Background
This trip report is about Batik Air, a rather unknown Indonesian airline which is supposed to be the premium wing of Lion Air - a well known Indonesian LCC brand. It has been around for a few years since 2013 but I have yet to try it because I can't find enough reason why I should fly with them and not with the true LCCs for such a short sector or if I need a premium experience, I would have gone with SQ's Super deal fares which these days have hovered around $200 to Jakarta (a very reasonable deal).
However, recently, while I was looking for a last minute ticket to Jakarta, just slightly more than a week ahead prior to Mother's Day weekend, i came across Batik's business class fare of S$123 all in. Now this is an awesome deal in business class and there I went and booked it straight away.
Flight: ID 7153
Type: A320
Reg: PK-LAU
Cabin: Business
Seat: 1A
Load: 10/12
And so I reached Jakarta airport early Monday morning beaming with positive expectation. Typical of Monday mornings, it was quite busy.
And Air Asia certainly dominates.
At Batik's counter, I was greeted by a green carpet (not a red one) and it was almost exclusively for me
.....while the neighbouring lanes were packed with economy passengers.
Check in was smooth. And then just before I left, I asked for the lounge card because that was the impression that I had - that Batik provided lounge access facility to its business class passenger. But disappointingly, I got a no for an answer. I Guess I can't complain either since the fare is just slightly more than a hundred bucks.
I walked through the quiet corridor of Jakarta's T2 where shops just barely opened at 6am in the morning
And then settled down at the Premier Lounge whose access I had to use my Priority Pass. It's a decent lounge with decent selection of food although it does not appear so fresh.
I had coffee and relaxed a bit before I started to make my way towards the Gate.
I must say that I like CGK's unique architecture. It's a fresh break from the usual steel and glass architecture elsewhere.
When I reached the gate, boarding had commenced and here's my first glimpse of Batik Air.
This trip report is about Batik Air, a rather unknown Indonesian airline which is supposed to be the premium wing of Lion Air - a well known Indonesian LCC brand. It has been around for a few years since 2013 but I have yet to try it because I can't find enough reason why I should fly with them and not with the true LCCs for such a short sector or if I need a premium experience, I would have gone with SQ's Super deal fares which these days have hovered around $200 to Jakarta (a very reasonable deal).
However, recently, while I was looking for a last minute ticket to Jakarta, just slightly more than a week ahead prior to Mother's Day weekend, i came across Batik's business class fare of S$123 all in. Now this is an awesome deal in business class and there I went and booked it straight away.
Flight: ID 7153
Type: A320
Reg: PK-LAU
Cabin: Business
Seat: 1A
Load: 10/12
And so I reached Jakarta airport early Monday morning beaming with positive expectation. Typical of Monday mornings, it was quite busy.
And Air Asia certainly dominates.
At Batik's counter, I was greeted by a green carpet (not a red one) and it was almost exclusively for me
.....while the neighbouring lanes were packed with economy passengers.
Check in was smooth. And then just before I left, I asked for the lounge card because that was the impression that I had - that Batik provided lounge access facility to its business class passenger. But disappointingly, I got a no for an answer. I Guess I can't complain either since the fare is just slightly more than a hundred bucks.
I walked through the quiet corridor of Jakarta's T2 where shops just barely opened at 6am in the morning
And then settled down at the Premier Lounge whose access I had to use my Priority Pass. It's a decent lounge with decent selection of food although it does not appear so fresh.
I had coffee and relaxed a bit before I started to make my way towards the Gate.
I must say that I like CGK's unique architecture. It's a fresh break from the usual steel and glass architecture elsewhere.
When I reached the gate, boarding had commenced and here's my first glimpse of Batik Air.
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