Who not to fly with in Indonesia due to their safety record?

[Darnold9999]

Much more concerned with the drive to and from the airport in Indonesia than which airline to fly from a safety perspective. In three weeks of driving around Bali a few years ago (not diving) we witnessed three accidents. Not the aftermath but the actual accident as it happened. I choose the airline based on flight convenience, on time likelihood and likelihood that my luggage will arrive. To that end the sooner in the day I can fly the better, the most direct route the better, and if Garuda is close in terms of cost then that is my first choice.

 

[Cali_diver]

@Indah I agree about Garuda... we had a few flights cancelled last year and many many delays. You know it's bad when Garuda sends out the lunch boxes. I have had to do some red eyes and so I have splurged for business class and I actually think that Batik has better service for biz class but it depends on the route. The Jakarta Garuda terminal and lounge are pretty nice. I think we would still pick Garuda then Batik... When I fly Lion it is because it is the only choice but that being said, every flight has been surprisingly on schedule and with the ability to pre-purchase excess baggage it has been pretty easy and stress free.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I was disappointed by Garuda a couple of times last winter. Hoping that they get their act together

 

[oira79]

We had a bad experience in 2014 with a 4-airline trip to-and-from Bali to Sorong -- our bags were delayed on one carrier, which made it very difficult to get them because we transferred to another carrier. So last year we paid about $300 more, each, to fly Garuda.

And our bags were delayed.

On the plus side, they were delivered right to our hotel in Singapore the next day, much more painlessly than the previous time. But it just shows you can have a good or bad experience with any airline.

If we go back, I might do what somebody on my dive boat (Samambaia) did: take Batik Air business class. It cost about the same as Garuda coach and it sounds like a much better experience.

 

[Dan]

If we go back, I might do what somebody on my dive boat (Samambaia) did: take Batik Air business class. It cost about the same as Garuda coach and it sounds like a much better experience.

You meant the Batik Air 4-hour non-stop flight from Jakarta to Sorong? I did that last month. Smooth flights roundtrip.

Denpasar-Sorong flights haven’t been good to me. I have done them about 3 times. Jakarta-Sorong flights are much better. I have done them 5 times. May be they have something to do with midnite flight schedule.

 

[rexman24]

I second this, I have flown a lot of discount Indonesian airlines and others all over Asia and never felt unsafe. In 2019 I flew about 70 flight with several different air carriers with the exception of S. American and Antarctica and I actually find customer service wise US air carriers are the worst out of all of them and I am Premier 1k with United so your supposed to get the royal carpet treatment... Not!

Only exception to this would be an Indonesian airline called Merpati I think I had about 2-3 "emergency landings" one time actually making one on an island call Biak and got stuck for a couple days there while they "fixed" the plan. I chose to spend the extra $15 and not fly them anymore however several years ago they went out of business so no need to worry about them.

Also I use to live in Indonesia for several years and still spend about 4 months out of the year there diving so for ticket tips I use the app Traveloka works great gets you the best prices. Google flights is also a good resource.

Well just for starters as far as customer service goes, in the US you have way, way more rights as a passenger than outside the states. So to an extent they are forced to offer better customer care by law.

 

[broncobowsher]

Much more concerned with the drive to and from the airport in Indonesia than which airline to fly from a safety perspective. In three weeks of driving around Bali a few years ago (not diving) we witnessed three accidents. Not the aftermath but the actual accident as it happened. I choose the airline based on flight convenience, on time likelihood and likelihood that my luggage will arrive. To that end the sooner in the day I can fly the better, the most direct route the better, and if Garuda is close in terms of cost then that is my first choice.

I've had some business trips in Mexico. The cab ride to the airport is pretty high on the sketch factor. Airport outside of town so there is a long cab ride. At night with a cab that has nearly no functional headlights. Seatbelts? None of those either. Odometer is showing over 800,000 km. Speedometer is showing 140 and climbing.

Those cab rides (several of them) beat any aircraft trips I have ever had. And those include flying with a wheelbarrow tire as landing gear because the correct tire/wheel broke on the last landing.

 

[rexman24]

I've had some business trips in Mexico. The cab ride to the airport is pretty high on the sketch factor. Airport outside of town so there is a long cab ride. At night with a cab that has nearly no functional headlights. Seatbelts? None of those either. Odometer is showing over 800,000 km. Speedometer is showing 140 and climbing.

Those cab rides (several of them) beat any aircraft trips I have ever had. And those include flying with a wheelbarrow tire as landing gear because the correct tire/wheel broke on the last landing.

I can relate, the scooter riding in SEAsia is thousands of times more dangerous than the flying I'm sure. Things you learn after you live somewhere for a while.

 

[Centrals]

If I am prepared to use it then I won't worry about it. Pointless.

 

[Shiqi]

We had a bad experience in 2014 with a 4-airline trip to-and-from Bali to Sorong -- our bags were delayed on one carrier, which made it very difficult to get them because we transferred to another carrier. So last year we paid about $300 more, each, to fly Garuda.

And our bags were delayed.

On the plus side, they were delivered right to our hotel in Singapore the next day, much more painlessly than the previous time. But it just shows you can have a good or bad experience with any airline.

If we go back, I might do what somebody on my dive boat (Samambaia) did: take Batik Air business class. It cost about the same as Garuda coach and it sounds like a much better experience.

Funny I was in Samambaia past Dec (it was a beautiful boat btw, and I enjoyed it very much, the attention to detail on that boat was just phenomenal it is interesting they don't promote themselves much). I took Batik Biz Class between CGK and SOQ, price wise it may not be the same as you expected: I got my tickets a few months before my trip, and it was over $900 round trip. Granted, my trip was around Xmas and New Year so it could be higher than usual. But I doubt if Garuda's coach cost the same.

By the way, Batik in SOQ doesn't have a dedicated Biz Class counter and boarding line (they have a dedicated biz class service counter in CGK, but it is separate and not next to the coach check-in), nor was there any sign, but if you let the people who work there know that you hold a biz class ticket, then they will let you jump to the top of the line (for both check-in and boarding).