Denpasar Bali to Bandung on 10 January 2021 as part of family trip to SE Asia. A new government requirement of a 2x24 hours validity Rapid Antigen test or 3x24 hours validity PCR test before flying forced us to get a RA test the day before. We have to validate the test results prior to check in and shows the validated documents at Garuda check in desk. We shopped a lot in Bali so we were overweight more than the allowance (44 lbs/20 kg per person) and have to pay for excess baggage at another booth, but then all our luggage were tagged as priority due to the excess baggage payment. The aircraft for this trip is a 10 year old B738 (PK-GFA) that is still in good shape. Boarding was done a few minutes early than expected, with Business Class passengers boarding first and then all Economy passengers. The airplane was clean but we still use our Clorox wipes to clean the tray table, armrest, seatbelts and screen when we got to our seat. The seats are spacious, legroom more than enough and the entertainment screen and its content is very decent for this 1.5 hours flight. We used the provided 2-prong headphones, since our wireless transmitter that connects to bluetooth headset is using a single 3.5" jack. We were given a snack box with pastries and granola bar for this short flight, and drinks from the drink cart. Just like the Garuda flight a few days before, the FAs in this flight were very courteous, polite, helpful and cheerful when attending to their passengers. GA still have the best FA compared to other airlines in the world! Our flight left a few minutes ahead of schedule and we arrived around 32 minutes ahead of schedule. Our luggage, having the priority tags, were among the first ones being unloaded from the aircraft to the Business Class luggage arrival area, ahead of the other luggage that have to go to the regular conveyor belt. Great job by Garuda ground handling! Garuda Indonesia has kept their service level consistently high, and I can see why they are one of the few airlines that have 5 stars rating. Even for a short flight in Economy we were given a great service and one can wonder how would it be for Garuda's long haul flights. Hope Garuda can fly to more overseas destinations, and hopefully to US, so we can use GA for overseas trips and enjoy their high level of service.
airlines reviews