alex margou
Mark wroteTotally agree with this. Garuda has priced themselves too high - they had a product that was good for its price, but now is way too expensive for what you get. Air Asia is fine but the best value for my money from SIN to DPS is KLM. We've been getting S$250 returns (all in) and have had great flights. As the aircraft is coming from Amsterdam and meant for transcontinental flights, the leg room is great. The food is good and the wine plentiful (and free). Also plenty of on demand movies, so even if you can't finish the movie on the way to Bali, you can on the way back :)
I've done KLM on DPS/SIN twice. In my opinion:
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Free booze --- beer, wine, brandy (not a vintage cognac, but hey - it's free!). AirAsia DRY! No booze for 2½ hours! (My doctor says that's good for me!)
An extra 2 inches seat pitch {AirAsia 29" KLM 31"}.
Movies/Music Yes, very good - but I always have my little laptop with my own stuff anyway so no big advantage here for me.
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The food is shit. It's really bad and doesn't do their image any favours. The food on AirAsia is actually better, although it's just a main course only - no frills.
Timetable --- KLM flies DPS-SIN 2035 to 2305. So by the time you've done immigration and got your bag it's getting on to midnight. It's not far short of 1 am by the time you get into Singapore to your hotel. Plus you need a taxi, as the last MRT to town goes around 11pm, so that adds another Sing $25 to the price. The flight back SIN-DPS is better 1615 to 1915, so you are out of the airport after 8 and back home ...... ?
By comparison you just can't beat Air Asia's timetable, DPS-SIN 1300 to 1530, get to the hotel at 5pm relax, then out for a nice dinner somewhere. SIN-DPS 1215 to 1445, so in my case back home around 5.30 - there's nothing in the fridge so down to Sanur for a nice dinner.
Price: KLM now $220 = Rp.2.26 million --- AirAsia (1st week in Sep when I'm next going) Rp.1.38 million inc seat, food and luggage.
So for me, the saving of over 1 million (don't forget the Sing $25 for a taxi in SIN) plus the ease of a midday flight each way outweighs the free booze and extra 2" seat pitch.
alex margou
Hi Mark, Pilots - yes, what you say is right - but , no, if you read about which airlines have crashed you find plenty of "proper" airlines not doing so well. Food, we'll just have to agree to disagree about that, although your point about a special meal is very valid - I've tried that a few times on Garuda with good results. 2 inches - for me not important on a short hop to SIN, but I do admit I couldn't do it overnight to Europe. I always fly Thai for that {34" pitch in refugee class}.
For me, if I had to pick just one thing, the clincher would be midday flights versus midnight flights. The 1 million is a bonus (that doesn't last so very long in Orchard Road!)
Cheers!
Mark
@alex to each their own, but a few points tho. I personally prefer a full service airline and wide body jet flown by senior long haul pilots to a budget 737 flown by low cost and relatively inexperienced pilots who wished they worked for a big airline (ie, avoid Lion Air experience crashing in Bali or elsewhere or bapak on Garuda smoking a fag whilst flying the plane). AirAsia is probably the best of the budget bunch but it is not the same experience as KLM - btw, 2 inches pitch for a reasonably sized person is a hell of a lot of room - think about it, they have to accommodate the very tall Dutch people on a transcontinental flight, so there's plenty of room for the rest of us. In fact the Garuda flight from SIN to DPS is terribly cramped like AirAsia, solution on Garuda was the exit row seats, no solution on AirAsia unless you take hotseats, front row (extra cost). Disagree on the food. AirAsia isn't great, wouldn't boast about KLM but then again on KLM you can order special meal for dietary restriction (no extra cost). In any event, if you purchase way in advance AirAsia is a good cheap solution, but for last minute or a more civilized airline experience then KLM is better value in my view.
kiwi
I am back on Air Asia next week, Gold Coast KL, KL Padang West Sumatra, return KL back to Bali and then KL return to Gold Coast all for the cost of a one way ticket Bali Brisbane (I booked 7 months ago). We are carrying all our dive gear so this was inclusive of luggage plus meals, the only extra cost is the drive down to the Gold Coast and a months parking. We are in the new quiet zone (no kids allowed) so it will interesting to see how that works out. We are lucky that we are not that big as the room is tight, meals are ok but the main airlines are not that much better. My one hate with Air Asia is the bag drop in KL, it's worse than Kuta traffic.
Dunaden
Geez....how long does it take from GC to Bali?(or vice versa) all up? I'm in Noosa...and when I look at Air Asia flights they seem to take forever and/or only be marginally less than jet star or Garuda...:-/
davita
I've had a few visitors from Adelaide, the Gold Coast and Sydney, and they all took Virgin Australia....maybe worth a look at them for pricing and timing.
Dunaden
Mmm virgin good! ( the airline!) direct flights! Price not too bad if you book about 6 weeks or more ahead...
kiwi
This trip was planned around diving in West Sumatra a year ago so I was able to grab the specials as they came up. Virgin direct out of Brisbane is a good flight but there are very few specials as they are normally fully booked. I believe Garuda will be flying Brisbane Bali over the peak season although I haven't seen anything yet.
emilylipp
Garuda are the best choice in my personal opinion. I've been back and forth with all of the carriers between Perth and Bali but now, I wouldn't travel with anyone but Garuda. Every time I flew with someone else, I had problems with my boards (being a surfy chick). But Garuda, no problems! Last April they were happy to send my 23KG, 1 board and 1 guitar at no extra cost and brilliant service every time!
I can see the convenience factor for other travelers using budget airlines, but if you're comfortable paying just that tiny extra buck, I say there really is no comparison. :frog:
joji gulapetis
Fly Garuda to Perth 4 or 5 times a year. Have always had good service, the food has been reasonable, and the wine plentiful. And if you go early, and get an emergency wing exit seat. LOTS of legroom. On most other airlines you have to pay extra for that seat (SQ US$50 extra).
Garuda is a good deal, like the newly wrinkled emilylipp said.
:topsy_turvy:
matsaleh
Joji, I've asked for an Exit Row seat on a few occasions on Garuda, only to be told that these seats are allocated to passengers who are very tall or who have problems with mobility.
Lovegrove
maybe Joli, they just anticipate that you may have some slight mobility problems "after" the free flowing wine :icon_eek:
joji gulapetis
Lovegrove wrotemaybe Joli, they just anticipate that you may have some slight mobility problems "after" the free flowing wine :icon_eek:
Aahhh , then I put on my dark glasses, take out my white cane, and am led off on the arm of a sympathetic young stewardess...... (well, in my dreams I am)....
:drunk:
joji gulapetis
matsaleh wroteJoji, I've asked for an Exit Row seat on a few occasions on Garuda, only to be told that these seats are allocated to passengers who are very tall or who have problems with mobility.
Matsaleh, I always turn up early (like 3 hours before take-off instead of 2. I tell them I have come early on purpose to get the exit row seat. I am not tall be western standards, but I have only failed once in maybe the last 20 or so flights (to and from Perth) to get the exit seat. (And that's when I went straight from a party to the airport in Perth, my eyes looked like roadmaps, and was semi-catatonic).
It's weird (and scary) they tell you that the exit seat is allocated for passengers with mobility problems. I shudder to think what would happen in an emergency with a mobility impaired passenger stuck in the window exit. Even the safety procedure card for that exit row of seats states you should declare yourself if you cannot function as required when required to open the emergency exit. Alamaaaaak.
Next time use some of that aussie charm next time (and tell them your knees are rheumatic ( or wear 25 cm platform shoes :icon_e_wink:).
JohnnyCool
Garuda is quite a good airline. However, it's often difficult to get a cut-price.
I'm off to Singapore in a couple of days by KLM. The KLM fare is half what Garuda is charging.
On my last Garuda flight from Sydney to Bali, (couple of months ago), I was able to complete all immigration visa requirements onboard the flight. A great time-saver after you arrive.
matsaleh
JohnnyCool, how did you book for KLM? I've checked "klm.com" and "klm.com.au" and neither site will accept DPS and SIN airport pair. (The combination of departure and destination airports cannot be booked on KLM.com)
Zuji.com shows KLM flights, but at AU$287 round trip, it's a good bit more expensive than AirAsia.
alex margou
Try this:
https://www.klm.com/travel/id_en/plan_and_book/booking/book_a_flight/index.htm
But don't try it now!
They're having a problem:
"
Technical problems online booking tool
Due to technical problems our reservations system is currently unavailable. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused and we do our utmost to solve this as soon as possible. Our social media team is available via facebook and/or twitter ."
matsaleh
Thanks Alex, the site now shows fares for the same dates I entered previously (go figure). At US$220 for a round trip, still more expensive than AirAsia.
alex margou
Yes, I got the $220 figure from them last week for early September. I'm going with AirAsia next month for Rp.1.38 million inc booked set, luggage and meals. AirAsia are OK for me - I always use them now. You may have read my thoughts on KLM at #21 here on this thread.
Bon Voyage!
matsaleh
I flew to Singapore in July on AirAsia, Rp1.22 million, including travel insurance. I didn't pre-book a seat or meals, carry on luggage only.
