GARUDA GRIPE

My husband and I just got back from a business trip from Seoul to Jakarta this November. We are frequent flyers to Seoul with non-Garuda business class. This time we were excited to take the new GA 777-300ER business class, hoping for a good experience with GA. However, there were many disappointments. First, my husband I both experienced problems with our TV monitors. Mine froze many times (without me even touching the remotes or TV touchscreen). My husband experienced sound loss a few times, and the steward had to restart our TV and change our earphones.

Then, the food was served; some food, such as the scallops, were not fresh. Snacks given during flight were also not fresh. How do I know? The crackers and nuts we tried were spoilt and not crunchy at all.

The biggest disappointment, however, was the inflight service. During food service, when everybody’s main entrees had been taken out and everyone had been given dessert, my husband’s food was still missing for a long time. We called the steward by remote and she came around 20-30 minutes later. When I glanced at the back, all the stewards and stewardesses were just standing and talking. Obviously they ignored our call. We had to remind her that there was one dessert missing.

alexpo1 11 September,

09:40

Dutchyankee 11 September,

09:44 When we finished our dessert, and similarly, when we finished with our snacks, none of the stewards passed by or even checked to take our rubbish until we were just about to land. In my experience with other airlines, stewards are always on standby for our call and often pass by our seats to make sure there is no mess or food to be taken away.

I really think Garuda needs to improve to maintain a high international standard if it wants to compete against players such as Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific.

GARUDA REPLIES:

We would like to express our sincere apologies to you and your husband for the inconvenience experienced on your recent Garuda Indonesia flight from Seoul to Jakarta.

We received your feedback and looked into the matter immediately. Please be assured that we have raised these issues to the relevant departments for their attention and action. We recognise the importance of delivering consistent word-class products and services and are continuously making improvements to our onboard service. Your feedback will help us make further improvements to ensure that you have a more pleasant travel experience the next time you fly with us.

The Garuda Indonesia Experience service concept is a big part of our offering and we are committed to continuous service improvement to better serve our customers. We will take steps to ensure that such incidents do not occur again.