Skyteam Mileage Run with Garuda Indonesia & Vietnam Airlines Business Class
Feb 5, 2020, 1:05 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Indonesia
Programs: GarudaMiles (most active), Asia Miles (most active), Kris Flyer, Flying Blue, Royal Orchid Plus
Posts: 79
Skyteam Mileage Run with Garuda Indonesia & Vietnam Airlines Business Class
I mostly fly with Skyteam members since I'm based in Surabaya, Indonesia and an active member of Garuda Miles. This trip was actually just a joy flight for me, It's been a while since my last flight and I wanted to reckon that joy of being up in the air while enjoying proper meals. But I didn't want it to be that long since family and work are waiting on earth, so I decided to take this "Butterfly Route": fly to Singapore in the morning, spend few hours in Changi, fly again to Saigon at night, overnight in Vietnam Airlines Lounge at SGN, and fly back to Jakarta in the next morning. It would be completed with a train ride from Jakarta back to Surabaya which would not be covered here.
This would be the whole route:
The first flight to SIN would be on Garuda Indonesia's B737-800 business class, and the next flight to Ho Chi Minh and back to Jakarta would be on Vietnam Airlines's A321 business class.
I quickly headed to Garuda's dedicated check-in area for First, Business, Garuda Miles Platinum, and Skyteam Elite Plus members right at the corner of the check-in hall. Garuda also has counters in regular area, but for convenience purpose, I preferred this Premium Check-in area instead.
This area is secluded from the rest and completed with couches to wait. I walked to the agent, she took my passport and told me to sit on the couch while she and her colleagues handled all the procedures. Some moments later, she handed my passport back with boarding pass and a lounge invitation. This was all done in merely 3-5 minutes.
On this flight, I ordered seafood meal which I never tried before on Garuda's flight. The request was confirmed.
SUB airport also has a Sky Priority security check lane, dedicated for passengers who travel with GA's premium cabins or of GA's Platinum tier. I walked to the international departure area. Note that GA does not have its own lounge at International Departure, they only have Garuda's Lounge at Domestic Departure area. This might due to the fact that GA only has one international flight a day from SUB, so having your own lounge doesn't sound too good for economical reason. And so, I went to find the Concordia Premier Lounge, the sole lounge at SUB which caters to all international airlines serving it and also happens to be a Priority Pass lounge too.
The lounge entrance:
List of airlines and banks served by the lounge:
This is an OK lounge with all basic amenities available. Lots of seats along its narrow aisle, an unmanned bar, noodle soup corner, a toilet with a shower room which I didn't use, and a made-to-order egg station which was just opened just when I left the lounge. It had hot meal options for breakfast which were of the staple Indonesian breakfast like: chicken porridge, Soto, Nasi Goreng and stuff.
The main buffet and seating area:
There weren't lots of people in the lounge that morning despite there were also China Airlines, Royal Brunei and Air Asia flights departing at almost the same time as mine.
After some quick nibble, I decided to just go to the boarding area since there was nothing much to do in the lounge either.
The B737-800 aircraft, a workhorse for Garuda, has been waiting gracefully at the apron.
Not too long after it, boarding started to commence. Economy class and business class passengers were boarded on two separate lanes.
ON-BOARD THE AIRCRAFT
The friendly purser greets me with the typical Garuda clasp in front of the door and I quickly find my seat on the last row. This B737-800 has 12 seats in 2-2 arrangement, while the seat is of recliner type which is adequate for short haul regional flights.
While boarding process was still ongoing, one of the crew approached me and offered choices of welcome drinks. They had water, orange juice, and apple juice. I opted for orange juice while also asking if they loaded any ambarella/kedondong juice which becomes a new signature drink introduced by Garuda after their well-known Martabe Juice (passion fruit & tamarillo juice). She happily said that they also had that juice on-board today and would come back to me soon.
She then appeared with orange juice and a hot scented towel.
And again with the ambarella juice after she cleared my previous glass.
This ambarella juice seems too sour for me, but still it gives some kick to my morning flight eyes.
The usual red pillow and blanket were already placed on each seat. One thing I found new from Garuda is their new headset, used to be black in color, and now it comes in silver with Garuda's logo printed on it.
A menu card is attached inside the seatback pocket. As seen on picture, they loaded 3 choices of main course for this short flight while having champagne, red wine, white wine, juices, spirits, tea, coffee, and hot chocolate for the beverage. As I've ordered a seafood meal, I didn't take any order from the menu. The crew just asked me what I'd like to drink in which I opted for the champagne with hot tea. The champagne was GH Mumm Cordon Rouge Brut. She then asked if I wanted the champagne to be served before, during, or after the meal. I said I would prefer it after the meal. She happily obliged and went back to the galley to prepare for take-off.
I noticed from Garuda that they changed their champagne brand a lot lately. I remember I've had 4 different brands of champagne during my flights with them in business class for the past two years, like: Laurent Perrier, Billecart Salmon Brut Rose, Castelnau Cuvee Brut Millesime, and now GH Mumm.
After reaching cruising altitude, the crew swung up in action. First, she set my table with white linen and then put down one tray that has been prepared with bread basket, butter, yogurt, fresh cut fruits and stilled water. Then, she went back to the galley to hand over my seafood meal. It consists of stir-fried glass noodle with large chunks of shrimps and fish. It was excellent and I really enjoyed it so much. The sauce went really well with the noodle.
She cleared up my table and brought out the champagne. As usual In Garuda, it's served generously in a proper champagne flute.
Cheers for an enjoyable flight...
The rest of the flight went smoothly, I didn't partake in exploring the IFE as I would prefer watching the flight map and gazing out through the window.
I asked for my hot tea and it's delivered with a pack of mixed nuts and water. So attentive of the crew.
Some half an hour before landing, I asked for another cup of hot chocolate from the crew and she promptly brought it within minutes.
Another great flight with Garuda Indonesia has ended impeccably even though it's just a mere short haul flight. We landed just in time at SIN and I still had almost a half day exploring Changi.
Garuda Indonesia has always been a jewel among many other carriers and they have successfully and proudly shown it even in short haul flight.
This would be the whole route:
The first flight to SIN would be on Garuda Indonesia's B737-800 business class, and the next flight to Ho Chi Minh and back to Jakarta would be on Vietnam Airlines's A321 business class.
At Surabaya Juanda Airport
This area is secluded from the rest and completed with couches to wait. I walked to the agent, she took my passport and told me to sit on the couch while she and her colleagues handled all the procedures. Some moments later, she handed my passport back with boarding pass and a lounge invitation. This was all done in merely 3-5 minutes.
On this flight, I ordered seafood meal which I never tried before on Garuda's flight. The request was confirmed.
SUB airport also has a Sky Priority security check lane, dedicated for passengers who travel with GA's premium cabins or of GA's Platinum tier. I walked to the international departure area. Note that GA does not have its own lounge at International Departure, they only have Garuda's Lounge at Domestic Departure area. This might due to the fact that GA only has one international flight a day from SUB, so having your own lounge doesn't sound too good for economical reason. And so, I went to find the Concordia Premier Lounge, the sole lounge at SUB which caters to all international airlines serving it and also happens to be a Priority Pass lounge too.
The lounge entrance:
List of airlines and banks served by the lounge:
This is an OK lounge with all basic amenities available. Lots of seats along its narrow aisle, an unmanned bar, noodle soup corner, a toilet with a shower room which I didn't use, and a made-to-order egg station which was just opened just when I left the lounge. It had hot meal options for breakfast which were of the staple Indonesian breakfast like: chicken porridge, Soto, Nasi Goreng and stuff.
The main buffet and seating area:
There weren't lots of people in the lounge that morning despite there were also China Airlines, Royal Brunei and Air Asia flights departing at almost the same time as mine.
After some quick nibble, I decided to just go to the boarding area since there was nothing much to do in the lounge either.
The B737-800 aircraft, a workhorse for Garuda, has been waiting gracefully at the apron.
Not too long after it, boarding started to commence. Economy class and business class passengers were boarded on two separate lanes.
ON-BOARD THE AIRCRAFT
The friendly purser greets me with the typical Garuda clasp in front of the door and I quickly find my seat on the last row. This B737-800 has 12 seats in 2-2 arrangement, while the seat is of recliner type which is adequate for short haul regional flights.
While boarding process was still ongoing, one of the crew approached me and offered choices of welcome drinks. They had water, orange juice, and apple juice. I opted for orange juice while also asking if they loaded any ambarella/kedondong juice which becomes a new signature drink introduced by Garuda after their well-known Martabe Juice (passion fruit & tamarillo juice). She happily said that they also had that juice on-board today and would come back to me soon.
She then appeared with orange juice and a hot scented towel.
And again with the ambarella juice after she cleared my previous glass.
This ambarella juice seems too sour for me, but still it gives some kick to my morning flight eyes.
The usual red pillow and blanket were already placed on each seat. One thing I found new from Garuda is their new headset, used to be black in color, and now it comes in silver with Garuda's logo printed on it.
A menu card is attached inside the seatback pocket. As seen on picture, they loaded 3 choices of main course for this short flight while having champagne, red wine, white wine, juices, spirits, tea, coffee, and hot chocolate for the beverage. As I've ordered a seafood meal, I didn't take any order from the menu. The crew just asked me what I'd like to drink in which I opted for the champagne with hot tea. The champagne was GH Mumm Cordon Rouge Brut. She then asked if I wanted the champagne to be served before, during, or after the meal. I said I would prefer it after the meal. She happily obliged and went back to the galley to prepare for take-off.
I noticed from Garuda that they changed their champagne brand a lot lately. I remember I've had 4 different brands of champagne during my flights with them in business class for the past two years, like: Laurent Perrier, Billecart Salmon Brut Rose, Castelnau Cuvee Brut Millesime, and now GH Mumm.
After reaching cruising altitude, the crew swung up in action. First, she set my table with white linen and then put down one tray that has been prepared with bread basket, butter, yogurt, fresh cut fruits and stilled water. Then, she went back to the galley to hand over my seafood meal. It consists of stir-fried glass noodle with large chunks of shrimps and fish. It was excellent and I really enjoyed it so much. The sauce went really well with the noodle.
She cleared up my table and brought out the champagne. As usual In Garuda, it's served generously in a proper champagne flute.
Cheers for an enjoyable flight...
The rest of the flight went smoothly, I didn't partake in exploring the IFE as I would prefer watching the flight map and gazing out through the window.
I asked for my hot tea and it's delivered with a pack of mixed nuts and water. So attentive of the crew.
Some half an hour before landing, I asked for another cup of hot chocolate from the crew and she promptly brought it within minutes.
Another great flight with Garuda Indonesia has ended impeccably even though it's just a mere short haul flight. We landed just in time at SIN and I still had almost a half day exploring Changi.
Garuda Indonesia has always been a jewel among many other carriers and they have successfully and proudly shown it even in short haul flight.
Feb 7, 2020, 12:48 am
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Indonesia
Programs: GarudaMiles (most active), Asia Miles (most active), Kris Flyer, Flying Blue, Royal Orchid Plus
Posts: 79
After disembarking from Garuda Indonesia's flight at Changi T3, I took the people mover to T4 where the check-in desk for Vietnam Airlines is located.
Since it was still 11 AM, I still had almost 8 hours to kill in SIN, including paying a visit to the new Changi Jewel Mall adjacent to the terminal building. But, getting boarding passes for the upcoming flights would be my first priority. Vietnam Airlines, together with Korean Air and Cathay Pacific are the full service carriers served in T4, with other LCCs such as Air Asia, Cebu Pacific and Spring Airlines.
This is the business class check-in desk for VN:
I deliberately took this flight because I'd like to try VN's B787, it was advertised when I made the booking. However, the agent at the counter told me that they had an equipment swap today, and the aircraft would become their regular A321 in regional configuration, which I have tried several times before in the past. Well, seems like luck wasn't with me that day.
The agent also told me that I could peruse the Blossom Lounge, one of the two lounges available in T4 besides Cathay Pacific lounge. This happens to be a Priority Pass lounge too. But, he mentioned that I could only enter the lounge 3 hours prior to departure time and he wrote it down on the lounge invitation.
Changi T4 is not connected by skytrain/people mover to the other three terminals. Instead, one has to take a shuttle bus at T2 in order to reach T4, vice versa. So, I basically just roamed around inter-terminal and spent some time at the Jewel. In order to get to the Jewel, one also has to clear immigration, the closest immigration would be at T3 since the long hallway that leads to Jewel entrance is adjacent to T3 building.
I got back to T4 in the afternoon to enter the lounge. Changi T4 marks itself as a terminal that showcases one cultural element of Singapore, which is the "Peranakan" heritage. We can find a Peranakan Gallery, a small museum with lots of old photographs of bygone era in Singaporean society, the Kebaya dress, etc. One can also watch the Peranakan Love Story inside this terminal, a show resembling a sound and light show that is projected onto the illuminated walls.
The Blossom lounge itself is located at the mezzanine level and sits right across Cathay Pacific Lounge.
The main entrance of the lounge:
This lounge offers everything from salad bar, hot food buffet area, hot/cold beverages, liquors, and a Laksa noodle station. I tried the Laksa which tasted delicious.
Since I would overnight at SGN, I decided to freshen up and take a shower. Fortunately, this lounge offers decent shower facilities with ample amenities inside.
The complimentary amenities available in each shower room:
The toilet is equipped with the modern Japanese style automatic bidet too:
Some small nibble before leaving the lounge and aboard the flight:
BOARDING AND ON-BOARD THE AIRCRAFT
Boarding was executed in orderly manner, with elderly or family being boarded first, continued with Sky Priority & Skyteam Elite Plus passengers, and then economy class passengers. Boarding is now using the automated boarding system in which one only has to put his boarding pass into the scanner and the gate will open. This is only usable if he/she has completed the automated immigration process as well.
The purser in yellow Ao Dai greets me at the front door and I quickly found my way to my seat. As mentioned before, this A321 has VN's typical regional configuration seat where they use the recliner seat type. There is no personal IFE system inside the aircraft and the only entertainment available is from the overhead monitor playing Just For Laughs in loop.
The J cabin was full that day, with 100% occupancy of 16 seats.
The seat controller is of the ancient motorized control type and the seat has one small tray that can be used to put drinking glass.
The legroom is ok with about 40". I could stretch out easily and comfortably during the flight, in spite of the protruded seat structural frame that occupies some space.
Boarding process was still ongoing when one of the crew showed up bringing a tray of welcome drinks of water, orange juice and apple juice. I opted for orange juice, it's served generously in a tallish glass.
The seat pocket has all typical content, like the safety instruction card, airsickness bag and two types of inflight magazines called Heritage and Heritage Fashion. There was no menu available in any form and when I asked the crew if they had any in-flight shopping loaded, there was none either. Pillow and blanket were also not prepared on each seat, one has to ask for it from the crew.
After the seat belt sign was off, the crew sprung up to action. They asked each passenger one by one about their dinner preference. If I'm not mistaken, there were 2 choices of meal being offered, pork with noodle or beef with rice. I chose the pork one. She also asked me which drinks to have, and I asked if they loaded any champagne in which she said yes. So, champagne it is for me.
First, she set up the table by putting a white linen and then brought out a tray with all ingredients pre-plated on it. There was abalone salad as appetizer, the lemon dressing, butter, the main meal, and cut fruits as dessert. Another crew then came by with a bread basket and I pointed at the garlic bread. I really enjoyed all the meals, the salad was crunchy with lots of abalone chunks, the main meal itself was fulfilling. The meal was the highlight of this flight. However, I still do not have any idea on what kind of champagne I had that time since there's no single explanation from the crew.
Closer look at the abalone appetizer:
The rest of the flight after meal service went uneventful. Since there was nothing much to do and no view to look out from the window either,I spent time to just watch the show on the overhead monitor. I also felt a little bit exhausted and tried to get some nap.
Half an hour before landing, I asked for another cup of tea with water, and they were delivered promptly. The tea was poured inside a beautiful small cup shaped like a flower petal.
The aircraft landed almost midnight at SGN, and I quickly found my way to the immigration because I intended to do some small things at Ho Chi Minh and back again to the airport some 2 hours after it.
CONCLUSION
The meal was the highlight of this flight. Vietnam Airlines needs to replenish this outdated A321 with better hardware like IFE or wi-fi if they want to keep competitive among other competitors in the region.
Since it was still 11 AM, I still had almost 8 hours to kill in SIN, including paying a visit to the new Changi Jewel Mall adjacent to the terminal building. But, getting boarding passes for the upcoming flights would be my first priority. Vietnam Airlines, together with Korean Air and Cathay Pacific are the full service carriers served in T4, with other LCCs such as Air Asia, Cebu Pacific and Spring Airlines.
This is the business class check-in desk for VN:
I deliberately took this flight because I'd like to try VN's B787, it was advertised when I made the booking. However, the agent at the counter told me that they had an equipment swap today, and the aircraft would become their regular A321 in regional configuration, which I have tried several times before in the past. Well, seems like luck wasn't with me that day.
The agent also told me that I could peruse the Blossom Lounge, one of the two lounges available in T4 besides Cathay Pacific lounge. This happens to be a Priority Pass lounge too. But, he mentioned that I could only enter the lounge 3 hours prior to departure time and he wrote it down on the lounge invitation.
Changi T4 is not connected by skytrain/people mover to the other three terminals. Instead, one has to take a shuttle bus at T2 in order to reach T4, vice versa. So, I basically just roamed around inter-terminal and spent some time at the Jewel. In order to get to the Jewel, one also has to clear immigration, the closest immigration would be at T3 since the long hallway that leads to Jewel entrance is adjacent to T3 building.
I got back to T4 in the afternoon to enter the lounge. Changi T4 marks itself as a terminal that showcases one cultural element of Singapore, which is the "Peranakan" heritage. We can find a Peranakan Gallery, a small museum with lots of old photographs of bygone era in Singaporean society, the Kebaya dress, etc. One can also watch the Peranakan Love Story inside this terminal, a show resembling a sound and light show that is projected onto the illuminated walls.
The Blossom lounge itself is located at the mezzanine level and sits right across Cathay Pacific Lounge.
The main entrance of the lounge:
This lounge offers everything from salad bar, hot food buffet area, hot/cold beverages, liquors, and a Laksa noodle station. I tried the Laksa which tasted delicious.
Since I would overnight at SGN, I decided to freshen up and take a shower. Fortunately, this lounge offers decent shower facilities with ample amenities inside.
The complimentary amenities available in each shower room:
The toilet is equipped with the modern Japanese style automatic bidet too:
Some small nibble before leaving the lounge and aboard the flight:
BOARDING AND ON-BOARD THE AIRCRAFT
Boarding was executed in orderly manner, with elderly or family being boarded first, continued with Sky Priority & Skyteam Elite Plus passengers, and then economy class passengers. Boarding is now using the automated boarding system in which one only has to put his boarding pass into the scanner and the gate will open. This is only usable if he/she has completed the automated immigration process as well.
The purser in yellow Ao Dai greets me at the front door and I quickly found my way to my seat. As mentioned before, this A321 has VN's typical regional configuration seat where they use the recliner seat type. There is no personal IFE system inside the aircraft and the only entertainment available is from the overhead monitor playing Just For Laughs in loop.
The J cabin was full that day, with 100% occupancy of 16 seats.
The seat controller is of the ancient motorized control type and the seat has one small tray that can be used to put drinking glass.
The legroom is ok with about 40". I could stretch out easily and comfortably during the flight, in spite of the protruded seat structural frame that occupies some space.
Boarding process was still ongoing when one of the crew showed up bringing a tray of welcome drinks of water, orange juice and apple juice. I opted for orange juice, it's served generously in a tallish glass.
The seat pocket has all typical content, like the safety instruction card, airsickness bag and two types of inflight magazines called Heritage and Heritage Fashion. There was no menu available in any form and when I asked the crew if they had any in-flight shopping loaded, there was none either. Pillow and blanket were also not prepared on each seat, one has to ask for it from the crew.
After the seat belt sign was off, the crew sprung up to action. They asked each passenger one by one about their dinner preference. If I'm not mistaken, there were 2 choices of meal being offered, pork with noodle or beef with rice. I chose the pork one. She also asked me which drinks to have, and I asked if they loaded any champagne in which she said yes. So, champagne it is for me.
First, she set up the table by putting a white linen and then brought out a tray with all ingredients pre-plated on it. There was abalone salad as appetizer, the lemon dressing, butter, the main meal, and cut fruits as dessert. Another crew then came by with a bread basket and I pointed at the garlic bread. I really enjoyed all the meals, the salad was crunchy with lots of abalone chunks, the main meal itself was fulfilling. The meal was the highlight of this flight. However, I still do not have any idea on what kind of champagne I had that time since there's no single explanation from the crew.
Closer look at the abalone appetizer:
The rest of the flight after meal service went uneventful. Since there was nothing much to do and no view to look out from the window either,I spent time to just watch the show on the overhead monitor. I also felt a little bit exhausted and tried to get some nap.
Half an hour before landing, I asked for another cup of tea with water, and they were delivered promptly. The tea was poured inside a beautiful small cup shaped like a flower petal.
The aircraft landed almost midnight at SGN, and I quickly found my way to the immigration because I intended to do some small things at Ho Chi Minh and back again to the airport some 2 hours after it.
CONCLUSION
The meal was the highlight of this flight. Vietnam Airlines needs to replenish this outdated A321 with better hardware like IFE or wi-fi if they want to keep competitive among other competitors in the region.
Feb 8, 2020, 9:15 am
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Indonesia
Programs: GarudaMiles (most active), Asia Miles (most active), Kris Flyer, Flying Blue, Royal Orchid Plus
Posts: 79
Other airlines servicing that same route have far superior hard product than VN, that's why they need to at least renew some simple ones like the seat, IFE, etc. And I heard that Bamboo Airlines starts to catch up with VN too.
Feb 8, 2020, 4:54 pm
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Germany
Programs: Some
Posts: 11,523
No question and if possible I would also fly another product. But when I think about my next inter-european flight I would love to fly this outdated VN-product but would of course love much more the Cathay, Singapore or Garuda product.