DCA-SEA
May 25, 12, 8:58 am
I didn't have much luck finding information online about Trigana Air, an Indonesian domestic carrier, so I decided to report back on my recent flights. First trip report!
Flight:
Trigana Air 908
CGK-PKN (Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan)
13 May, 9:20 am.
Scheduled 1:15 flight time.
A/C: 737-200, registration PK-YSA
Delivered to Air France in 1983, also operated by Frontier/Merpati/others, with a former America West interior as the photo of the fabric below shows.
In Jakarta, Trigana operates from CGK domestic Terminal 1C. It was recommended over KalStar Aviation by our Indonesian travel agent as being more reliable. No web ticketing. Tickets were ~$105, about 2 weeks in advance.
I printed the eticket receipt as directed and brought it with us to the airport. Counter outside directed us through to check in. You show the printout at the door and go through a first security check.
The monitors were wrong about check in desk, departure time, and the gate. Anyway, the checkin area in 1C is small, so we found it. No line. Trigana uses paper hand written boarding passes, and does seat assignments via paper chart.
We paid the departure tax of 40,000rp each and went into the pleasant area inside the paid-tax area, before the full security check. There's a Priority Pass lounge, several cafes, and some shopping. Apparently you can buy into the lounge for ~$5 US (50,000rp).
There's nothing past security, and separate waiting areas for each gate. I do like the architecture - it's local traditional, like the Hawaiian airports. Lots of wood.
The boarding announcement was in Bahasa Indonesia only, but everyone gets up at once. On time boarding, via jetway.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-5p3vWRg1nwo/T8BkYhROr9I/AAAAAAAABL4/lJe61RWET94/s400/C360_2012-05-13-08-55-49.jpg" height="300" width="400"
Layout is all Y, Cloth seats, ~31-32" pitch, one exit row with more. Everyone got on the plane fast, then sat sweltering. Fortunately, I had my own water.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-iDhRGYSgsEw/T8BkVI-TbuI/AAAAAAAABL4/wd6E3qLbg9I/s400/C360_2012-05-13-08-56-17.jpg" height="300" width="400"
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-2LOnzjDtNQU/T8Bkf9BUD3I/AAAAAAAABL4/NOElN9RIgy8/s400/C360_2012-05-13-09-06-44.jpg" height="300" width="400"
There was a guy in one of our seats and the flight was only about half full, so the FA cleared us to move to the back. Mrs. DCA-SEA and I had our own row, row 20.
We pushed back on time, took off on runway 25L, turned north, and climbed out through smog out over the Java Sea. Sitting near the engines = loud, so I got my headphones out as soon as the seatbelt light went off. The cabin did cool off, finally, after takeoff.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ETvSOUjFMnU/T8BkbyG6mDI/AAAAAAAABL4/0RzL4QhE76E/s400/C360_2012-05-13-10-20-39.jpg" height="300" width="400"
Two FA's came through with a box snack. The box had water, an egg macaroni pepper quiche like thing (good!), and a yellow cupcake (tad dry).
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NpGgcMVZai4/T8BmMCC6KUI/AAAAAAAABL4/jyHah9xv3tg/s400/C360_2012-05-13-09-45-02.jpg" height="300" width="400"
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ls9HZI1nHmU/T8BmP3TvySI/AAAAAAAABL4/y_9KPviRa58/s400/C360_2012-05-13-09-45-32.jpg" height="300" width="400"
After a quick, smooth ride, we landed on time at PKN. There's no taxiway, so we back-taxied to the small single-gate terminal, and deplaned by forward and rear airstairs.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-FVaTu3huLfQ/T8BkO_hiKyI/AAAAAAAABL4/XgLD3iPjL98/s400/C360_2012-05-13-10-44-30.jpg" height="300" width="400"
_____
Trigana Air 701
PKN-SRG (Semarang, Central Java)
May 17, 10:55am
Same 737-200
Scheduled 50 min
At PKN airport, there are a few shops in the check in area, and a coffee bar and free newspapers (all in Bahasa) inside security. There's one gate and one big waiting area, well air conditioned, with a TV showing some sort of E Network ish channel. Our morning it was famous people and their zodiac signs.
We arrived a full 90 min in advance, which was way more than enough time. We watched Trigana's ground staff turn an ATR-72 for Balikpapan and Banjarmasin in ~20min. Impressive.
Inbound flight from CGK was right on time. More western tourists than on our flight in.
Full flight. Boarded through front and rear doors by airstairs. Super fast - one boarding call, everyone scrummed, on the plane, sat down, closed the doors spot on time at 10:55. Why can't Americans do that?
This time, I got a middle seat with broken recline - as in, if I leaned back, I reclined. I spent the flight doing an ab crunch.
The snack box was the same cup of water, but with a savory fried dough roll and a sweet jelly tart. Not bad.
Deplaned at SRG again by forward and rear airstairs, right next to a Wings Air ATR-72-500.
In all, Trigana was just fine - and more comfortable with better service than Lion Air, which we flew later in the trip (Lion mostly flies new 739's, but with 28 or 29" pitch and no complimentary food or drinks.) I was told later by a Dutch-Indonesian pilot I met that Trigana did not have a very good safety record - for example, he said they hired the 737 captain who crashed a Garuda 737-400 at JOG in 2007, after coming in far too fast and overruling the first officer's suggestion to go around. So, YMMV.
Flight:
Trigana Air 908
CGK-PKN (Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan)
13 May, 9:20 am.
Scheduled 1:15 flight time.
A/C: 737-200, registration PK-YSA
Delivered to Air France in 1983, also operated by Frontier/Merpati/others, with a former America West interior as the photo of the fabric below shows.
In Jakarta, Trigana operates from CGK domestic Terminal 1C. It was recommended over KalStar Aviation by our Indonesian travel agent as being more reliable. No web ticketing. Tickets were ~$105, about 2 weeks in advance.
I printed the eticket receipt as directed and brought it with us to the airport. Counter outside directed us through to check in. You show the printout at the door and go through a first security check.
The monitors were wrong about check in desk, departure time, and the gate. Anyway, the checkin area in 1C is small, so we found it. No line. Trigana uses paper hand written boarding passes, and does seat assignments via paper chart.
We paid the departure tax of 40,000rp each and went into the pleasant area inside the paid-tax area, before the full security check. There's a Priority Pass lounge, several cafes, and some shopping. Apparently you can buy into the lounge for ~$5 US (50,000rp).
There's nothing past security, and separate waiting areas for each gate. I do like the architecture - it's local traditional, like the Hawaiian airports. Lots of wood.
The boarding announcement was in Bahasa Indonesia only, but everyone gets up at once. On time boarding, via jetway.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-5p3vWRg1nwo/T8BkYhROr9I/AAAAAAAABL4/lJe61RWET94/s400/C360_2012-05-13-08-55-49.jpg" height="300" width="400"
Layout is all Y, Cloth seats, ~31-32" pitch, one exit row with more. Everyone got on the plane fast, then sat sweltering. Fortunately, I had my own water.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-iDhRGYSgsEw/T8BkVI-TbuI/AAAAAAAABL4/wd6E3qLbg9I/s400/C360_2012-05-13-08-56-17.jpg" height="300" width="400"
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-2LOnzjDtNQU/T8Bkf9BUD3I/AAAAAAAABL4/NOElN9RIgy8/s400/C360_2012-05-13-09-06-44.jpg" height="300" width="400"
There was a guy in one of our seats and the flight was only about half full, so the FA cleared us to move to the back. Mrs. DCA-SEA and I had our own row, row 20.
We pushed back on time, took off on runway 25L, turned north, and climbed out through smog out over the Java Sea. Sitting near the engines = loud, so I got my headphones out as soon as the seatbelt light went off. The cabin did cool off, finally, after takeoff.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ETvSOUjFMnU/T8BkbyG6mDI/AAAAAAAABL4/0RzL4QhE76E/s400/C360_2012-05-13-10-20-39.jpg" height="300" width="400"
Two FA's came through with a box snack. The box had water, an egg macaroni pepper quiche like thing (good!), and a yellow cupcake (tad dry).
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NpGgcMVZai4/T8BmMCC6KUI/AAAAAAAABL4/jyHah9xv3tg/s400/C360_2012-05-13-09-45-02.jpg" height="300" width="400"
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ls9HZI1nHmU/T8BmP3TvySI/AAAAAAAABL4/y_9KPviRa58/s400/C360_2012-05-13-09-45-32.jpg" height="300" width="400"
After a quick, smooth ride, we landed on time at PKN. There's no taxiway, so we back-taxied to the small single-gate terminal, and deplaned by forward and rear airstairs.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-FVaTu3huLfQ/T8BkO_hiKyI/AAAAAAAABL4/XgLD3iPjL98/s400/C360_2012-05-13-10-44-30.jpg" height="300" width="400"
_____
Trigana Air 701
PKN-SRG (Semarang, Central Java)
May 17, 10:55am
Same 737-200
Scheduled 50 min
At PKN airport, there are a few shops in the check in area, and a coffee bar and free newspapers (all in Bahasa) inside security. There's one gate and one big waiting area, well air conditioned, with a TV showing some sort of E Network ish channel. Our morning it was famous people and their zodiac signs.
We arrived a full 90 min in advance, which was way more than enough time. We watched Trigana's ground staff turn an ATR-72 for Balikpapan and Banjarmasin in ~20min. Impressive.
Inbound flight from CGK was right on time. More western tourists than on our flight in.
Full flight. Boarded through front and rear doors by airstairs. Super fast - one boarding call, everyone scrummed, on the plane, sat down, closed the doors spot on time at 10:55. Why can't Americans do that?
This time, I got a middle seat with broken recline - as in, if I leaned back, I reclined. I spent the flight doing an ab crunch.
The snack box was the same cup of water, but with a savory fried dough roll and a sweet jelly tart. Not bad.
Deplaned at SRG again by forward and rear airstairs, right next to a Wings Air ATR-72-500.
In all, Trigana was just fine - and more comfortable with better service than Lion Air, which we flew later in the trip (Lion mostly flies new 739's, but with 28 or 29" pitch and no complimentary food or drinks.) I was told later by a Dutch-Indonesian pilot I met that Trigana did not have a very good safety record - for example, he said they hired the 737 captain who crashed a Garuda 737-400 at JOG in 2007, after coming in far too fast and overruling the first officer's suggestion to go around. So, YMMV.