RA Flight question

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Illini_Fan

Contributor
Messages
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Location
DFW (Highland Village)
# of dives
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For those of you that have done the Raja Ampat live-aboards, are you typically able to catch a flight to Jakarta the day you depart the boat?

I'll be on the Mermaid and it looks like disembarkation is between 0800 - 0830 on the final day. This looks like tons of time to catch a flight, but I know many of the direct flights in this part of the world have a tendency to depart very early in the morning.

Just wondering what people have done. Was there a direct you could catch? Did you take a one-stop and still make your CGK long-haul later that same day (or very early the next)? Or did you end up in Sorong for another full (or nearly full day)?

I have to book my return leg and just want to make sure if I book a flight out of CGK that leaves very late on the day of disembarkation from the boat in Sorong, I should be good. Otherwise, I'll look to book it the next day.

thanks for any input

Tom

thanks
 
Is your LoB to Sorong or Waisai? If in Waisai you need an extra 2 hours long ferry to Sorong departing from Waisai (pre-covid) at 0900 (and 1300 if not mistaken)

Pre-covid there were several flights departing Sorong around 1400-1600. Also keep in mind that there is a 2 hours time difference to your favor between Sorong and Jakarta hence those flights were arriving in Jakarta around 1600-1800pm (some had stop overs). All these while most Europe - bound flights (not sure about flights towards US) were departing around midnight. Hence in theory there was plenty of time to make it through.
But being Indonesia delays, cancellations and rescheduling (quite often without prior notice) were quite often, hence if timing is critical to you, you'd better spend an extra day in Jakarta to be sure.

Post-covid who really knows????
 
For those of you that have done the Raja Ampat live-aboards, are you typically able to catch a flight to Jakarta the day you depart the boat?

I'll be on the Mermaid and it looks like disembarkation is between 0800 - 0830 on the final day. This looks like tons of time to catch a flight, but I know many of the direct flights in this part of the world have a tendency to depart very early in the morning.

Just wondering what people have done. Was there a direct you could catch? Did you take a one-stop and still make your CGK long-haul later that same day (or very early the next)? Or did you end up in Sorong for another full (or nearly full day)?

I have to book my return leg and just want to make sure if I book a flight out of CGK that leaves very late on the day of disembarkation from the boat in Sorong, I should be good. Otherwise, I'll look to book it the next day.

thanks for any input

Tom

thanks

'make sure' and 'should be good' - relate to different levels of risk

And who knows what air schedules may look like when international INDO travel starts up?

If you want to be 'sure' you need to spend the night in Jakarta - say the FM7. You 'should be good' with a departure after 9PM, maybe 8PM.

As you have no doubt discovered the non-stop flights, SOQ-CGK, depart SOQ in the 8-9AM range. Too early for your boat's disembark, unless you can make special arrangments. That leaves the PM flights.

Historically, Garuda and Batik have had one-stop flights to CGK departing mid-afternoon, arriving CGK early evening. We have flown the Batik one-stop in UPG to CGK. Its the same plane - everyone must get off and get back on. Garuda has easier domestic-to-international than Batik in CGK.

Sriwijaya - good luck.

What happens if your SOQ-CGK flight(s) is late or canceled? What if your baggage is delayed? If you miss your CGK departure what will the price/availability consequences be on top of the delay? Maybe you lose the biz award seat if you miss your flight?

Your INDO visa? Will a delay over-stay your visa?

With many of the USA bound flights leaving in the 6PM to midnight time range you may wish to confirm when the ticket counter opens for the evening flights. You can't get airside until you have checked your luggage. Waiting for the ticket counter to open isn't a great experience at CGK.

Total travel time to USA from SOQ? Off the boat, to SOQ, on to CGK, at least one stop on the way to DFW and then home?
 
You did not mention when your trip is planned. At the moment tourists cannot enter Indonesia at all. We do not know when this will change. Possibly schedules for flights will be changed several times. All depends on the domestic demand now. It might be best to decide about your domestic Indonesian flight as late a possible. Or buy a ticket and accept you have to change or replace it. Indonesia after Covid-19 will not be the same as it was before, so much is certain.
 
There is a direct Garuda flight at 830am Sorong to Jakarta. There is a Garuda at 14:00 that goes to Makassar and can then transit to Jakarta. If you have the 830am flight Mermaid will drop you off in time, they typically arrive back to Sorong at around midnight.
Check the Garuda website
 
There is a direct Garuda flight at 830am Sorong to Jakarta. There is a Garuda at 14:00 that goes to Makassar and can then transit to Jakarta. If you have the 830am flight Mermaid will drop you off in time, they typically arrive back to Sorong at around midnight.
Check the Garuda website
Thanks Mike - I was looking for past experience.

If you did this flight did you then get a day room or similar in Jakarta or how did you kill time before your long-haul flight (if you had to kill time)?
 
You did not mention when your trip is planned. At the moment tourists cannot enter Indonesia at all. We do not now when this will change. Possibly schedules for flights will be changed several times. All depends on the domestic demand now. It might be best to decide about you domestic Indonesian flight as late a possible. Or buy a ticket and accept you have to change or replace it. Indonesia after Covid-19 will not be the same as it was before, so much is certain.

Jan 2022 - I get that all airlines schedules can change (even pre-covid) they could change when booking 10 months out. That is why I was looking for how people that have done this itinerary in the past have handled it.

Yes, I will book my intra-island flight much later, but the guidance came back and said something like 80% (I'm making that number up) of the afternoon one-stop flights to CGK get cancelled due to weather, then that would be a data point I would like to have before booking my long haul.
 
If you are interested in past flight home, I have done 6 trips straight from Sorong to Houston without staying overnight in Jakarta without lost connections, knock on wood. I flew from Sorong to Jakarta in the morning (Garuda / Sriwijaya / Batik). My flight home from Jakarta to Houston via Singapore and Moscow / Manchester with Singapore Airlines were leaving Jakarta around 8pm. So I have plenty of transit time (4-8 hours).

A couple of times I flew from Sorong to Denpasar (Garuda / Sriwijaya) and Denpasar to Houston via Singapore with also Singapore Airlines. The same situation, no overnight stay in Denpasar.

On my last trip to Raja Ampat, Trip Report - Raja Ampat Jan 2020 Trip Report, I changed the International flight to EVA via Taipei. My flight from Sorong was with Batik at 7:50am, arriving Jakarta at 10:00am. I left Jakarta to Taipei at 2:00pm.

I guess I consider myself lucky for doing this trip 9 times without lost connection?

My 10th trip there would be on February 2022. I’ll be on Blue Manta. I still have not done anything on the flight itinerary due to the pandemic situation & it’s still way too early. Even my trip to Sangalaki on White Manta in August 2021, I still haven’t book any flights (International & domestic) due to Indonesia is still closed for foreign tourists.
 

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