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Garuda Indonesia First Class: Was it as “Good” as Five Stars? Almost… LHR-CGK-SIN
After a flight with its business class from HKG to CGK earlier this year and a brilliant report written by Fly Roni (http://www.flyroni.aero/tr047.html), I have decided to give its first class a try. I found a somewhat affordable fare from London Heathrow to Singapore via Jakarta. When I booked it, the routing was still London Gatwick to Singapore via Amsterdam and Jakarta, and the layover in Jakarta was quite long too. So I was somewhat happy to see a more direct routing with less transit time, but I prefer an earlier departure time. There had been news about a rather troublesome transition from Gatwick to Heathrow, especially the lack of Garuda Indonesia’s legendary “meet and greet” service. I am happy to report that there is a “Personal assistance” service in Heathrow, which will bring you from check in to lounge, and then from lounge to gate. There is basically top-notch ground service at all airports, and this “meet and greet” truly differentiates Garuda from the top tier airlines, like Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines, which really lack in ground service. In terms of onboard experience, the purser and F/As try really hard to make your journey as comfortable as possible, despite there is some minor difficulty in communication. Some of the F/As really speak limited English. Catering used to be quite interesting, but Garuda has cut back somewhat. The amenities remained the same as Fly Roni’s trip report, as both amenity kit and slippers are high quality stuffs. I think I am quite happy with this trip in the end, and hope you will enjoy this trip report. It may not be perfect, but Garuda first class has the potential, after a few adjustments in catering, entertainment, and some of the amenities. Here is the trip report.
August 17, 2016
GA 87 LHR-CGK Lv2110 Arr1700+1 Boeing 777-300ER PK-GIE
Full album:
http://s1213.photobucket.com/user/Ca...lassAugust2016
Booking:
Booking the ticket through Garuda Indonesia is a fairly challenging process, as I am not unable to pre-book, and despite receiving an e-ticket, Garuda emailed me a few days requesting more information about credit cards, including filling out a verification form and scanning them a copy of my credit card used for this purchase. I really have issues with asking for the actual copy of my credit card, but after contacting first class customer service and verifying that it is a legitimate process, I reluctantly emailed them. However I might just use a third party site for Garuda’s booking in the future.
First Class Customer Service via email:
One of the supposedly highlights of the Garuda’s first class experience is an exclusive email that you can contact for any request. I have actually tried to use the email services a few times, and my experiences are “while they are polite, they no longer really go out of their ways to fulfill special requests,” like previous bloggers’ experiences.
I was successful in getting a seat assignment confirmed and all those basic stuffs, but once I gave them more complicated requests, they no longer really went out of their ways. As reported, you are no longer able to reserve special dishes, in terms of both starters and entrees. In a form of a test, I tried to request amenity kit on the shorter CGK to SIN segment, as I read many other bloggers had no issues getting those items in previous shorter AMS-LGW flights, but this time, the agent just gave me the polite answer that those items are only available for long and medium haul flights, and I could not request those items even in advance. However, when I asked to see the menu from SIN to CGK, they were able to send me a copy of the menu (despite being the wrong menu). I feel that having this email service is still nice, but they are no longer authorized to do as much as before. In the end, I actually received the pajama and all those amenities, but wondered if it had to do with the crews and light load, or the first class email team no longer wants to make promise, unless they are 100% sure. I think Garuda should give this first class team more discretion because all these minor items matter, especially you are competing with some of the world’s most competitive premium products.
Check-in:
Since I came in from Leeds/Bradford on BA, I was in the check-in hall around 4:45pm. Therefore I took a few photos, while they tried to set up their check in area at Area C in Terminal Three.
First Class check-in with the signature blue carpet – it is interesting that business class uses “red,” while first class uses “blue,” which is in direct opposition to Malaysia Airlines. C-3 is the first class counter.
I was the first one to check in and the agent was efficient and polite. I was happy to report that the “Meet and Greet” personalized escort service has returned to GA’s Heathrow operation. The “Meet and Greet” agent told me that they did not really expect me till 6pm, so he was working another job when the airport manager called him at 5:30pm. The airport manager in Garuda blue’s uniform took over the job and escorted me to the fast track line. I told him not to worry about me, as I wanted to do some shopping. We had a small chat and he noted that it was my second GA flight, and after I reconfirmed that Garuda is still using the No One Lounge, I bid farewell to him at the head of the security line. I then went around and do some shopping, as well as getting a late lunch at Yo! Sushi! I don’t have faith on food on the No. One Lounge, and it ended up being a smart move.
The No One Lounge was extremely crowded on this evening hour, as most of its clients have flights departing at the late hours. Cathay Pacific is still using this lounge, as its lounge has not reopened the door yet. At the entrance, the friendly agent checked me in and I finally met the “meet and greet” agent in person. He asked if I wanted to board first or board late, I chose to board “First”. He then came back to pick me up at 8:25pm.
No One Lounge
Library – special for first class passengers
After a flight with its business class from HKG to CGK earlier this year and a brilliant report written by Fly Roni (http://www.flyroni.aero/tr047.html), I have decided to give its first class a try. I found a somewhat affordable fare from London Heathrow to Singapore via Jakarta. When I booked it, the routing was still London Gatwick to Singapore via Amsterdam and Jakarta, and the layover in Jakarta was quite long too. So I was somewhat happy to see a more direct routing with less transit time, but I prefer an earlier departure time. There had been news about a rather troublesome transition from Gatwick to Heathrow, especially the lack of Garuda Indonesia’s legendary “meet and greet” service. I am happy to report that there is a “Personal assistance” service in Heathrow, which will bring you from check in to lounge, and then from lounge to gate. There is basically top-notch ground service at all airports, and this “meet and greet” truly differentiates Garuda from the top tier airlines, like Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines, which really lack in ground service. In terms of onboard experience, the purser and F/As try really hard to make your journey as comfortable as possible, despite there is some minor difficulty in communication. Some of the F/As really speak limited English. Catering used to be quite interesting, but Garuda has cut back somewhat. The amenities remained the same as Fly Roni’s trip report, as both amenity kit and slippers are high quality stuffs. I think I am quite happy with this trip in the end, and hope you will enjoy this trip report. It may not be perfect, but Garuda first class has the potential, after a few adjustments in catering, entertainment, and some of the amenities. Here is the trip report.
August 17, 2016
GA 87 LHR-CGK Lv2110 Arr1700+1 Boeing 777-300ER PK-GIE
Full album:
http://s1213.photobucket.com/user/Ca...lassAugust2016
Booking:
Booking the ticket through Garuda Indonesia is a fairly challenging process, as I am not unable to pre-book, and despite receiving an e-ticket, Garuda emailed me a few days requesting more information about credit cards, including filling out a verification form and scanning them a copy of my credit card used for this purchase. I really have issues with asking for the actual copy of my credit card, but after contacting first class customer service and verifying that it is a legitimate process, I reluctantly emailed them. However I might just use a third party site for Garuda’s booking in the future.
First Class Customer Service via email:
One of the supposedly highlights of the Garuda’s first class experience is an exclusive email that you can contact for any request. I have actually tried to use the email services a few times, and my experiences are “while they are polite, they no longer really go out of their ways to fulfill special requests,” like previous bloggers’ experiences.
I was successful in getting a seat assignment confirmed and all those basic stuffs, but once I gave them more complicated requests, they no longer really went out of their ways. As reported, you are no longer able to reserve special dishes, in terms of both starters and entrees. In a form of a test, I tried to request amenity kit on the shorter CGK to SIN segment, as I read many other bloggers had no issues getting those items in previous shorter AMS-LGW flights, but this time, the agent just gave me the polite answer that those items are only available for long and medium haul flights, and I could not request those items even in advance. However, when I asked to see the menu from SIN to CGK, they were able to send me a copy of the menu (despite being the wrong menu). I feel that having this email service is still nice, but they are no longer authorized to do as much as before. In the end, I actually received the pajama and all those amenities, but wondered if it had to do with the crews and light load, or the first class email team no longer wants to make promise, unless they are 100% sure. I think Garuda should give this first class team more discretion because all these minor items matter, especially you are competing with some of the world’s most competitive premium products.
Check-in:
Since I came in from Leeds/Bradford on BA, I was in the check-in hall around 4:45pm. Therefore I took a few photos, while they tried to set up their check in area at Area C in Terminal Three.
First Class check-in with the signature blue carpet – it is interesting that business class uses “red,” while first class uses “blue,” which is in direct opposition to Malaysia Airlines. C-3 is the first class counter.
I was the first one to check in and the agent was efficient and polite. I was happy to report that the “Meet and Greet” personalized escort service has returned to GA’s Heathrow operation. The “Meet and Greet” agent told me that they did not really expect me till 6pm, so he was working another job when the airport manager called him at 5:30pm. The airport manager in Garuda blue’s uniform took over the job and escorted me to the fast track line. I told him not to worry about me, as I wanted to do some shopping. We had a small chat and he noted that it was my second GA flight, and after I reconfirmed that Garuda is still using the No One Lounge, I bid farewell to him at the head of the security line. I then went around and do some shopping, as well as getting a late lunch at Yo! Sushi! I don’t have faith on food on the No. One Lounge, and it ended up being a smart move.
The No One Lounge was extremely crowded on this evening hour, as most of its clients have flights departing at the late hours. Cathay Pacific is still using this lounge, as its lounge has not reopened the door yet. At the entrance, the friendly agent checked me in and I finally met the “meet and greet” agent in person. He asked if I wanted to board first or board late, I chose to board “First”. He then came back to pick me up at 8:25pm.
No One Lounge
Library – special for first class passengers
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