Garuda Indonesia has had a very busy 2014 revamping their entire business class product and service. I attended a press event in December to see their brand journey to excellence which led Garuda Indonesia to winning the 2014 Skytrax Award for World’s Best Crew.

I was able to get a quick glimpse of what the service and new food / products were like as a cabin crew served me lunch at the catering grounds.

Last month, it was time to experience this for real when I flew to Bali.

Flight Review: Garuda Indonesia

Flight number and Route: GA 715 Sydney to Denpasar (Bali) , Business Class

Aircraft: A330-300

Seat numbers: 6H & 6K

Departure time: 10:00 AM

Flight Time: 5 Hours 32 Minutes

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Check-In

 

The check-in desks of Garuda Indonesia in Sydney are in desks I or J, which is smack in the middle of the departure level. It’s a very busy zone especially during the peak departure time of 10 AM.

The line was short and check-in process was very quick and pain-free. It was at the check-in desk too where I found out that there are no more Visa on-board service with Garuda Indonesia. I believe this is in conjunction with the Indonesian Government’s plan to waive the visa fee for Australians. (Key emphasis on plan, as I’ve heard and read news that the visa-free arrival starts 01 January, but this is yet to take effect. )

Lounge / Boarding

Garuda uses the Qantas Business Class Lounge for it’s Business Class passengers. We did not use this as we were on a media ticket.

Boarding did not start until about 15 minutes before take-off (so it was later than the planned boarding time) and passengers were getting antsy at the gate. It’s such a pleasant surprise that when boarding finally commenced, it was done so quickly and smoothly that we actually took off in time.

The Flight

I made a quick video of our flight from take off to landing, with an emphasis on the in-flight food (what else? 🙂

But here’s more :

The Airbus A330-300 is a two-class aircraft, seating configuration is 2-2-2 on Business and 2-4-2 on Economy.

Drinks were immediately given after boarding. Then our designated cabin crew approached us to ask what we wanted for lunch after take off.

Service

There’s never a shortage of smiles on this flight. We were greeted with a smile, given drinks/food with a smile, met requests with a smile. If you just watched the video, you would have seen how our cabin crew almost literally radiated sunshine! It’s true that smiles are infectious because as she was talking to me, I felt my cheeks starting to quiver from prolonged smiling as well. (note to self: must smile more!)

There was also the In-Flight Chef, who came around to refill our drinks. I only belatedly knew he was the in-flight chef. (Watch out for the return flight review where we got to interact with the In-Flight Chef more 😉

All crew were extremely attentive in giving us fresh towels, refilling our drinks, and asking how we are finding things.

Food

With the flight departing at 10:00 AM Sydney time (arriving 1PM Bali Time), lunch was served.

Garuda also has a snack menu called “In-Between Fuel” which you can order anytime during the flight.

It consists of:

• – Sate Beef, Chicken Lilit
• – Indonesian Nasi Goring with Fried Marinated Chicken
• -Japanese Hot Udon Noodle Soup, Prawn Tempura
• – Cut Fresh Fruit
• – Nachos, Chilli and Cheese

For a flight that’s just over 5 hours, there was hardly anytime to eat a second meal , as the lunch itself was already a full-on course (as you may have seen from the video)

Japanese Meal

Starter:

Zombie opted for the Japanese Meal which I had the opportunity of sampling last December at the catering grounds. One thing I should say is that all the cutlery and dining ware used for the business class meals are full size and weight. Those square plates were really sold and heavy. Garuda Indonesia had their own buyers source these wares in the Middle East and Japan. I especially loved the small teapot!

Garuda Indonesia’s concept and goal is for passengers to feel they are dining in an actual restaurant and not in a plane.

So this starter tray consists of: smoked eel, simmered eggplant salmon sushi, silken egg custard and purple potato. A side of Japanese Daikon and sugar snap pea salad with sesame soy dressing was served.

And this is the Main Course:

Smoked and Grilled Chicken, Miso and Lime Glaze with Charred Leeks and Taro. Steamed Japanese Rice with Soya Beans and Black Sesame Seeds, and Shiro Miso Soup.

Dessert:

The dessert for the Japanese meal is Mango Sponge Cake with blueberry Coulis and Strawberries with Coconut Ice Cream. I was able to try this and it was really good! The coconut ice cream went really well with the sponge cake.

While this dessert was really amazing, I found that it was an odd pairing with the theme of Japanese meal (perhaps some Mochi Ice Cream or Green Tea Ice Cream?)

European Meal

Starter

Meanwhile, I opted for the European Meal because I’ve already had a taste of the Japanese Meal in December, and the other option (Indonesian Degustation), though I was tempted to get, I resisted because I knew we were in for weeks of Indonesian food!

The starter was Corn Chowder Soup With Black Olive and Tomato Salsa. Though abit lumpy, it was really tasty. The sweetness of corn balanced out the stock used. It’s interesting to know that they really employ the ‘restaurant method’ even when serving soup. If you watched the short clip, you would have seen the cabin crew first deliver the plate with just the small dot of salsa, then later poured the soup into the plate. I suppose it’s also safer doing it that way in an aircraft, rather than carrying a shallow bowl with hot soup.

Main Course

Seared Barramundi Fillet with Verbena Lemon Oil, Beetroot and Potato Mash. My mouth just watered typing that while looking at the photo. I really enjoyed this dish. The barramundi was sweet and succulent with the skin seared just to the right amount of sea saltiness.

I was also served a Chef’s Cheese Board after this, and a pudding dessert.

Dessert:

 

Dessert was Warm Apple & Butterscotch Pudding with Vanilla Ice Cream and Raspberry Coulis. This was good, though I enjoyed the other dessert more (from the Japanese meal).

Entertainment / WiFi

Well needless to say we were really quite full after lunch and I was ready for a siesta. But not before twiddling with the entertainment system and watching my favourite tv show to watch on a plane.

The Entertainment System is really simple to use. A selection of 85 feature films, 10 channels of sitcom and tv, 48 music albums and 25 interactive games.

What I watched:

Always without fail, I look for this TV Show when I’m on flights. I’m a sucker for this Canadian show! I know, I know..it’s just brainless fun and I really end up laughing out loud with tears streaming down my face. (So I try not to watch this when I’m travelling alone)

I always wonder though. Because these episodes and pranks are always shot in either Quebec or Montreal– don’t they get found out? I mean, I only get to watch this on flights but I already know what some of the actors look like. I wish they did something like that in Sydney 🙂

Wi Fi

WiFi is available on board for the above rates. No time to go online as I was busy eating and laughing 🙂

Amenity Kit

The Amenity Kit is from L’Occitane featuring their classic Verbena line. Hand Lotion, a lip balm, a small bottle of Eau de Toilette, Socks, Toothbrush and toothpaste and a foldable brush.

And Garuda Indonesia has bagged another award for this. They won the 2013 Airline Amenity Bag Awards for Business Class in the Asia / Oceania region. I didn’t know there was such an award, I would love to sit in the panel for that! #Dreamjob

Extras:

There’s a smallish-medium sized water bottle in every seat, which is a good size for a 5.5 hour flight. There’s also a USB charging port per seat.

Noise cancelling headphones and handheld entertainment control. No explanation necessary, they are pretty basic and functional.

There are 3 in-flight magazines – Arcade, an in-flight shopping catalogue, Stars for their in-flight entertainment and Colours, the main in-flight magazine for Garuda Indonesia.

The Seats

The most frequently asked question I got: Does Garuda Indonesia have a lie-flat seat?

Answer: Almost. At 165 Degrees, this is all the recline I need to have a comfortable seat on flights less than 6 hours.

I didn’t believe Zombie when he said that I sometimes sleep like a corpse. Now I know. (on good days I’ll have an open mouth)

But anyway, you can see that at it’s flattest, there is still an angle. More than comfortable enough but this will be felt for sure if the flight was longer.

For me, blankets are a big factor in getting a good in-flight sleep and I really loved Garuda Indonesia’s business class blankets.

It’s extremely velvety with the right amount of plush. Really perfect for long-haul flights, where I imagine Garuda would have fully flat bed seats.

Seat pitch is 74 inches (187.9 cm). Width of 20.8 inches (53cm). Lots and lots of leg room, though bear in mind too that I am not so tall at 5’4 inches.

Lavatory

The lavatory is kept tidy, clean and well-stocked throughout the flight. The amenities are full-sized L’Occitane toiletries consisting of a hand lotion, facial mist and Eau de Toilette.

Final Thoughts

Garuda Indonesia has really upped their game, BIG TIME. I have not flown their business class product before ( I only did a business class inspection more than 2 years ago) and what I just flew was really a better product.

Service is at it’s premium. No request is too hard (not that I requested anything complicated) but you can definitely feel the warmth from the cabin crew.

The in-flight meal:  the presentation, choices, preparation and food itself are quite impressive. With the addition of an In-Flight Chef (who personally prepares the food on the ground, and also creates some of the food while on air), and the addition of the “In-Between Fuel” are elements that make this comparable to other premium Business Class airlines (not just on the Sydney – Denpasar route).

And another factor worth mentioning is the extremely competitive airfare that Garuda Indonesia has. Return Business Class seats begin at AUD 1662.04 for a promo fare to AUD 3,454.04 on a fully flexible fare. (rates vary between departure dates and seasons).

Very recently, Garuda Indonesia has been officially inducted as a 5-Star Airline by SkyTrax

Garuda Indonesia is now officially a 5-star airline according to Skytrax

And what exactly are the requirements to be a 5-star airline?

Here are the words from SkyTrax itself, enumerating the qualities which they are confident that Garuda Indonesia has met:

An airline operating long haul flights need to have full-flat seats in both First Class and Business Class. Economy class 5-Star seat pitch requirements have traditionally been set at 32-33 inches, but with newer slimline seats this is an area that Skytrax discuss with an individual airline to determine personal “seat space” that customers receive. The width and cabin layout (configuration) for Economy class seats is an area of discussion and change in the rating requirements for 5-Star airlines. 

We do not require an airline to have 100 per cent seat type consistency at time of 5-Star Certification, but Skytrax do need to see a formal commitment and schedule that as an airline adds new aircraft or retrofits existing aircraft, these 5-Star seat products will be provided. 

Other key requirements within 5-Star rating include AVOD options for IFE, minimum comfort amenity standards (blankets, pillows etc), catering choices/standards. Cabin staff service techniques/efficiency combine with specific soft-service/attitudinal areas that are used to determine rating. For Airport service ratings, the airline is assessed on it’s home base airport, where we have 5-Star targets that cover all product and service topics associated with arriving, transfer and departing passengers.

There are currently eight airlines that have met the 5-star qualifications (with 1 being under review due to recent circumstances), see the list here.

Garuda Indonesia flies to Denpasar from Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. Their Brisbane flights have ceased from 01 February 2015.

Have you flown Garuda Indonesia before? How was your experience?

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Jean & Zombie tested this flight as guests of Garuda Indonesia, but all thoughts and opinions are their own.