Announcement

**ycp81** · 10 May 2016, 11:49 PM

Waiting for boarding. Flight ended up rather full.

29 April 2016
Garuda Indonesia
GA 88
Singapore (SIN) - Amsterdam (AMS)
B777-300ER
PK-GID
Economy Class
Flight Time: 13H09M

Boarding was announced and the boarding sequence was strictly enforced by the gate agents. Indonesian newspapers were available at the door. Received a warm welcome at the door and proceeded to my seat at 43A.

Passing Business Class.

Forward economy cabin.

GA proudly showcasing their 2013 Best Economy Class award.

Settled at my seat, with a welcome screen shown on the IFE touchscreen monitor.

Seat pitch, though advertised as 32" pitch, felt much more generous for my 180cm fame. Seat padding is pretty comfortable and recline is decent. There is a footrest at every seat. Power sockets and USB ports were fitted under the seats.

View out the window.

Waiting for boarding to be completed. Our 3-seater at the window ended up all filled, with the aisle seat taken up by a Belgium guy who slept the almost the entire flight.

The April edition of inflight magazines, including IFE guide and onboard shopping.

Amenities already pre-set at the seat includes a pillow, thick blanket, headsets and a bottle of water.

IFE was already available at the gate. Now, a flaw is spotted. This aircraft was already loaded with the May selection of IFE, but the IFE magazine was of the April edition. Lack of attention to detail here, as you would not see this onboard SQ (correct me if I am wrong). However, the IFE system was intuitive enough that I did not need to refer to the IFE guide. Selection of movies, though not as extensive as SQ nor EK, is sufficient for the flight. Plus, the new releases were almost similar as to what is currently on SQ's Krisworld May selection!

**ycp81** · 11 May 2016, 12:11 AM

TV programmes were lacking though. Even though the IFE monitor is touchscreen enabled, handsets were available for use as well.

However, Garuda made it up with Live TV news channels! These were enabled upon takeoff.

Boarding was soon completed and safety video was shown, along with Dutch subtitles. Also, announcements were made in Indonesian, English and Dutch, Apparently there was a Dutch-speaking crew onboard.

Information of the flight, which can be pulled down over the IFE content.

Had a rather lengthy taxi to Rwy02C, passing a number of aircraft resting for the night.

Departing from Rwy02C for the long-haul to Amsterdam!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VZITtuQY1s

Decided to watch a light-hearted movie to start the long night.

Shortly after takeoff, menus and amenity kits were distributed. The amenity kits came in 3 different colours.

Contents of the amenity kit was pretty generous, containing eyeshades, earplugs and a pair of socks. Toothbrushes were available in the lavatories.

Menu card

Supper service commenced, with 4 crew working in each section of the economy cabin. Learnt from the crew later on that there are total of 17 cabin crew on the flight, with 8 of them working in economy. Service by the crew was again, as per my previous GA flight, graceful and warm.

Meal tray. The meal appeared to be catered from Jakarta. Chose a guava juice to go with my meal.

**ycp81** · 11 May 2016, 12:34 AM

Chose the chicken option. The serviceware was of the new design. Metal cutlery was used.

Cut fresh fruits and coffee cream layer cake. Fruits were fresh and cake was good.

Hainan rice, garlic marinated roast chicken, saut�ed caisim. Served with bun and butter. The main was delicious! Juicy chicken meat with tasty rice. Only wished the portion would be bigger.

The other option of Pan fried fish, lemon cream sauce, parsley potato and saut�ed vegetables. This was delicious as well!

Crew offering more drinks.

Enjoying my meal with the movie.

Garuda offers hot chocolate in economy, and I requested for a cup as my tuck-me-in drink. Not often that one gets to drink hot chocolate in economy class!

After the meal service, cabin lights were turned off. After completing my movie, I explored a bit of the Live TV channels, and indeed, they were available.

Our present location.

Caught a second movie, Zoolander 2, before I went into bouts of naps.

Managed to catch some sleep and when I woke up, the sun was just beginning to rise.

**ycp81** · 11 May 2016, 10:23 PM

Sunrise

Caught a 3rd movie after I woke up.

Not sure if mid-flight snacks were offered by the crew, but when I drop by the galley while visiting the lav, beef sandwiches, chips and muesli bars were available. Grabbed a sandwich and a pack of chips.

Lavatory, which was stocked with moisturiser and perfume... not. Apparently they were pilfered by some passenger! Forgot to take a photo from a different lav. Well, at least the passenger left the amenity basket behind.

About 3hrs prior to arrival, cabin service began again.

Orange juice and a pack of refreshing towel was handed out. The orange juice was catered from SIN, and not the duper sweet brand from Indonesia.

Flying over mountains.

Breakfast service started. For breakfast, 2 carts was used on each aisle, one to distribute the meal trays and the other with drinks. Apparently, 2 carts were used as the meals cart was also stocked with hot soup on the cart top to offer to passengers!

Received my meal tray, with a cup of warm miso soup. Great to have a soup to warm the stomach in the morning! Judging from the yoghurt, the meal tray seemed to be catered from SIN, unlike the supper service. A croissant and jam was also on the tray.

Chose the Nasi Goreng (Fried rice with Chicken Sate) for the main. Also had a coffee and orange juice to go along.

**ycp81** · 11 May 2016, 11:07 PM

Fruits and yoghurt. The fruits were the canned ones though.

However, the fried rice was absolutely delicious!! This definitely ranked as one the best breakfast dishes I had on a plane. All the contents of the dish were flavourful and I wiped it totally clean! Only wished the portion could be bigger because it was so good. Not sure if the main was catered from CGK or SIN. No picture of the other option though as we did not choose the boring omelette.

After the meal tray was cleared, I requested for a hot chocolate, which was again served with a warm smile.

Flight map.

Overflying the city of Vienna

Aft cabin view.

Magazine rack, which was stocked with inflight magazines and newspapers.

Chatted with the real friendly crew for a short while. Learnt that the junior crew had the choice to wear either the turquoise-blue or orange uniform and it was not enforced to a particular colour. They joked that they might wear the orange uniform on the flight back if they are in the mood for orange haha. They were also extremely happy when we mentioned that their service is as good or probably even better than SQ! After more chats (learnt that GA crew schedules are more packed and tiring than our beloved SIN-based 5-stars airline's crew), we asked if we could take photos with them, which they gamely agreed to. Hence, presenting the warm and wonderful set of GA crew at the aft!

Also asked if they had any GA souvenirs, and the crew present us with 2 very cute soft toys!

Soon, the pilot announced the descend into Amsterdam. After the announcement, crew came down the aisle offering candies from a basket. We were free to grab a handful.

We had a bit of detour during the descend, lengthening the flight time a little.

Breaking through the clouds during descent. It was a cloudy and slightly rainy day.

**ycp81** · 11 May 2016, 11:36 PM

Approaching a cold and wet Amsterdam. It was only 7 degrees celsius!

Video of the approach.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaJWtLS5kL8

And a rather smooth landing on Rwy18C. We landed half an hour behind schedule, due to the longer than expected flying time, and GA's tight padding of the flight time. Flight was scheduled at 13hrs, but with a flying time of slightly more than that, and not taking into account ground taxi and waiting time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS_73gQKT94

Taxi to the gate.

Thank you and reminder message on the IFE screen.

Parked beside a KLM B787-9.

Economy cabin during disembarking. Crew were along the aisles thanking passengers and bading goodbyes.

Business Class

5-Stars certification on the cabin wall.

Honestly speaking, Garuda has greatly exceeded my expectations on this long-haul flight! Tasty food and beverages, comfortable seats, great amenities and most importantly, warm and genuine service by the Garuda crew! Just basing on the flight experience (ground experiences may be another story but I did not encounter any problems), Garuda had proven that it can stand head-to-head with the best airlines out there. I would definitely have no qualms flying on Garuda Indonesia anytime in the future.

**ycp81** · 11 May 2016, 11:57 PM

Hard to spot our aircraft through the sun-shade patterned glass. A SQ B77W was parked beside.

And this was what greeted us as we entered the terminal building!!

Immigration was only a short wait and bags were out not too long after.

First stop was a night in Brussels. As I had booked the 1030am Thalys train, we still had slightly more than an hour to spare, hence explored Schiphol terminal. Interesting to see an aviation hobbyist shop, along with mock-up engine and landing gear!

Took a 1.5hrs Thalys high-speed train ride to Brussels Midi, followed by a short one-stop transfer to Brussels Centraal.

Hotel stay for the night was at NH Brussels Carrefour de L'Europe, barely minutes walk from the train station and rught smack in the center of attractions. The room, though seemed old, was comfortable enough for a night's stay and offered a great view of the city center.

With the recent incident in Brussels, tourist numbers significantly fell and it was obvious with the much less people on the streets.

Grand Place

**ycp81** · 12 May 2016, 11:24 PM

The famous pissing boy, Mannekin Pis, dressed up in spring wear.

Of course, what is Belgium without Belgium chocolates! There are shops selling chocolates everywhere, from the affordable to the luxury.

Of course not to be missed, having the best waffles in Brussels at Dandoy!

Then it was back to the hotel for an early night due to tiredness, only to wake up early at 4am. Since we missed the night scene, we decided to explore the deserted Grand Place to soak in the night scenes. It was surreal!

The hotel offered early check-out birds a free light breakfast, which we grabbed some light bites from.

Sunrise

After the early check-out, we caught the 6.47am train from Brussels Centraal to the airport. Luckily, train service had resumed using the old airport station and it was also the last day before BRU's departure hall would be partially opened after the unfortunate incident.

Just a short 15min train ride, we arrived at Brussels National Airport and proceeded to the temporary check-in tents. All tickets were checked and baggage screened before we were allowed into the check-in area. There were long queues (due to the May Day holidays) but queues moved fast. Airline personnel were also moving up and down the queues to sieve out passengers who had flights due to departure. Though the whole procedure was slightly messy, it was not as bad as I had imagined.

**ycp81** · 12 May 2016, 11:34 PM

It took us half an hour to reach the check-in queues, and it was after we were sieved out by the Brussels Airlines staff for the 900-930am departures.

All the check-in staff were in high spirits to handle the huge passenger load. All counters were opened and there were 2 staff manning at each counter to speed things up.

Dropped my bags and got my first ever Brussels Airlines boarding pass! It is always exciting to fly a new airline and better still, a new aircraft type!

Then, we had to climb up 4 storeys to reach the interior of the main terminal building. It was definitely a climb not suited for the elderly and those with heavy carry-ons.

Into BRU's airside

FIDS

The airside was unaffected from the incident and by now, all shops were fully operational. Again to the Belgium theme, chocolates are sold everywhere in duty-free as well!

Tintin's rocket

Area with eateries. It was in fact, rather busy in the morning.

**ycp81** · 13 May 2016, 11:32 PM

Walking down the 'A' Pier to the departure gate.

Reached the gate, where boarding has just begun.

30 April 2016
Brussels Airlines
SN 2809
Brussels (BRU) - Prague (PRG)
Avro RJ100
OO-DWJ
Economy Class
Flight Time: 1H11M

The Avro RJ100 that would be flying us to Prague. Excited to fly this aircraft as not only is it my first flight on one, it is also a very rare aircraft model in Asia. However, Brussels Airlines has quite a number of these aircraft plying its regional routes alongside its Airbuses.

Another RJ100 beside while boarding the aircraft.

Just before boarding.

Aircraft door

Welcomed by the purser as I stepped onto the aircraft an suddenly I felt lke being transported 20 years back. The aircraft seats and cabin felt very retro. Seats were in a rather spacious 2-3 layout, with the first few rows reserved for Business Class, which are just economy seats but with the neighbouring seat blocked. There were no separation between the 2 classes as well and during the flight, service for Business passengers was in full view of the rest. Guess this is common for European airlines.

Row 1 with the most legroom. Seats were upholstered in leather.

Proceeded to my seat at 19A, which is the second last row of the aircraft and is at the 2-seater side. Boarding still in progress and flight was very full. There were 2 cabin crew working on this flight.

Though the seats looked aged, legroom is good and seats comfortable enough for the short flight. There is also a drinks holder.

View out of the window.

Inflight magazine, BOB menu and safety card.

Brussels Airlines' fleet.

**ycp81** · 14 May 2016, 12:02 AM

What you can do with your airsick bag.

After passengers had boarded, the crew at the rear came down to hand out children activity kits to the kids onboard. Nice gesture by Brussels Airlines here.

Safety demo was then performed manually while we pushed back. Flight time would be slightly over an hour.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpYhjuFRYmQ

Starting the taxi to the runway.

Passing a sister A330

And it was only a short taxi to the active runway, Rwy25R.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgMpFHqdf9o

Takeoff from Rwy25R

Video of the takeoff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRgAL9v9ydU

Climbing through thick clouds.

And finally sunlight when we broke through the clouds. It remained overcast below for more than half the flight.

After seatbelt signs were turned off, we economy passengers watched the Business pax getting served their meals and drinks. After the crew were finished with the service upfront, the BOB cart was pushed down the aisle for us economy pax to purchase any snacks or drinks. Not many takers on this short flight though. And that concluded the inflight service. Interaction with the cabin crew was minimal and they did their jobs.

Nice SN logo on the leather headrest cover.

**ycp81** · 15 May 2016, 12:52 AM

Trip to the lavatory. It felt like going back in time to the 80s.

Aft galley and aircraft door.

View of the cabin.

The clouds had cleared and we soon started the descent into Prague.

Video of the approach.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I9AhKaY4aQ

Landing in Prague V�clav Havel Airport Rwy24 ahead of schedule.

Video of the landing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD8FskGlBoA

Passed a WizzAir A320 while during taxi to the gate.

**ycp81** · 15 May 2016, 01:23 AM

LH A321 which has just vacated our gate.

Parked at Terminal 2, which is used for Schengen flights.

My seat for the flight. Note the so retro cigarette stub compartment in the armrest.

3-seater row.

Last views of my first ever RJ100 ride.

The Brussels Airlines experience is acceptable on the short flight. Buy-on-board is becoming the norm on European carriers on intra-European flights, but as long as airfares remain low, I am not too concerned with this model. In this case, Brussels Airlines offered very competitive fares (if booked early in advance) compared to the budget carriers. Crew did their jobs and flight was on-time, which is already better than the normally not-so-pleasant reviews of the airline. More importantly, I had stuck off a new airline as well as a new aircraft type from my list!

Travel Service A320 also just arrived.

Czech Airlines A319 in a special livery

It was only a short wait for the bags.

Withdrew some Czech currency from the ATMs and took the Airport AE bus to the city. Stayed at Majestic Plaza Hotel, which is conveniently situated beside a major shopping mall and walkable to most of the sights in Prague. Prague, in itself, is a very walkable city.

Hotel room, which is of decent size and very comfortable.

Trams are the main mode of transportation.

**ycp81** · 15 May 2016, 01:41 AM

Lunch at a well-recommended and affordable pub/restaurant, Kotleta, just beside our hotel. Prices are reasonable and most importantly, food is tasty.

Beef Goulash soup

Very tasty Asparagus cream

Interesting starter of Bacon-wrapped prunes.

Traditional Czech cuisine of Stewed pork belly with sauerkraut and dumplings.

Exploring the Old Town after lunch. Prague Old Town certainly retains its medieval charms, but I find it a bit too touristy for my liking with the hordes of visitors all around and shops after shops selling tourist trinkets.

Powder Tower

Astronomical Clock

Old Town Square

Perfect weather to enjoy the sunshine on the lawns

Charles Bridge across Vltava River.

Sights and sceneries

Announcement

Long-haul Garuda Economy & SQ Business to Europe (with hops on SN & OK)

Long-haul Garuda Economy & SQ Business to Europe (with hops on SN & OK)

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