Well, something I was waiting for since 2 years has become reality.
Direct flight between Bali and Banyuwangi !
Citilink becomes first airline to connect Bali to Banyuwangi
The 40-minute flight employs the Airbus A320, which accommodates up to 180 passengers, in its daily operations.www.thejakartapost.com
And the prices seem to be very good.
F.Y.I. , my "jungle residence" is 1h driving from BWX.
And Garuda does it again....
A couple of weeks before the change of 1 October they announced the direct flight between Amsterdam and Jakarta will be replaced by a flight Amsterdam - Medan- Bali.
You can imagine the chaos and disbelief with the many customers who booked this flight already.
Example of someone I know:
departure
29/12 AMS-CGK 11:05-06:45 uur (30/12)
new flight:
29/12 AMS-DNP 11:05-11:05 uur
30/12 DNP-CGK 14:30-15:35 uur
So two stops and many more hours in the plane.
Smart to announce it more than two weeks in advance to avoid EU claims. But the amazing and scandalous thing is you could still book the ‘direct flight’.
And Garuda does it again....
A couple of weeks before the change of 1 October they announced the direct flight between Amsterdam and Jakarta will be replaced by a flight Amsterdam - Medan- Bali.
You can imagine the chaos and disbelief with the many customers who booked this flight already.
Example of someone I know:
departure
29/12 AMS-CGK 11:05-06:45 uur (30/12)
new flight:
29/12 AMS-DNP 11:05-11:05 uur
30/12 DNP-CGK 14:30-15:35 uur
So two stops and many more hours in the plane.
Smart to announce it more than two weeks in advance to avoid EU claims. But the amazing and scandalous thing is you could still book the ‘direct flight’.
This is a reaction copied from another forum. (Disclaimer: I have no idea if the allegations contain any truth.)
"I work as a pilot in Garuda Indonesia, I know that even with a 393 seater 777, the CGK-AMS route has always been profitable. The main reason Garuda shifts its CGK-AMS route into DPS-KNO-AMS is because of the CEO Ari Askhara.
Firstly, Askhara owns a company based in Medan, so he shifts the route in order to use the plane to transport goods easier from Europe to Medan without having to pass the strict customs in Jakarta.
Secondly, Askhara is Balinese and he has a mistress named Puteri, she is a Garuda Indonesia flight attendant based in Bali, so after the Amsterdam route shifts from Bali, the crew based in Bali will operate this route. (Also the DPS-KNO-LHR route has been operated by the Bali based crew)
Most of the employees in Garuda Indonesia dislike him, cause he is destroying the airline with his illogical and corrupt decisions.
Everyone deserves to know the truth and I hope this could answer your confusion."
KNO is Medan Airport. I don't know what happened to the Garuda flight from London?
Yeah sorry, I literally copied from her message. The proposed (by Garuda) new flight is via Bali (DPS). Uur is Dutch for hour of course.
The problem is of course that there are not enough flights from Medan to Jakarta to accommodate all passengers so it might have been more convenient to transport these people to Denpasar first. Quite a waste of time.
What will also be awkward, is the (inter)national status of the flights. And thus the location of passport control and customs. The plane stays the same so (unlike the KLM flight where new people can board in Kuala Lumpur,) they won't be able to take new passengers in Medan to Bali. And Bali to Medan has to become an international flight.
The prices of Garuda flights are very high btw. Esp. to the east of the country.
And almost all airlines charging extra for baggage now, doesn't help.
Anyone travelling alone with 3 boys under the age of 5 deserves a medal. ?
Are they really high though? Or just higher than before and there has finally been a market correction in Indonesia?
The weird thing is that the international flights are often cheaper than domestic. And esp. flights to Ambon, Flores etc. have become extremely expensive.