Hi opushomes,

The lads say that Batavia Air do not accept credit cards EVEN though they promote they accept Visa Mastercard and Amex, and advise that you may have no alternative other than to pay cash. I mentioned that the airline site clearly invites c/c payment on the home page, but they recite experiences only 3 months old.

If you are coming through DPS, PM me, as I could arrange it, it's just that I do not have any plans formulated until the "current issues" are finalised, and it may well be late November till I am back. My next advice is to go onto Airline net site and access the Indonesia Airlines forum. Most are expat pilots and airline engineers and will be able to guide you that extra bit. I would have thought Batam was the best bet, but personaly i would have no trouble waiting and paying at jakarta, with a couple of emails confirming your intentions beforehand. However, I can't work out where you are getting the Garuda fare from, as their page is showing specials at 200000idr (about AU$25)and pre book fares for AU$65.75, and as far as i am concerned, they are good, regards bkkrop