A very decent flight, but nothing special, in business class on Garuda between Denpasar and Singapore. I was more impressed than on the outbound flight, but, as you might expect, it was no match for Singapore Airlines on the same route. But it’s not the same price.

So it’s time for me to leave Bali and spend a few days in Singapore before returning to Europe. In keeping with my principle of alternating airlines, and also because of the prices, I decided to fly with Garuda Indonesia this time instead of Singapore Airlines.

For the record, here’s the air routing for this vacation.

You will find a summary of the articles on these holidays in Singapore and Bali at the bottom of the page.

Check-in and arrival at the airport

I check in online the day before. The experience on the website is terrible, but fine on the app. I take the opportunity to complete my immigration formalities for Singapore online.

It is not possible to choose your seat when booking, but this time I was one of the first to log in and managed to get a seat in the front row next to the window.

It was quite difficult to find a Grab (the local Uber) from my hotel, but I finally arrived at the airport comfortably ahead of schedule. The bridge built about ten years ago between the south of the peninsula and the airport really improves traffic flow compared to my first experiences in Bali.

The journey will take me 30 minutes and cost me… two euros.

Ground experience

For security reasons, my bags are scanned at the terminal entrance, then I head to the check-in counter. There’s no one in the priority line, so I’m done in less than a minute.

Next, head to the security checks. The line is impressive, and there is no priority line.

In the end, it will be fairly smooth, mainly because we are not asked to take our belongings out of our bags. However, poorly organized families will slow things down considerably.

Then I headed to immigration, where the line was just as long, but I finally made it through and got to the airside.

I walk through the duty-free area to reach the lounge. This new airport is completely different from the old terminal I knew in the early 2010s, which is really nice.

After a short break in a rather unremarkable Garuda lounge, I headed for my boarding gate.

Boarding

The plane is here, which suggests that boarding will be on time.

Passengers are waiting.

Boarding begins with one line for business class and one line for economy class.

The cabin

We have a classic Asian business class configuration, namely a 2-2 cabin with reclining seats.

The legroom is adequate, but I think it’s not as good as in the rows behind.

The seats are controlled mechanically, not electrically.

The remote control is not in the best condition.

Power outlets are available.

A sign recalls the former glory of the airline, which is now in rather poor shape. In the past, I really enjoyed traveling long-haul with them in business or first class when they still served Europe.

A cabin that does the job for a two-hour flight but is showing its age.

The flight and the service

No sooner had I sat down than I was offered a welcome drink and chose a glass of champagne. I was also given a hot oshibori… well, lukewarm, but less dry than on the way there.

We push back on time but wait forever before we can taxi to the runway. We wait a long time at the runway threshold before we can take off, but with only one runway and an expanded airport during the peak holiday season, we can’t expect miracles. In the end, we wait a total of 35 minutes, and the heat in the cabin is quite unpleasant.

We finally take off and fly over the north coast of the island, heading for Singapore.

A little later, a volcano, but I’m having trouble locating it. Maybe Mount Agung or Batur?

I’m dozing off while waiting for lunch.

My order is taken : chicken with black pepper, beek with oyster sauce (?), linguine ? I’ll have the chicken.

Here is the tray.

At least they offer hot meals on flights of this length, and some European airlines could take a leaf out of their book.

The pepper chicken and rice are very good, the rest is rather bland.

The trays are prepared and then served one by one, which takes an incredibly long time.

I take out my iPad to watch TV shows until we arrive.

Arrival

For once, it’s not raining when I arrive or leave Singapore.

After a long taxi, we arrive 30 minutes late at our gate at the far end of the airport. Why is that? Because flights from Bali are subject to security checks upon arrival!

After a long walk, I arrive at immigration and it’s magical. Since the formalities are done online, there are no longer any agents or queues at immigration!

A formality completed in five seconds before waiting for my bags… which took over half an hour to arrive. It was like being at Roissy!

The crew

Extremely attentive and friendly, but slow service protocol.

Bottom line

A decent experience, but on this route it’s hard to compare it to Singapore Airlines.

Articles about these holidays in Singapore and Bali

Articles similaires

Singapore-Denpasar in business class on Garuda Indonesia: good, but nothing special Review : Singapore Airlines Business Class between Denpasar (Bali) and Singapore Garuda’s business class In long or medium haul we say yes! Review: Singapore Airlines Business Class between Singapore and Denpasar, B787-10 Video: Singapore Airlines Business Class on Boeing 787-10 Singapore Airlines Business, Singapore Changi – Kuala Lumpur, Airbus A350-900 : Much too short !