Airline Review: Garuda Indonesia long haul Business Class
The Garuda Indonesia long haul Business Class offers very good seats, great service and more. In this extensive airline review, I’ll explain why flying with the flag carrier of Indonesia is a great way to get to Asia or Australia!
It might sound a little odd that I’m reviewing the Garuda Indonesia long haul Business Class despite only flying from Jakarta to Bali. That’s due to the fact that I had the pleasure of flying in a long haul configurated aircraft though.
- Airplane: Airbus A330
- Cabin Class: Business
- Daytime: Noon
- Food: Lunch
- Seat Pitch: 60 Inch (152 Centimeter)
- Seat Width: 21 Inch (53 Centimeter)
While the service, amenites and food were not comparable to what you get on longer routes, I can perfectly judge all other areas and the experience and I’m quite sure that it’s just even better executed on longer flights. I was impressed already when boarding (by bus) with done with a separate minibus for Business Class passengers.
With that great start in mind, let’s dive into the review and see what Garuda Indonesia has to offer!
Seating in the Garuda Indonesia long haul Business Class
The Garuda Indonesia long haul Business Class comes with seats in a great reverse herringbone configuration. This means that all seats are in a 1-2-1 configuration, facing away from the aisle.
The seats are grey with some colorful touches in red, making the cabin look perfectly nice, while still somewhat formal and classic.
While the seats aren’t looking very spacious on the picutres, you actually have a decent leg space, which allows you to freely move and stretch even in upright position.
The padding of the seats in the Garuda Business Class on board this Airbus A330 is very good and the seats as such felt quite fresh. They were perfeclty clean and not any worn.
The headrests are adjustable and are comfortable enough while sitting upright.
Each seat comes with plenty of storage. First, there’s a large area right next to the seat, where you can place things while in-flight, yet not during take-off and landing. The same is true for the table, which is folded, but still usable as it’s stored right underneath the entertainment system.
Storage for take-off and landing can be found in two compartments, one on each side of the seat. Like that, you can basically store everything you have with you expect larger electronics like laptops.
Each seat also comes with an entertainment system, which I’ll talk about in more detail later.
Sleeping in the Garuda Indonesia long haul Business Class
While I didn’t fly on an actual long haul flight, I tried the bed mode of the seats in the Garuda Indonesia Business Class. As you’d expect, the seats can be adjusted in all kinds of position, the maximum is a fully flat bed position.
When testing the bed, I thought that it was fairly comfortable, but felt a little tight. Your feet are going in a small compartment underneath the front seat, which is a bit tight, but other than that I thought that the privacy and comfort is good.
On long haul flights, Garuda Indonesia also offers bedding, which allows you to lounge more comfortable as I did in the Singapore Airlines Business Class for example.
Catering in the Garuda Indonesia long haul Business Class
This is one area where the Garuda Indonesia long haul Business Class differs from this review as I just got one meal on this flight. Yet, even on this short flight a welcome drink and a cold towel were offered.
There were no menus and the choice was between chicken and beef for this flight with the food then being served on one tray.
The main dish was very tasty though, but I thought that it was a bit too much rice.
Interestingly, the two other things on the tray were both sweet, once a local dessert and once some fruits.
All in all, a decent meal, but far from what Garuda offers on long haul flights. The food and service quality was fascinatingly good though.
Entertainment in the Garuda Indonesia long haul Business Class
Another area where Garuda Indonesia really shines is entertainment. Upon boarding, the board magazine is waiting at your seat. Just minutes later, you are offered a choice of other magazines and newspapers.
More importantly, there’s also a great entertainment system, which has dozens of movie, series and music choices, which you can enjoy in various languages.
The screens come with a crisp resolution and the system as such is very responsive, which allows you to navigate easily and without any issues.
You are alos offered decent enough noise cancelling headphones in Business Class.
Another great thing about the Garuda Indonesia long haul Business Class is the complimentary WiFi available on all aircraft. The prices are a little steep, but you can use the WiFi free of charge for 15 minutes.
The speeds were good when I tested it, but I wouldn’t actually use the WiFi with the pricing of Garuda. Nevertheless, I’d say that the entertainment offerings on board Garuda Indonesia are really good.
Overall impressions of the Garuda Indonesia long haul Business Class
The Garuda Indonesia Business Class really surprised me positively. Not only because I was able to enjoy the amazing long haul product on a short flight, but because the cabin is beautiful, the seats are comfortable, the food is good and service is phenomenal. I can’t wait to try Garuda on a real long haul flight and would definitely recommend giving the airline a try!
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