Review: Garuda Indonesia Business Class A330-300 Singapore-Jakarta
Intro
Well, this might be one of the most conflicted reports I have written. Following a night in Bali and an Air Asia adventure up to Singapore, I was supposed to meet my mum in Singapore to fly the A330-900neo on Garuda, Indonesia, from Singapore to Jakarta in Business Class. Cue the question, "Why does it say A330-300 in the title then?". Unfortunately, the day before departure, there was an aircraft swap from a 339 to a 333, and to make matters worse, it was one that was configured in a 2-2-2 configuration...
Overall, after taking a lot of time to reflect on this flight, I would say that I was pleasantly surprised by the short flight. Although had this been longer, the filthiness of the seats might have changed my views...
Route-Singapore-Jakarta
Seat- 6K
Flight Number- GA829
Aircraft- Airbus A330-300
Date- January 6th 2024
Flight Time: 1 Hour 46 Minutes
Price Paid- 13,000 Miles+160$
How I Booked
The route from Singapore to Jakarta is a high business yield route, and Singapore Airlines even flies their 777s featuring First Class thrice daily. This means that when using cash, these fares can be ridiculously expensive for a flight blocked in at just over 500 miles.
Now, of course, there was no chance that I would pay the blasphemy of the price that the airline wanted. Instead, there was a 30% transfer bonus going on at the time from Chase to Flying Blue! The total cost came out to 10,000 Chase points (13K Flyingblue)+ 160$ in taxes. While the taxes are steep, I find this to be a decent redemption. However, since that time, the route has been devalued along with many others. Boooo!
Boarding
Due to my connection on Air Asia, and how easy Singapore Changi is for transferring, I didn't get a chance to check out the check-in counters. A transfer counter is located in Terminal 3, and because I never check bags, this was also relatively straightforward.
A quick drink was needed as I decided to check out the Marhaba lounge, which you can read about in a separate post here!
Our gate today would be B8, which was about a 5-10 minute walk from the lounge (give or take).
Singapore Changi has come to grow on me with the whole concept of security being implemented in the gate area. Especially after my mess in Seoul last week😒.
Boarding ended up commencing at 11:05 am (a whole 40 minutes before departure) Singapore time, with a bit of a mess at the gate area.
Once onboard, I was greeted by a lovely flight attendant who would be taking care of me today. First impressions: this cabin has seen far better days.
I settled into my original seat, 6G, for today's flight. Originally, my mum and I were booked into 6D and 6G on the A330-900neo, but my mum had to cancel the trip to Jakarta, and there was an aircraft swap😒.
Not all hope was lost, as the second I sat down, I was offered a glass of Henriot Champagne... in a flute...
The Seat/Cabin
Seats are laid out in a 2-2-2 configuration on this specific sub-fleet of Garuda's A330s. Garuda also has another sub fleet with a 1-2-1 configuration in a reverse herringbone, although don't expect to be on the air raft unless it's a long haul. They seem to prioritize southern Australia for those.
The seats go into an "angled flat position," and I found the controls located on the armrest.
In between the seats lay a USB-A charging port, the headphone jack for the IFE (more on that later), and an Ethernet port??? Huh😳. An individual lamp lay just above that.
Very surprisingly, I found the bulkhead seat to be relatively tight in terms of footwell space. I'd recommend avoiding row 6 and opting for the small second cabin behind doors 2R and 2L.
The footwell popped out with the buttons on the armrest to create what some might call a "bed". However, later on during the flight, I popped the bed into bed mode and
As mentioned previously, the second "mini" cabin lies between doors 2R and 2L. There are 12 seats spread out across 2 rows in a 2-2-2 configuration. In hindsight, I should have moved back here.
Look, I’m not really one to “complain” about business class. However, on my most recent flight with Garuda, they wanted to hear some feedback from me regarding what they could improve, and the FAs agreed that the 2-2-2 configuration needs to go.
Amenities/IFE
In regards to the IFE, the screen pops out by the push of a button on the side of the tray table. As I mentioned, it feels like these cabins are 20 years old.
In regards to the IFE, the screen pops out by the push of a button on the side of the tray table. As I mentioned, it feels like these cabins are 20 years old. The controller for the IFE is located under the center armrest and the screen was quite responsive! I found a hilarious movie called “Going in Style” that made me laugh for a good hour😅.
Free wifi is provided for business-class customers on Garuda Indonesia, a thoughtful perk that, thankfully, is becoming the norm in Asian carriers.
Another surprising aspect of this short hop was the lack of a blanket. For a short daytime flight, this wasn’t an issue, and I know for a fact that the bedding is more substantial on longer flights. I do believe that there were blankets available upon request. A plush pillow was provided on the seat, and a decent pair of headphones were also provided, which have since been updated.
Departure
Minutes before pushback, the captain came on to announce our short flight time of an hour and 10 minutes over to Jakarta with an expected arrival time of 12:30 (about 15 minutes early).
The crew was fantastic during the wait for pushback. Thanks to the light load and twin-aisle boarding, the crew came around to introduce themselves by name and offer refills of champagne. Garuda Indonesia has the second-best cabin crew in the world, right behind Thai Airways.
Sure enough, right at 11:45 am, we pushed back from B8. It was a gorgeous day at Singapore Changi, with the sun shining and colors popping.
20 minutes later, we departed to the South of Singapore.
Meal Service
Right before pushback, the crew came around to take our choice for lunch. Unfortunately, no menus were provided… There were a couple of different options, but I decided on the coconut rice and beef.
The meal in itself was some of the best I’ve had on a plane. The meat was tender, and the rice was very tasty.
My champagne was kept filled up throughout the whole flight, and the crew went above and beyond to make sure that everything was up to par.
Lavatories
Yes, Garuda doesn’t have the best hard product in the sky; we have gathered that by now. However, I checked out the lavatories after the meal service and found them to be spotless. The cabin crew actively cleaned up the lavatories after every use, another very good aspect to Garuda.
Nothing was too premium in the lavatory, but it is apprecaited to have four lavaotries between the 15 guests onboard. No mad rush like Polaris😒.
Between the cabin laid a small table with a singular half-empty bottle of water. Peculiar, if I do say so myself😳.
Rest Of The Flight
By the time that was all said and done, we were just about to begin our descent into Jakarta. Oh my, is it a welcome back? I find it difficult to stay present in life, and flying is one of the few moments when I truly feel present. Thanks to learning to fly for cheap 😒 and with miles, this makes it even more relaxing.
Arrival
By 11:55 am Jakarta time (keep in mind Jakarta is an hour behind Singapore), we were on descent into Soekharno International. The cabin crew came around and thanked each passenger for flying with Garuda Indonesia and saying, “Terima Kasih.”
We touched down at 12:21 pm on a decent weather day for Jakarta🙃.
10 minutes later, we pulled into our gate in Terminal 3, where my Jumpa assistant was waiting for me. 10 minutes later, the FS was waiting for me to take me to my Goldenbird. If you happen to be in Jakarta, check out my post regarding Goldenbird.
There was virtually no traffic on the way to the Four Seasons Jakarta, and we were there within 35 minutes. 200$ a night for a high-level suite at the Four Seasons is what I could use right about now thinking about it 😂.
Final Thoughts
Garuda Indonesia is my second favorite airline in the world, but this flight wasn’t representative of them being the second-best airline in the world. The soft product was fantastic for a flight of just over 500 miles. I mean the service, you simply couldn’t ask for nice human beings not just on a plane, but in general. There is a reason why Garuda won Best Crew by Skytrax multiple times.
However, Garuda needs to get rid of this sub-fleet of their A330-300s. Not only is a 2-2-2 configuration uncompetitive, but the seats are just flat-out old😒. If Garuda was able to bring a better hard product and expand its route network, I could see the airline being one of the most sought-after airlines to fly (hot take). Now, I need to find a way to conjure up 275,000 Miles to fly their First Class to Amsterdam🥴.
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