last minute — I’ve been unlucky to get it twice; once is bad enough. And they won’t be refurbished until they are retired, which TG absolutely doesn’t want to do, unlike its 747s, A380s and older 777s. Not that the ex-Thai Smile A320s are any better than what EU airlines have. A350s and 787s are excellent though, but BKK is mostly downright ugly.

MH? A330s are getting on with age; A330neos and 737 MAXes desperately needed. London is the only European destination; at least it’s served consistently, unlike GA and AMS. KUL looks great but is slowly starting to show its age — and is the furthest from the city in ASEAN.

GA? Fleet shrinking and shrinking, no aircraft on order. Can’t even serve AMS more than once a week at times — hey, it’s your prestige destination, the only one in Europe. Newer A330s still okay but route network very much on the down and down. CGK is quite impressive in some places but a total letdown in others.

VN? Healthy fleet of A350s and 787s, but the A321s are to be avoided, as they are outdated. Could have been much better if they tried.

PR? Not much to say; just two A350s, some A330s and 777s, at least they fly to the US.

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SQ, though? Suites. First Class. Brand-new A350s, 787s and 737 MAXes. Still very much amongst the world’s most luxurious airlines. The only one to fly transpacific other than PR and perhaps VN, in fact to every continent except South America. Changi still the world’s best airport by a country mile. (Sorry, Hamad.)

In an ideal world TG, MH and GA would have retained their Asian hospitality and luxury image, but when even GA (a so-called Skytrax 5-star airline) has slipped so low, you know SQ has no competition at all in Southeast Asia.

’Nuff said.

This looks (and sounds) pretty much like what my experience was flying them on their 777-300ER from ICN to CGK in J in 2017, with the exception of the lounge experience (though, tbh, it wasn't that great, either...): great food on-board (with booze) and a comfortable window seat with well-intentioned, kind crew who weren't as polished as maybe KE or or even VN crews...but that's about it. The seat was filthy and I switched to another one when I boarded as J was pretty much empty; IFE was limited and low quality; and blanket/pillow weren't particularly comfortable. At least I didn't have @Lucky's transit experience at CGK onward to BKK...

Can I ask why all travel writers whine about the headphones that are given out on planes? You use your own, right? Bose or AirPods or whatever? The reviews are 98.9999999999% bad and don't matter anyway. What am I missing? You also always say you're a selective germaphobe. Don't communal headphones gross you out?

Oh, I see. Hope the chicken tasted better than it looked.

Welcome to FT!

"Can I ask why all travel writers whine about the headphones that are given out on planes?"

Because the prevailing wisdom, appropriately, is that if you're going to offer a product in business class, it should be something that works at the very least, something prestigious at the most. People care to know when airlines offer garbage products, as it helps shape purchasing decisions when it comes to booking travel at the front of planes.

Speaking of headphones, would it make sense that headphones are offered upon request and eventually phased out with Bluetooth becoming mainstream?

I've used Garuda Lounge about a year ago and it was already as bad as you describe. It was like being in a seedy Pan-Asian restaurant with tired 70s-80's decor in a strip mall. Alcohol is not displayed but served upon request. You asked the lounge attendant for a can of beer and the attendant cum ersatz bartender would bring one out from the back room. There was an illicit feeling about the whole transaction, in fact, the ambience was such that it felt like being in a den of black market arms dealers. Noodle soups were being offered and being made to order on the spot. While it hardly looked appetizing, the taste was not bad, thanks to inherently vibrant Indonesian cuisine.
On my way to the gate to board, I took a glimpse of Plaza Premium Lounge and regretted not having spent time there. However, it has been a memorable experience and part of me would like to go back to the Garuda Lounge than Plaza Premium Lounge which is far better, but less unique.

I fly their domestic routes ony in business frequently. FAR and above superior to anything Lion Air or Batik has.

The Jakarta lounge is pretty bare but it is pretty quiet. But I'm not into lounge experiences like so many of you are.

Are all airlines flying to/from Saudi Arabia required to not serve alcohol, or was that just Garuda's choice?

It’s a sad state of affairs over at Garuda, it’s like they never shook off the double whammy that was their disastrous CEO who flew in expensive in the belly of an A330-900neo and Miss Rona. You’d think the flagship airline of an economy growing at 5% p.a. would’ve navigated through the recovery phase better. Your experience — as well as others I’ve heard — cements it.

Meanwhile Singapore Airlines just booked record profit after record profit, with new business class seats for the A350-900ULR teased. Maybe Garuda should be privatised. Heck, hand them over to Delta or Tata. At least they know what they’re doing

Well, airlines are allowed to serve alcohol in Saudi Arabian airspace, until the beginning of approach. I never experienced any restrictions based on the airspace. Some airlines do serve alcohol on flights to/from Saudi Arabia (e.g. KL, RJ, ME), others don't serve alcohol on routes to Saudi Arabia (e.g. TK, GA) and yet others are completely dry (e.g. SV, MS).

Garuda's choice.

"Airlines aren't allowed to serve alcohol in Saudi Arabian airspace"

Not true.

As you indicated, a flight to Saudi Arabia is always "minor" so having to dine with a diet coke ... won't leave with an unforgettable experience?
I recently wrote here that 2 months ago I flew DPS-SYD with them, connecting from AMS-SIN-DPS on KLM ... and then believe me .. Garuda still feels like heaven. My favorite part was the crew, how they take the order, the kind of chef preparing the food, I just loved it despite being on a dated plane ... and of course on that flight there was Champagne 🙂
P.S. For years now I don't botter for headphones on any flight, always use my own

Actually i flew PAL Business Class MNL-BNE earlier this year on their A321 and was pleasantly surprised. Good food and a cosy but very comfortable flat-bed seat in a 2-2 config. The lounge at MNL felt like a step back into the 70s, but that whole terminal did. Yeah, they're not in the same league as the big players but don't write them off completely. LH bought some of PAL's A350s and those planes have the best Business Class in the LH fleet!

This is an honest, fair review of the airline. I would love GA to come back to its former self but that will take a long time. Using this aircraft as a flying “microlet” is out of necessity I’m afraid. For GA to make money they have to fill the plane. The alcohol and Saudi Arabia is unrelated. This is an alcohol and pilgrim issue. Indonesia get the highest quota for pilgrims than any other country. This alone is sufficient to run a charter or some other form of service. Indonesia in general doesn’t care what anybody thinks. The management, and therefore the employees, haven’t been trained properly regarding lounges, appearance, food service etc. All of which you noted is accurate. Except the 5-Star rating. It has little. The criteria like this airline is dated.

Garuda still needs to improve its quality in all aspects. Very sad to see the poor condition of the Garuda lounge at Terminal 3 of Jakarta Airport. Also blankets, headphones that should be replaced with new ones as well as amenities that are more suitable for economy class and in-flight entertainment that are outdated. I once flew with Garuda which did not provide a menu list, so the cabin crew had to explain the menu choices one by one starting from appetizers, main dishes, desserts and drink choices all at once, so this was confusing. Of course they apologized because there was no printed menu available at that time. You can imagine how many times the cabin crew has to repeat reading the menu to passengers.

There are very few planes that support bluetooth pairing to customers' headphones. This means that if you want to use the IFE, you're stuck with janky cabled headphones the airline provides.

That's why I use them, that's why everyone uses them (when they do.)

Agreed, but we’re not there just yet yet, mate; there are still too many Luddite Boomers alive crying their ubiquitous life motto about everything - “I’ve worked all my life, and I’M ENTITLED TO IT’”.

I wisited Jeddah in March and had a great time. Easy visa process, very easy immigration process both in and out. On Turkish Airlines, business class was completely full, but those pax who had wrapped themselves in terry cloth towels were all in coach, and yeah, there were a lot of them. Some so ancient that when they paged a doctor midflight, I was sure some geriatric pilgrim will die and we need to land in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately, that did not happen. Old Jeddah was very authentic and interesting.

The food on the Garuda flight looks like a nicely presented coach meal. And that blanket must have been borrowed from Finnair coach, they used to have blankets just like that perhaps ten years ago 😀

Try the lounge at Denpasar lolllllll. It was abysmal.

I thought Garuda biz was fine. Good food, really attentive service. Whisky refills were large and proactive (eek). They prob know their Aussie clientele. Seat was comfy but you need 12 pillows to make one half decent one. Storage and footwell fine.

I flew it from Bali to Sydney last month.

Garuda is always the best service thanks you Garuda

First world problems. lol.

You can also bring a Bluetooth transmitter like the Airfly, but that's one more thing to deal with

Oh geez. Looks like that could just as easily have been a business class experience on TAAG Angola Airlines or PIA. And Scamtrax calls this a 5-star airline? If anything this is another example that shows how Singapore Airlines really has no peer in its region.

I think your previous Garuda experience is more indicative of the true Garuda experience as the flights to Jeddah are, as indicated, more for religious pilgrimage and not business, so that route usually gets the oldest equipment and limited meal choices, etc. I have flown Jakarta to Hong Kong and Tokyo several times on Garuda and have always had a great experience in business. I would imagine most long haul flights are much the same. As always, excellent Indonesian hospitality makes up for a lot…

I also have the same feeling n words for Blankets n other linens. I think Garuda is trying to minimize the expenditure. May be after Covid wave, they might not have replaced Covid affected linens. SQ has done a good job.

BA serves alcohol (until entering Saudi airspace - definition required).
But God help you if you are inebriated going through immigration.
Having worked in the Middle East it is amazing how you become adept at smelling alcohol on the breath. Just sniff the odd Sheikh from a distance, for example.

Denpasar - absolute awful. Cathay shares this horrid lounge with all the rest of the One World clan. Horrid to have this lounge waiting for Qatar/CX. I thought the CX lounge in JNB was bad - but it's miles ahead of the DPS lounge.

Sorry to hear that, Ben. Just for your information, these kind of flights are intended for Hajj pilgrims, in which the operational cost is likely to be subsidized by government (in this case, Ministry of Religious Affairs), so that it may not be the best experience that you’ll find. Perhaps you’d like to take GA’s flight to Tokyo or Seoul, I heard that those flights provides level of service just like what you’ve experienced back in 2015 (if I’m not mistaken)