Domestic Flights Jakarta Sorong

[rusti999]

I think I will wait for a while and see how it goes. Everything I read never really compared the two, they all seem to focus on Komodo up till about November and then raja ampat through the following may or so.

Have been to Raja Ampat, but haven't been to Komodo, so I cannot make a comparison based on personal experience. But I don't think you'll be disappointed if you choose either as long as you use a good operator. In both cases, be ready for some dives with strong currents. If you are into sharks, Komodo might have more of those (I didn't see that many in R4). I think Komodo's water can be colder also.

 

[photog]

I think I will wait for a while and see how it goes. Everything I read never really compared the two, they all seem to focus on Komodo up till about November and then raja ampat through the following may or so.

Indonesia is a large country. Weather is seasonal, so Komodo or Raja Ampat will be better depending on the time of the year you want to go. The majority of liveaboards follow the good weather.

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I've been flying to & around Indonesia since 1990 and organizing trips for divers there since .... Well.. I forget but 1996???

Couple of thoughts on booking flights in Indonesia:

1. A good Indonesian travel agent will reconfirm your flight and be able to deal with cancelled flights, delayed baggage, etc. Booking direct with an airline often means you will not be notified of flight changes and cancellations. I think of it as "insurance". Even if it costs a bit more to use an agent, the help an agent can give you is very valuable. Agents I've used have saved people's trips, kept them from missing ship departures, helped get lost bags to them, etc. I could write volumes about specific instances.

2. Because of flight delays, cancellations, etc. it is a good idea to overnight in Indonesia before and after a liveaboard trip. It gives a chance to recover from delayed or cancelled flights, delayed baggage, etc. It is not always the Indonesian airlines that are the problem. Very often the International flight will be delayed because of weather, mechanical or some other problem.. or bags may have gone to Jaipur instead of Jakarta.

On the trips I organize the agent charges very little commission on flights and I don't add anything to it. It is better for me, the diver and the entire group if everyone uses an agent to book their flights (I organize it all). People are always welcome to book direct with the airline if they want and it might save a few dollars, but if there are problems we will be able to do very little to help them.

 

[Interceptor121]

On the subject of overnights I think that if you are left with just one flight to take for your next destination they add no safety
What counts is to have multiple arrivals and multiple departures between the international and domestic so the bags can I make it
If you buffer a night in but there are no flights arriving with your bags it is useless
Likewise as it looks most of the issues are with delayed or cancelled internal flights it doesn't help to plan an overnight if you only have one flight next day as if something goes wrong there is no back up
International airlines have proper systems baggage rarely gets misplaced and worst case comes with the next flight
The issue comes with the internal ones that rely on manual processes. I have seem how quickly porters move bags in Indonesia I have no worries they are quick
What concerns me is bad weather and old planes that get flights cancelled or airlines refusing to take your overweight luggage because the flight is full

 

[photog]

On the subject of overnights I think that if you are left with just one flight to take for your next destination they add no safety
What counts is to have multiple arrivals and multiple departures between the international and domestic so the bags can I make it
If you buffer a night in but there are no flights arriving with your bags it is useless

That is true. Would not work well if an airline is chosen for International that flies in only once a day or once every few days. There are multiple airlines that have several flights/day.. and better not to choose the last one that arrives before your Inter-Indonesia flight!

But also, sometimes the bag is there, but can't be located. With a close connect there is no time to find the missing bag. Given a few hours it might be located and delivered to you or held for pickup.

Likewise as it looks most of the issues are with delayed or cancelled internal flights it doesn't help to plan an overnight if you only have one flight next day as if something goes wrong there is no back up
International airlines have proper systems baggage rarely gets misplaced and worst case comes with the next flight
The issue comes with the internal ones that rely on manual processes. I have seem how quickly porters move bags in Indonesia I have no worries they are quick
What concerns me is bad weather and old planes that get flights cancelled or airlines refusing to take your overweight luggage because the flight is full

Most, but not all, of the problems I've seen are with International flights and people connecting to domestic flights within just a few hours. We've taken to driving to IAH to get directly on a flight instead of flying and connecting there.

However we (guests and I) avoid the inter-Indonesia airlines that have a bad track record for cancellations and delayed baggage. And we avoid sending anyone on a route that would put the diver in/out of Sorong on a relatively small aircraft that would be prone to leaving bags behind because of weight.

BTW, it wouldn't be overweight luggage left behind, it would be whatever the handlers pulled off randomly. They might take 200kg for one diver and leave the bags of 13 others behind. In my experience, avoiding small aircraft almost completely eliminates the delayed bag problem on inter-Indonesia flights.

Booking inter-Indonesia flights with an agent in Indonesia means you have help to reroute if a flight is cancelled. They may know about the cancellation in advance and if you are already in Indonesia they can find another route for you with possibly an earlier departure. They can work with the airline to get flights on same airline/different route or on a different airline. One thing that is difficult for them is to get bags delayed off an International flight out of customs. The best solution then is for the person to stay and wait for their bags if at all possible.

Really.. we seldom have any problem, but for sure it pays to be smart about the choices and not try just for cheapest ticket and shortest connections.

 

[Interceptor121]

For what concerns customs arrival it is a good idea to have a VISA before arrival as the queue there is subject to random rules, but if you are happy to pay few dollars you can skip it, based on my previous experience in Indonesia tips go a long way and eliminate any issues

 

[Quero]

You know, after too many trips to Indonesia to count, I can say that I've only ever got a visa before landing one time, and that was because the airport I was landing at didn't have the facilities to process visas, only stamp existing ones (that has since changed at that airport, but at the time I had no option). I've never paid any "tea money" to an immigration official, and I've never had any difficulties with simply paying the official visa fee, getting my stamp, and picking up my bags. I know that there are stories of occasional abuse, but I also know that my own daughter was held for five hours by US Immigration for no apparent reason on re-entering the US on a US passport (she's a citizen). The story is worse than anything I've heard firsthand about Indonesia. My point is that abuses or misunderstandings or whatever can happen in any country. You just roll with it. (What choice does one have, after all?)

 

[Interceptor121]

US immigration sits at the lowest of the evolution chain
I am not making negative comments about bribery in fact I called it tip. Generally that is a last resort if I can't be bothered waiting or if I am short of time for connecting flights
Besides 'tourist' smell different from 'locals' so I guess that influences things a bit too
If you have a tight connection having a VISA saves some time and you don't have to be stressed out by the queue, if you allow sufficient time is not an issue

 

[Interceptor121]

.....

 

[photog]

But also, sometimes the bag is there, but can't be located. With a close connect there is no time to find the missing bag. Given a few hours it might be located and delivered to you or held for pickup.

Most, but not all, of the problems I've seen are with International flights and people connecting to domestic flights within just a few hours.

Just received an email from a diver who will be on my trip Nov 5. He arrived in Bali today on an International flight for a cruise on Mermaid. His bag did not arrive! He is looking to buy dive equipment because no time to wait for his lost bag to be found and delivered.

Consider this when booking close connections. Anywhere. With the recent AA problems I decided to go to the departure city of my International flight one day early and overnight so there is nearly no chance I will miss that International flight or that my luggage is left behind.

 

[jake11]

For what it is worth, we just flew Cathay Pacific using points so our route was kind of a pain. We flew Phx. to Seattle, Seattle to Vancouver, Vancouver to Hong Kong, and Hong Kong to Bali. All 4 bags made it just fine! In Indonesia we flew Aviastar from Bali to LBJ and it was a great plane and our bags made it just fine with our overweight fees costing around $10 total. The plane went out earlier than scheduled and because we booked with the boat agent we had a message waiting for us at our hotel in Bali about the time change, the agent emailed me, and the cruise director sent me a message on facebook. Not sure if that would have happened if we had booked on our own. On the way back from Bau Bau we flew Lion Air and the plane went on time and all of our bags made it with a transfer of planes in Makkasar. I was one of the first ones in line so I paid a higher baggage fee than the people behind me. They had chopped a bit off of my overweight fees when I asked at the counter so I told the others in our group. They ended up getting much better deals than I did and most had the fees cut in half or more! I guess they got tired of everyone asking so they just slashed the fees! On the way home we flew Cathay again and flew the same route in reverse with a 2 night layover in Hong Kong. When you go to the express train terminal they check you in at Cathay and take your luggage right there with NO waiting time whatsover. It was awesome. No airport craziness. We even bought our subway passes on Cathay from duty free and saved a few bucks on them as well. Once you get into Canada , you go through US immigrations right there with NO waiting again. A Cathay agent met us after we got off the plane with a sign with our names on it and took us through the process. They had a machine that they scanned our luggage tags and pictures of our bags popped up on a screen and we said "yes" those are ours and on we went. What a breeze going through Vancouver. No crazy LAX madness! Once we got home to Phoenix that night all 4 of our bags were there within minutes! I was very impressed with Cathay this time. The slide out seats were even more comfortable and the service was superb. I even scored 3 seats across both there and back! I hope this was not too long winded but I wanted to share our very recent ( one week ago) experiences!