Why you should limit yourself into these 2 carriers? There are many options between London (mainly LHR) to Jakarta (CGK) with 1 stop of course.

Other than 2 carriers you mentioned they are Qatar (QR), Etihad (EY), and Turkish (TK). Of course there are still 3 European carrier KLM, Lufthansa and Ar France, but as their Europe - Jakarta service is 1 stop service (in KUL/SIN), this is less desirable I suppose.

Lol Right you are..:D

I'm connecting through CGK in feb KUL-CGK-DPS and then back through DPS-CGK-KUL on GA.

When tranferring through do I need to pass through passport control and customs to landside before entering airside again or can I remain airside between 2E and 2F.

Are there Skyteam lounges in 2E or 2F?

There is Wifi available 24 hours a day. There are 1 or 2 convenience stores open but everything else will be closed. There are fast food places like A&W, but they will be closed as well. Some employees will linger there to clean up, but will not be open to business.

There are some benches on the arrival level that you can lay down and get some rest. If you are departing at 5AM domestic, make sure it is in Terminal 2. I believe only Garuda Indonesia flies domestic out of Terminal 2. To transfer to Terminal 1 or 3, you will have to ride those Yellow transfer buses. I am not sure if they run that late at night. You may need to taxi from Terminal 2 to 1 or 3. It should cost you about 40,000 rp.

I believe you need to pass through passport control at CGK. Then you simply go upstairs to the domestic terminal. GA lounges are available in both domestic and international terminals.

thinking of a MR to Jakarta, arrive just after midnight on a Saturday & depart 6:30AM on a Monday. Worth it to get downtown for most of Sunday or better to hang at hotel near airport? FWIW I'm usually the type that does not like hanging around an airport area hotel, I'd rather see/experience things I haven't before.

How long (approx) is the trip from CGK downtown/back out? (I'm thinking of crashing at an airport hotel when I get in late, then heading downtown for Sun morning, then back out to airport hotel for some sleep prior to early Mon morning departure).

What are some good hawker centers/eats in Jakarta to seek out? (Please, NO suggestions for anything western in cuisine, I'm looking for items that are unique/local to Jakarta/Indonesia)

I don't think there are lots of options around the airport. There is a Sheraton, then another boutique hotel - forgot the name - FM7 or something like that. If you arrive past midnight on Sat, technically Sunday morning then, traffic to the city may not be too bad (I think, you never know w Jakarta).

If I were in your spot, I'd pick a hotel around the Selamat Datang monument - there are a few there - GH, Kempinski, Mandarin. I believe there is a new hawker center that just open relatively close by near the National Monument, about 5 min away by car. What I was not sure of is - on Sunday, I think the whole are becomes car free area. For how long, I am not sure. The nice thing about the area, even if you decide not to go anywhere, most hotels are connected to huge malls - Plaza Indonesia (Grand Hyatt) and Grand Indonesia (Kempinski), and both places have so many different restaurant options.

From the airport, you can take SilverBird taxi (Blue Bird taxi, using E-class car) for less than $40 to the city.

A few years back, my brother in law took me to a restaurant called Bandar Jakarta. It's a place where you pick the seafood (fish, shrimps, squids, crabs, etc), specify how you want them cook, then pick a table for them to be delivered to you. It was pretty good, but if you are by yourself, might be too much.

If your flight out is on Monday morning 630am, you definitely need to head out quite early. The flip side is there should not be a lot of traffic. To go back to the airport, take a Blue Bird or another Silver Bird.

I think it's less than 300k IDR last i went, roughly US$21.
Or you can use regular Bluebird, about half of that.

thanks for info, I think I'll splurge for silverbird.Appreciate the info.
I can imagine there is peace of mind staying near the airport for Sun night due to early Mon AM flight, approx how much time will one save by staying at the airport vs in Jakarta? (obviously depends on which airport hotel one stays at & how traffic is in early AM, just looking for a ballpark).

What time of year will you be going? If it's anytime soon (err, before mid-March), it's the rainy season, albeit the usual unpredictable version. Roads become rivers in just a few minutes, and if you're near a shopping center, local 8-year olds run out with giant umbrellas so that you're spared...

Sundays has the least traffic...in fact, part of the main business thoroughfare (Jalan Thamrin/Jalan Sudirman) becomes pedestrianized from the morning until the early afternoon.

As for food, if you're into spicy, seafood and something different - with decent hygiene to match - try Beautika and its Manadonese food. For a less elaborate setting but a similar menu, Ikan Tude.

Somewhat less spicy, Dapur Sunda for Sundanese food.

Silverbird uses small Mercedes these days. I actually preferred their older Toyota models, which I found much more comfortable. The main thing about getting a Silverbird is there is rarely a line at the airport.

In general, Blue Bird/Silver Bird are the best taxis. Expres, Gamya or Taxiku are all fine. There are some scammers type taxis that use similar car colors as Blue Bird.

There are a number of new hotels near the airport that are in the budget range. I'd guess $35-50 a night.

For an overnight stay, I'd certainly go to the city. You can find good hotels in the $30-50 range. The Grand Hyatt is pretty nice, but is usually in the $200-300 range on weekends. The Doubletree is often $60-100 a night. There are some new HIX scattered around the city.

There are some very good street food stalls around the city. Don't get sidetracked into the expensive, less authentic places. Jalang Menteng is good.

Traffic can be horrid at times, so spending the last night at the airport isn't a bad idea, although 3-4am on Monday is usually 30-40 minutes from downtown, on the tollway.

I'm not often in Jakarta, but let me know if you do come, just in case.

I did a search on agoda.com, and see 19 properties within 8km from the airport.
Checking for Saturday nights next month, I see places from $20 to $200. Lots of places in the $30 range. Most list an airport shuttle.

Jakarta has Uber, too. You can buy a cheap sim card at the airport, usually. ($2-5 with some calling credit). I'd guess 30-40 minutes from downtown to the airport at 3-4am.

I'll be there in mid Feb, really don't care about the weather.

thanks BuildingMyBento and Jaimito Cartero for the feedback, I'm definitely more of a hawker center/local eats type guy, lots to think about now^

Unless things have changed there were only 3 Uber Cars on the road for the whole of Jakarta in July! 40 minute wait at the airport, got Silverbird (i'd always get Bluebird, but massive queues)

Getting a cheap sim is great recommendation - this was teh first time i've done it - actually picked it up in a Warung 5 mins from DPS airport for 100,000 IDR - still had data 2 weeks later!

I've taken Uber in August, and October, and found lots of UberX available. The higher level Uber (Uber Black?) is very limited, but have found even those not that hard to find, and quite affordable.