Interesting chain of events on Batik Air J
Jul 13, 2017, 9:59 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: CGK
Posts: 2,375
Interesting chain of events on Batik Air J
Background
Batik Air is an Indonesian full-service airline based in Jakarta, owned by the infamous Lion Air Group. Along with its Malaysian wing, Batik Air Malaysia (Malindo Air), the airline flies a fleet of new 737s and A320s to domestic destinations in each country as well as a network extending to Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, India, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Australia.
So there I was looking for a flight from Jakarta to Singapore in anticipation for a trip to Australia flying Fiji Airways from Singapore (quite a strange itinerary frankly). I came across a oneway Rp. 1,200,000 (~£70?!) "Business Class" flight which sounded like an absolute steal... except for one catch it was flying Batik Air.
Considering how Garuda was going for ~£320 that day in J and nearly the same in Y, it felt like a no-brainer. So quickly I booked the flight thinking "How bad can it be?"
-----
Route: CGK-SIN
Flight: ID7157
A/C: A320
Time: 1820-2110 hrs
On the day of departure I proceeded into Jakarta's much improved Terminal 2 departures area to check in. It was a quick procedure. (Un)Surprisingly, there wasn't any lounge access for the flight... alright... not that I needed any in the first place.
Fast forward to boarding, priority passengers was called on first. Having taken seat in row 2 with, the cabin stayed mostly empty for the boarding process apart from another passenger seated. Meanwhile, the crew started distributing hot towels, a drink choice of an unidentifiable green liquid and water, as well as packaged cashews, "Brilliant" I thought. The cream coloured seat was rather wide (arranged 2-2, as is the standard in the region), though looked a little run-down (not complaining here). The entertainment had an interesting combination of limited choice of year-old Western, Indian, and Chinese movies, whilst the music selection wasn't in the mood of showing up that day (i.e. didn't work).
The cabin continued to be sparsely occupied until a family of 3 boarded the flight 10 minutes after everyone else have boarded. Here, we meet Mr. BA (Bloody Annoying) an elderly Indonesian business-type chap, his wife and daughter.
After taking his seat, Mr. BA typed furiously on his phone without stop, ignoring all announcements and safety demos whatsoever. He continued to do so until we were lining up to take off. It seems that take off is a brilliant time to make a call, so he did. As there was a thunderstorm at the time, the sky soon lit up with frequent flashes of lightning. The cabin crewdidn't particularly care wasn't aware of his doing nor did his wife or daughter. We proceeded to take off, and after an unusually long, and seemingly low-powered take off roll, we were airborne, though it felt like the aircraft was struggling to gain altitude. To add to that, Mr. BA here is still calling (not sure how he's still getting reception??). When the lightning flashes got worse enough, he finally ended the call. By then, the plane was experiencing terrible turbulence, needless to say... I wasn't particularly happy to be aboard.
Shortly after we (finally!) gained cruising altitude, the crew started serving food with a choice of Chicken Curry or Fried Chicken(??). Not that I cared considering how terrible the flight conditions has been thus far (and how cheap the ticket was
). Whilst the cabin crew slowly carried individual tray of food from the galley, I frantically looked for the flight map to monitor the progress of our flight.
Now, somewhat strangely, Lion Air branding is especially visible throughout, from the plates, food (incl. bread prepared by Lion Air's baking arm?), to the entertainment system. Perhaps quite a delusional decision by the management to include (considering the bad-rep Lion Air has). Though I hadn't cared much for the food, the curry chicken, served on plates, was actually inedible, being incredibly dry and bland. Well, some airlines do better in economy. Good thing they had a banana which at least is edible
.
Whilst the meal service commenced, Mr. BA here continued to use Whatsapp and looked the web on multiple phones (offline?
) sigh. He continued to do so until we were due to descend into Singapore.
I cannot state my delight when we landed at Changi, at which point I quickly went up to the door. I've never been happier to get off a plane in my years and years of frequent flying!
To conclude... for me personally it was cheap, but that cheapness was simply not worth it in respect to what happened in this flight. Garuda it is then!
Do note that I am not implying that this airline is unsafe, not at all. It's just my experience on this one flight which really left me distraught. It's an decent airline perhaps with "good value for money" for many people out there, and I don't argue against flying the airline... just perhaps take a day flight when there isn't a thunderstorm...
Batik Air is an Indonesian full-service airline based in Jakarta, owned by the infamous Lion Air Group. Along with its Malaysian wing, Batik Air Malaysia (Malindo Air), the airline flies a fleet of new 737s and A320s to domestic destinations in each country as well as a network extending to Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, India, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Australia.
So there I was looking for a flight from Jakarta to Singapore in anticipation for a trip to Australia flying Fiji Airways from Singapore (quite a strange itinerary frankly). I came across a oneway Rp. 1,200,000 (~£70?!) "Business Class" flight which sounded like an absolute steal... except for one catch it was flying Batik Air.
Considering how Garuda was going for ~£320 that day in J and nearly the same in Y, it felt like a no-brainer. So quickly I booked the flight thinking "How bad can it be?"
-----
Route: CGK-SIN
Flight: ID7157
A/C: A320
Time: 1820-2110 hrs
On the day of departure I proceeded into Jakarta's much improved Terminal 2 departures area to check in. It was a quick procedure. (Un)Surprisingly, there wasn't any lounge access for the flight... alright... not that I needed any in the first place.
Fast forward to boarding, priority passengers was called on first. Having taken seat in row 2 with, the cabin stayed mostly empty for the boarding process apart from another passenger seated. Meanwhile, the crew started distributing hot towels, a drink choice of an unidentifiable green liquid and water, as well as packaged cashews, "Brilliant" I thought. The cream coloured seat was rather wide (arranged 2-2, as is the standard in the region), though looked a little run-down (not complaining here). The entertainment had an interesting combination of limited choice of year-old Western, Indian, and Chinese movies, whilst the music selection wasn't in the mood of showing up that day (i.e. didn't work).
The cabin continued to be sparsely occupied until a family of 3 boarded the flight 10 minutes after everyone else have boarded. Here, we meet Mr. BA (Bloody Annoying) an elderly Indonesian business-type chap, his wife and daughter.
After taking his seat, Mr. BA typed furiously on his phone without stop, ignoring all announcements and safety demos whatsoever. He continued to do so until we were lining up to take off. It seems that take off is a brilliant time to make a call, so he did. As there was a thunderstorm at the time, the sky soon lit up with frequent flashes of lightning. The cabin crew
Shortly after we (finally!) gained cruising altitude, the crew started serving food with a choice of Chicken Curry or Fried Chicken(??). Not that I cared considering how terrible the flight conditions has been thus far (and how cheap the ticket was
). Whilst the cabin crew slowly carried individual tray of food from the galley, I frantically looked for the flight map to monitor the progress of our flight. Now, somewhat strangely, Lion Air branding is especially visible throughout, from the plates, food (incl. bread prepared by Lion Air's baking arm?), to the entertainment system. Perhaps quite a delusional decision by the management to include (considering the bad-rep Lion Air has). Though I hadn't cared much for the food, the curry chicken, served on plates, was actually inedible, being incredibly dry and bland. Well, some airlines do better in economy. Good thing they had a banana which at least is edible
.Whilst the meal service commenced, Mr. BA here continued to use Whatsapp and looked the web on multiple phones (offline?
) sigh. He continued to do so until we were due to descend into Singapore. I cannot state my delight when we landed at Changi, at which point I quickly went up to the door. I've never been happier to get off a plane in my years and years of frequent flying!
To conclude... for me personally it was cheap, but that cheapness was simply not worth it in respect to what happened in this flight. Garuda it is then!
Do note that I am not implying that this airline is unsafe, not at all. It's just my experience on this one flight which really left me distraught. It's an decent airline perhaps with "good value for money" for many people out there, and I don't argue against flying the airline... just perhaps take a day flight when there isn't a thunderstorm...
Jul 13, 2017, 1:58 pm
#2
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Bargara Australia
Programs: VA, SQ, IHG, HH,ALL, Europcar
Posts: 1,530
There is very little regard for airline safety by most local passengers in Asia.
The sad thing is that due to the class system being very rigid, the flight attendants would struggle to tell a Business Class customer what to do.
However that sometimes works in our favour, like at check in, they would struggle to charge a business or first pax for overweight luggage.
The night I checked in numerous bags (as my husband had left all of his shopping for me to shlep home) and was 60 Kg over my allowance for a domestic DPS CGK and then a CGK SYD both in J - was yes Sir, thank you Sir , have a great flight Sir
The sad thing is that due to the class system being very rigid, the flight attendants would struggle to tell a Business Class customer what to do.
However that sometimes works in our favour, like at check in, they would struggle to charge a business or first pax for overweight luggage.
The night I checked in numerous bags (as my husband had left all of his shopping for me to shlep home) and was 60 Kg over my allowance for a domestic DPS CGK and then a CGK SYD both in J - was yes Sir, thank you Sir , have a great flight Sir
Last edited by adampenrith; Jul 13, 2017 at 2:10 pm
Jun 19, 2018, 1:40 pm
#4
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AA EXP, IHG Diamond, IC Amb
Posts: 5,510
Just booked a cheap flight in J on Batik Air CGK-LBJ.
2hrs20min in the air for $170 one-way in J was less than half of what Garuda was charging.
I guess I"ll have to post my experience next February!
2hrs20min in the air for $170 one-way in J was less than half of what Garuda was charging.
I guess I"ll have to post my experience next February!
Jun 20, 2018, 10:44 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: CGK
Posts: 2,375
Feb 1, 2019, 3:42 am
#6
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AA EXP, IHG Diamond, IC Amb
Posts: 5,510