Review: Batik Air Business Class Review Jakarta-Denpasar (Bali)

Airline- Batik Air

Seat- 1A/2A

Flight- ID6333

Flight Time- 1:23 minutes

Aircraft- 737-800

Price Paid- 171$

After landing late at night onboard an ANA 787-9, I had a 5-hour layover in Jakarta. Still on US jet lag and not bothering to take the drive into the city I opted to just remain at the airport, especially Batik Air had somewhat of a lounge in Jakarta.

I had a couple of choices to make in which airline to fly but with Garuda fares sitting around 650$ one way in business class I opted to try Batik Air.

Upon landing at the international terminal, a member from Jumpa Fast Track met me with a sign that read my name. I was taken through what might have been the worst immigration line I had ever seen in 5 minutes. Straight through a private lane and I had cleared immigration and customs

After exiting, a car was waiting for me to transfer to the domestic terminal which Batik Air flies out of. The drive was short and the man from fast-track still accompanied me through to check-in where my boarding pass had already been printed. I was then escorted through fast-track security again until I arrived at the lounge with about 3.5 hours until boarding.

Now before we get into the review I just want to mention this whole service cost me 500,000 rupiah plus 200,000 rupiah for the car. That comes out to about 47$ to save me hassle and annoyance, a bargain if I've ever seen one.

Lounge+Boarding

The lounge was nothing much to note. There was some coffee as well as some snacks and water along with two toilets. While there were only a few people at this hour I was able to remain productive in the small lounge.

We headed over to the gate with my Jumpa accompanied and once again had fast-track security.

Boarding sharply commenced at 3:55 am sharp where I found out I would be the only one on board to Bali in business class this morning. I walked down the stairs since we were at a remote gate where a private car for business-class customers was waiting. Since I was the only one in business class I had a private transfer to the other side of the airport, not quite La Premiere but for 171$ this was outstanding. The views were incredible.

Flight

The cabin crew welcomed me onboard as I took my seat on the deserted plane on what would be a fine morning to fly. There was no pre-departure beverages but I wasn't too concerned about that, expected as much.

Originally I was seated in 1A but relocated to 2A since it felt a little bit more private. This is the view from 1A. The video screens did feel a little bit high.

For those asking there is no wifi onboard Batik Air...

Anyway, we taxied out a couple of minutes ahead of schedule and hurtled down the taxiway at a rate of knots since there were no other planes out at this time.

We lined up for takeoff and away we went.

The crew snapped into service quite quickly offering two options for breakfast. Nothing memorable but was nice to see breakfast was offered on Batik Air business. They did come around and give me some water which was a nice gesture.

This is the view from 2A

The cabin is arranged in a 2-2 configuration with generous legroom for the seats. They feature touchscreen TVs that have a couple of movies on them, nothing revolutionary but perfect for a short flight. I do have to say this is better than Air Asia or Citilink as I can see the moving map.

As you can see the legroom is also quite generous, very similar to domestic first class in the USA.

As an AVgeek my favorite thing to do when flying is staring out the window, I have been on flights where I have done this for 8 hours straight. That's all that I did on this flight even though I was shattered. To add on I was able to witness one of the most beautiful sunrises I had ever seen flying.

For a good 40 minutes of the flight it continued

I mean does it get any better than that in a private cabin flying home?

Before I even knew it the sun had risen and we were on final approach landing East to West in the morning which was peculiar. We were on the ground after a flight time of 83 minutes.

I was greeted again by one of the fast-track members in Bali which meant I was the first person to be out of the airport.

Final Thoughts

What could have gone better for the price I paid really? I had a very quiet 24-hour lounge with basic needs, a private transfer to the plane, a private cabin, and a beautiful sunrise. I truly believe this is the best way to fly from Jakarta to Bali, I would even put it over Garuda business class (as I was treated so poorly by them last time).