Question lion air

[Centrals]

For what its worth... https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsa...ple-of-earth-third-world-is-an-offensive-term

Of course it is an offensive term and should NOT be tolerated.
But it is more so for someone who CLAIMED to make a living in a foreign country.

 

[GF99/99]

Just part of the joys of travel in the Third World

Non sense, there are unreliable airlines even in First world!

http://www.quora.com/Is-Indonesia-a-third-world-country/answer/Alex-Wineburg

http://www.quora.com/Is-Indonesia-a-third-world-country/answer/Alex-Wineburg

countryfacts.quora.com

Indonesia

Get the latest World Bank data, research, and development indicators for Indonesia. Access economy facts, statistics, project information, development research from World Bank experts, and breaking news.

www.worldbank.org

LOL.

Could not agree more.

Try flying in the US (supposedly a 1st world country) I have 1K status with United and Platinum Medallion with Delta I fly that much and I can tell you that flying domestic flights in the US is just horrible compared to Asia. The customer service on US air carriers is embarrassing and I actually feel bad for foreigners that go and visit the US for the first time, I can’t even imagine what they think.

As for reliability and on time. Well maybe I am just lucky but as several have mentioned on here I have actually never really had a bad experience and I have been flying Lion, Batik, Super Air Jet, Citi Link, etc. for a really long time for a lot of diving trips and other personal trips through Indonesia. Honestly if I were to look at 100 domestic discount Indonesia airline flights vs. 100 US domestic flight I have taken would say I have only had major delays with 3-4 of the Indonesian ones and at least 10-15 (and that is being conservative) of the US flights delayed.

And oh did I mention how poor US air carriers customer service is. Seriously 80% of them need to be sent to charm school or something.

 

[diveUAE]

Diving raja ampat in april, unfortunately we get into sorong to late for the direct garuda flight in the am. Lion air has already canceled one flight we have rescheduled for later in the day. I think there is one more flight that day. How unreliable is lion air? Should we by refundable tickets on garuda the next am.

Did you end up taking the Lion air flight? How did it go? I have the same problem as you: getting in to Sorong too late for the Garuda and staying an extra night in Sorong would end up costing us 2 days, as the flight from CGK is very early morning, so if we take a morning flight from Sorong, we would have to spend another night in Jakarta.

 

[rsfinn57]

eventually got out that day. 6 hr trip sorong to bali took 18 hrs. The only way wee got any info was by contacting our travel agency. All in All nextt time staying overnight in sorong and taking garuda. We also incurred 100 us in baggage fees vs 0 on garuda

 

[diveUAE]

eventually got out that day. 6 hr trip sorong to bali took 18 hrs. The only way wee got any info was by contacting our travel agency. All in All nextt time staying overnight in sorong and taking garuda. We also incurred 100 us in baggage fees vs 0 on garuda

Thank you so much for the update. I did know about the price for extra luggage, but 18 hours instead of 6:-/
Yeah, maybe we spend the extra nights instead.

 

[rsfinn57]

not that garuda is amazing butt lion air is the worst airline i have flown. Plus the lion air baggage fees are a pain. Peeople on the board have written that if you purchase extra weight allowance its cheaper and some state they have succesfully bargained them down we were not successful with either strategy.

 

[Kendall Raine]

As @matts1w wrote Lion works when it works but when it doesn’t it’s a train wreck. At least you knew that in advance and made an informed decision. For me, Garuda is first choice (reliability, luggage allowance, ease of booking) and everyone else is a last resort (i.e. no other choice) even if it means I need an extra night someplace. Speaking of which, would never take Lion (including Wings, Batik) for a same day connection (LOB, international flight). Would also use a local travel agent if flying Lion so I have help sorting out the inevitable mess (or have a shoulder to cry on).

 

[rsfinn57]

i agree we had no connection so decided not to wait another day and our agent was local

 

[Centrals]

"Just part of the joys of travel in the Third world"!!!!
LOL.
Indonesia is NOT a Third World.
I was travelling recently in Thailand and Malaysia and non of these two countries can be regarded as Third World. How was the transportation locally? NOT that easy and straight forward and can be very frustrating!!!
"Joys"? That is for someone who had never travelled the "hard way".
"Travelling is half the fun"!!! But you need pretty good sense of humour to get over it some of the time.

I always give myself plenty of time to make any connection.