Garuda Indonesia

Pros: Good service, clean planes, attentive staff, on-time performance
Cons: I have heard reports of indifferent service on international flights

We flew Garuda Indonesia from Jakarta to Yogyakarta and then on to Denpasar and back to Bandung, via Jakarta. These were all relatively short flights of not more than two hours.

Check-In

Despite my misgivings about...

Pros: Oldest & national airline of Indonesia, friendly staff and FA's, part of NWA network
Cons: Poor website, budget alternative such as ValuAir, Air Asia, Merpati, Lion Air, Adam Air...

Part of my series of essays on my trip to Indonesia Jan/Feb 06 President Sukarno of the new Republic of Indonesia was asked by then KLM Indies's representative on ...

Pros: Stays in the air, Friendly attendants
Cons: Everything else

I had to take 2 flights with Garuda recently, and not by choice. Singapore Airlines was sold out and I needed to be in Jakarta in a rush, therefore the travel agent booked me on Garuda.
I asked her about it and she told me about how they have a lot...

Pros: The airport is surrounded by a zen-like garden
Cons: Bumpy take-offs and landings, noisy engines and old furnishings

It's difficult to find anything to like about Garuda Indonesia, but I won't be mean. I will start by saying what I did like about flying Garuda.

The clear glass walls of the waiting lounge at Jakarta looks out to a well-kept garden. Gazing...

Pros: Warm cabin crew, good meals, excellent flight schedules, comfortable aircraft and improved on-time performance.
Cons: Dated entertainment system, pilot announcements, unexciting lounges, no frequent flyer program and public perception.

Okay... so Garuda is no Thai/Singapore/Cathay..... but for the price you pay to fly with them you may be pleasantly surprised at the subtle qualities Garuda does exude. I have been flying with them for almost 10 years, and have seen them come from a...

Pros: Cheap and friendly. Great stopovers in Bali.
Cons: Long waiting times between connections. Poor on board entertainment.

Having travelled with Garuda in 1995 and again in October 2000, it is good to see how much they have improved. I flew to Australia on both occasions. The first time was aboard an ageing Boeing 747-200 most of the way. This aircraft decided to break down...

Pros: punctual, nice flight attendances.
Cons: smells, food choices aren't much, rough take off and landing

When my husband got transferred to Singapore, my daughter (21 months) and I are coming along. We bought business class seat (Jkt-Sgp), because we though we might need bigger seat for my daughter to sit with us, and hopefully more comfortable for her. ...

Pros: Cheap, nice service
Cons: Cramped

Flew with Garuda on my first leg to Bangkok in Club. The seats were every comfortable and the cabin ...

Pros: Legroom, friendly service, excellent meals, departure/arrival times (very convenient),
Cons: Inflight entertainment, occasionally wooden service

Flew with Garuda Indonesia MEL-DPS in July 2007 and was thoroughly impressed. Check in was painless at Melbourne and the boarding procedures were efficient. Once on board the relatively new A330-300 we were welcomed by friendly flight attendants and had ...

Pros: Price, Bali stop-over, friendly service
Cons: poor entertainment system, in-flight magazines

It seems like a long way to go from Australia to Japan via Indonesia but for $1000 Business Class it's worth it! Friends warned me about Garuda and so I did not expect very much at all...but in the end it was a very pleasant surprise.
Check-in in...

Pros: Improving fast. New aircrafts, clean, good airline food, on time, cheap, good connections.
Cons: Poor in-flight entertainments.

I'm an Indonesian and since 1986 I promised not to fly Garuda. I had bad experiences and embarassing comments from my foreign friends. But in 1995 I flew with them again, because I had no choice. Again, I was so embarrassed with the on-board service, 2...

Pros: Friendly staff, direct flights, usually on-time, new aircraft
Cons: No decent frequent flyer programme

I fly often with these guys. They are usually on time ( I have had one major delay) the staff are friendly and the planes are new.

Some things are a little disquieting. For example, I went to check their main website which was not working to...

Pros: Best $$ value, friendly flight attendant, on time schedule,
Cons: Nothing except mediocre in-flight entertainment

I have used Garuda more than 10 times in the last 5 years.
The last time I used Garuda was a year ago from Jakarta to Hong Kong. It was a nice flight. The ride was smooth, the service was great, the flight attendants were friendly and helpful, the...

Pros: Beautiful food Lovely Service
Cons: Cannot think of any!

We flew with Garuda 5 days before Christmas in 2000 and were very impressed with the airline.

The food was beautiful and fresh, you had a choice between Western or Indonesian food. We choose Indonesian, the meat was succlent and the vegetables...

Pros: Attentive and "smiling" flight attendants
Cons: Gate staff are not Garuda employees, so, they are not as friendly and attentive.

Having lived in Jakarta, Indonesia for nearly three years, my husband and I took many trips across the archipelago, via Garuda Indonesia.

What I found was that 8 out of 10 times, our flights left on time. Consistently, the planes are well-maintained(I hear KLM trains the Garuda mechanics and others), and the planes are nice and clean.

I loved the attendants; male or female, they are incredibly attentive, friendly and smiling... I only wish our american flight attendants would be 75% as attentive as the Indonesian attendants!! Oh, getting a snack and a beverage for free is a plus, and a hot meal on a short flight from/to Singapore/Jkt very nice, indeed.

I will have very fond memories of Garuda Indonesia and I think one gets a very good value. I don't know how they fare on the really long, international flights, as I only flew them domestically and to Singapore. For our needs, they were just right!