Singaporeair vs Garuda business

[Black Duck]

I am about to book Perth to Incheon in business. I have flown Garuda before and it was pretty good and very well priced. However at least one way it would mean going through Denpasar. The outbound flight via Jakarta is in an old 737-800 then a333 with the new superdiamond seats. Return is a333 with superdiamond seats and then an old a333. Given the chance of getting stuck by the volcano I am looking at other routes. We do have a bit of flex time wise on the return.

I have looked at Singapore which currently has a sale on but still $1000 more. Flight times are okay and mostly a333 with the old seats. I haven't flown Singapore in years but realize they still win the awards.

Could anyone offer opinions on choices please?

 

[BAM1748]

I'd be going Singapore without question.

Singapore crews do fawn all over you (in a manner of speaking) and they are more likely to get you there and back.

 

[RoMambai]

Garuda has lifted its game in the last few years. I've been impressed by their A330 J cabin and service. Their Asian food was delicious and on par with SQ (I have never tried western chow on any airline). But they're a notch below SQ. Still if it was a question of saving moolah I'd give them a go, if just to try them out if nothing else.

 

[trippin_the_rift]

CX, MH, TG etc? Many more options

 

[Black Duck]

Thank you all.

I have looked at all the others - CX,MH, TG are all another $1000 which makes Singapore good value at the moment. MH and TG both have less attractive connections and times so at the extra cost I had ruled them out. I have flown TG and MH over the years but last time on MH thought it had really gone down hill. So price wise now Garuda is roughly $6500, Singapore $7500 and the others $8500 and up.

I can get a Garuda flight back through Jakarta on some days but only in the 737-800 so not such a great plane. It would however offer more protection against getting stranded by the volcano but comes with an overnight layover in Jakarta.

I certainly do want to get back! However I had the impression that Garuda had lifted its game safety wise - perhaps that wishful thinking.

I would be very grateful for any further thoughts.

 

[Black Duck]

Whoops - forgot to say those prices are for 2 adults. Sorry.

 

[OZDUCK]

MH is also currently flying the B737-800 to Perth and the Business Class is poor - as we found to our chagrin last year when it was suddenly subbed in for the A330.

With Garuda I am also of the understanding that their safety standards etc have been greatly improved in recent years and that Lufthansa Technik (or similar) does their maintenance etc.

 

[Black Duck]

That definitely makes MH even worse for the price.

 

[Ausbt]

Anyone know if GA715 SYD-DPS and GA714 DPS-SYD are the latest J class on the A330-300? Two seat maps on Guru, the angled-to-aisle is the new J I believe. This would be outbound 22/12/18 and inbound 03/01/19

 

[LadyC]

I flew PER-DPS J in December last year. Although the hard product wasn't new, it was certainly quite roomy (lots of leg space). The food was good (we had breakfast on my flight). For a 3.5 hour flight, I was pretty happy with it.

 

[Black Duck]

Thank you LadyC. I have actually flown my intended route with Garuda before but 2 years ago and the seats and planes have changed a bit. With the exception of a lousy crew down from DPS to PER it was really good. I had heard the service had dropped a lot. Good to hear you were happy with PER-DPS recently.

If I use Garuda, I am still debating about going both ways via Jakarta despite the not very good plane just to lessen the chance of volcano problems. There won't be insurance to cover it currently and its misbehaving again a bit.

For Singaporeair fans - could you please tell me your preference between the a333 and the 777-300er. There is also a 777-200 on the run so quite a choice. The 777 -300 sounded good but some reviews say the footwell in very awkward.

 

[BAM1748]

MH is also currently flying the B737-800 to Perth and the Business Class is poor - as we found to our chagrin last year when it was suddenly subbed in for the A330.

With Garuda I am also of the understanding that their safety standards etc have been greatly improved in recent years and that Lufthansa Technik (or similar) does their maintenance etc.

OZDUCK, where did you get the understanding Lufthansa is involved, a business search found Garuda has their own maintenance company which I couldn't check to see it was connected with Germans.

PT. Garuda Maintenance Facility Aero Asia: Private Company Information - Bloomberg

About GMF | GMF AeroAsia

I looked through the website, a couple of amusing proclamations, that they 'may exceed customer expectations' and they 'maintain aircraft to international standards' which isn't what I want to hear. I want to hear they maintain to OEM (original equipment manufacturer) standards, international standards gets them off the hook for a wide range of potential stuff ups.

Matt

 

[browski]

Not sure why you are not taking Air Asia X.
Looks like the perfect flight option.

Lie flat bed
14 hours
2 hour 20 min connection in KUL - both outbound and inbound.
Aircraft: A330
$2363 return

 

[OZDUCK]

OZDUCK, where did you get the understanding Lufthansa is involved, a business search found Garuda has their own maintenance company which I couldn't check to see it was connected with Germans.

PT. Garuda Maintenance Facility Aero Asia: Private Company Information - Bloomberg

About GMF | GMF AeroAsia

I looked through the website, a couple of amusing proclamations, that they 'may exceed customer expectations' and they 'maintain aircraft to international standards' which isn't what I want to hear. I want to hear they maintain to OEM (original equipment manufacturer) standards, international standards gets them off the hook for a wide range of potential stuff ups.

Matt

You are right, I had misread an article. Lufthansa Technik is/was actually supplying, maintaining & repairing components for Garuda (regional jets) who then take them up into stock and obviously fit them to the aircraft themselves and then maintain them while on the plane - oops.

I think I had a vague memory of an European airline ( possibly KLM it seems) helping Garuda with their efforts to reverse their E.U. ban a few years ago and went off on a wildly incorrect tangent. Only missed the truth by this much ---.

 

[mannej]

Not sure why you are not taking Air Asia X.
Looks like the perfect flight option.

Lie flat bed
14 hours
2 hour 20 min connection in KUL - both outbound and inbound.
Aircraft: A330
$2363 return

Angled Lie flat, with a fairly basic food offering.

 

[Black Duck]

Thanks Browski,

I will revisit them but guess I don't have great confidence in them actually going when they say. Maybe I have just seen the bad reports but they do seem to have cancelled flights out of Perth without warning. That said I have never flown them. Its certainly a lot cheaper so I wouldn't expect full service. However while i can't really afford a lot of the business offering I am prepared to spend a bit. The flight itself is a huge part of the journey for me.

Thanks to this great forum for all the thoughts and ideas. Its easy to get too focused on the narrow view and not look across the board.

 

[browski]

Thanks Browski,

I will revisit them but guess I don't have great confidence in them actually going when they say. Maybe I have just seen the bad reports but they do seem to have cancelled flights out of Perth without warning. That said I have never flown them. Its certainly a lot cheaper so I wouldn't expect full service. However while i can't really afford a lot of the business offering I am prepared to spend a bit. The flight itself is a huge part of the journey for me.

Thanks to this great forum for all the thoughts and ideas. Its easy to get too focused on the narrow view and not look across the board.

Hi Black Duck, If your company is paying, then just pay the $5000 extra and get your FF points and your glass of champagne. The company will not notice, so it will all be good.
If you are paying out of your own pocket, then you probably would make a different decision.

 

[BAM1748]

You are right, I had misread an article. Lufthansa Technik is/was actually supplying, maintaining & repairing components for Garuda (regional jets) who then take them up into stock and obviously fit them to the aircraft themselves and then maintain them while on the plane - oops.

I think I had a vague memory of an European airline ( possibly KLM it seems) helping Garuda with their efforts to reverse their E.U. ban a few years ago and went off on a wildly incorrect tangent. Only missed the truth by this much ---.

Garuda I'm sure has improved, but from such a low base I still wouldn't fly them.

I wish it was Lufthansa as Boeing in the past has come out and said they do the best third party maintenance on their products and being comfortable with them no doubt the reason they purchased new 747s.

 

[Black Duck]

Paying out of my own pocket.

 

[browski]

Paying out of my own pocket.

Please let us know your decision.

From OAG: OAG On-Time Performance Star ratings

On-time performance:

Garuda: 65.9%
Air Asia X: 62.8%
Singapore Airlines: 84.5%

Perth Airport performance: 84.5%
Seoul Incheon Airport OTP: 66.2%
KLIA: 67.4%