After experiencing Citilink and Sriwijaya Air in Indonesia, it was time to step aboard Garuda Indonesia. My economy class flight from Jakarta to Melbourne would take about 6 hrs and 10mins, with a horrid departure time of 2 am.
ON THE GROUND
Before departure, the crew handed out bottles of water and refresher towels. A few minutes later, an amenity kit arrived.
INFLIGHT
Due to the early departure, the first service was a snack which I received about 25 mins after take off. It took the four crew working in economy class about 14 mins to serve everyone in the cabin.
The snack was a lukewarm bread roll with a meat filling and it was adequate considering the time of departure. Forty five mins after takeoff the service was complete and the cabin lights turned off.
The second service started two hours before landing beginning with the crew handing out orange juice from trays by hand.
I received my meal 10mins later, there was a choice between a breakfast omelette or Indonesia option, and I opted for the Indonesian option.
The fish with rice and steamed bok choy was served hot, the fish was delicious, and I appreciated the big tray of food offered. Bonus points to Garuda for offering real cutlery in economy class.
Not long after I finished the meal, the crew came through the cabin to collect the meal trays by hand. The second service from start to finish took the crew 45 minutes to complete.
It was a pleasant experience with Garuda, this overnight flight provided amenity kits, welcome drinks, welcome refresher towels, two meal services, a wake-up juice service and friendly service. What more could you ask for in economy class?
Interestingly, I got chatting to the crew to see how long they would stay in Melbourne, and she advised that they operate this flight as a return sector. That’s about 6 hours of flying each way, plus a few hours on the ground in Melbourne (to refuel, clean aircraft), it’s a long duty for work, especially when flying through the night.