Garuda Indonesia Throws Tantrum After Bad Review
Jennifer Billock July 19, 2019
Garuda Indonesia is in the process of making a bad situation much, much worse — a popular Indonesian travel vlogger recently flew with the airline and did a video review of the experience, which highlighted some failings on that particular fight. Instead of apologizing, the airline went to the police.
Rius Vernandes, a popular travel vlogger from Indonesia, recently took a business class flight on Garuda Indonesia from Sydney to Bali, and just like other flights he’s reviewed, Vernandes reviewed this particular flight on video. The flight didn’t go so well, though—the airline ran out of wine, the staff had to write out the menu because the menu cards weren’t there and more. Vernandes included all this in his review along with a shot of the handwritten menu, which cabin crew had written out to make the process easier for passengers.
Garuda Indonesia has not taken it well. First, the airline sent a memo to employees, One Mile at a Time reported:
Following up on directives from management, all cabin crew are informed as follows:
- Not allowed to document all activities on the plane, whether in the form of photos or videos by cabin crew or passengers.
- Cabin crew must use language that is assertive in conveying the passenger ban for point 1 above except that they have obtained a permit from the company
- The company will sanction if there is a violation of the above provisions
Thus it is conveyed to be known and implemented consistently. Thank you for your attention and cooperation. Enjoy your duty.
Then the airline flipped about the menu:
“We would like to convey that this wasn’t a menu card for passengers, but a personal note for flight attendants that wasn’t supposed to be published. Thank you” and “We don’t know how he could get his hands on it. And if it was the menu card, other passengers should’ve gotten it either but no one shared it [other than him]. The question is where he obtained it from and why he’s sharing it, saying that it’s the menu card.”
And then they turned on Vernandes, calling the police on him for supposed defamation. Whatever happened to a simple apology?
[Featured Image: YouTube/ Rius Vernandes]
Having flown most of the airlines in Asia in biz class, I'd rate Garuda as above-average among them. Apologizing for doing nothing wrong might be an American thing. Nothing says an airline has to grin and bear it. If Garuda wants to discourage people from on-board blogging, I'm fine with that. It's a private environment, and maybe others just want to fly in peace.
Silencing a critic is never smart, unless you have convincing arguments and he/she can be discredited. This didn't seem to be the case here. Next time, swallow your pride please GA: apart from this one, you still get pretty good reviews (which, except for the friendly onboard staff, aren't quite justified imho).
If anything it embarrasses INDONESIA more than anyone....the idea they can sue or even complain versus own their mistake. It makes me so mad they didn't try and lighten the situation or just roll with it....instead BANNING PICTURES?!? It really shows the lack of professional management that still does not exist around anything Indo-managed. That's why the damn hotels have to be foreign-run. Just stupid.
While some vloggers can be annoying, this response from Garuda is beyond the pale. Sad that the company does not see this as an opportunity to get better and provide stellar service.
Wow. Great way to lose business.