Garuda Indonesia Airbus A330 Economy Class Review (Sydney-Bali)

Garuda Indonesia is one of eight airlines flying between Australia and Bali. Competing directly with Qantas, you’ll get a full-service experience on the Indonesian flag carrier – making this a great alternative to the myriad of budget and “value” carriers flying to Bali.

Garuda flies Airbus A330s from Sydney and Melbourne to Bali, with Economy and lie-flat Business Class available on all these flights. It also flies A330s from both Australian cities to Jakarta.

I took the opportunity to review Garuda Indonesia’s A330 Economy experience on a recent flight that I took from Sydney to Denpasar. This is definitely one of the best ways to fly from Australia to Bali!

Flight Details

Flight number	GA715
Route	Sydney (SYD) – Bali/Denpasar (DPS)
Aircraft type	Airbus A330-300
Class of travel	Economy Class
Seat number	45G
On-time performance	We arrived on time
Star rating

The route

Flight Cost

I booked this flight using Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points, after transferring my points over from American Express Membership Rewards at a 2:1 rate. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is a great transfer partner for Australian Amex users, as it opens up redemptions on SkyTeam airlines like Garuda.

Sydney or Melbourne to Bali in Garuda Indonesia Economy Class costs 15,500 Virgin Atlantic miles + ~$180 in taxes, fees and carrier charges.

For what it’s worth, a Garuda Indonesia cash fare on this route would normally start from around $405 one-way or $755 round-trip.

You could also redeem Qatar Airways Avios on Garuda flights. The price similar, at 16,000 Qatar Avios + taxes and fees for Sydney-Bali in Economy.

Airport Experience

Arriving two and a half hours before my flight, I was greeted with a very long queue at check-in. Unfortunately, it took about 40 minutes to clear check-in and get to immigration.

Garuda does weigh and tag carry-on bags, so if you’re severely over the limit they may ask you to repack your bag or check it in.

You don’t automatically get lounge access flying in Garuda Economy Class, but if you have SkyTeam Elite Plus status or are flying Business Class, you’ll be directed to the SkyTeam Lounge.

Neither of these applied to me, but I could access the Amex Centurion Lounge using a complimentary invite from my American Express Explorer card. Of course, the lounge doesn’t factor into my rating for this review.

The Amex Centurion lounge is small, located at Pier C next to the Emirates Lounge on the arrivals level. There’s a small buffet with hot and cold dishes, as well as barista coffee at a staffed bar.

It’s much better than sitting in the terminal, but this lounge does get crowded quickly during the morning peak.

My flight was departing from Gate 25. Due to refurbishments, there isn’t any waiting space at gates 24-26. So you’re only allowed to queue once your flight is called, and then you’ll be standing in line.

Boarding was done from rear to front. After waiting in line for about 20 minutes (and getting a peek at the retro livery), I was onboard half an hour before the scheduled departure time.

The Hard Product

Garuda Indonesia has Airbus A330-300s in two different configurations. The one I flew had 24 Business and 263 Economy Class seats. Economy is in a standard 2-4-2 layout.

Garuda Indonesia A330 Economy seats

I was in 45G, an aisle seat in the middle section. The seats are 18 inches wide, with 31 inches of seat pitch (the distance between the backs of each seat).

The seat was recently refurbished. It has a modern, slim design – but with decent padding. This meant it was comfortable enough while still having some legroom. I also found the seat wide enough to be comfortable for the 6.5 hour flight to Bali.

In-flight entertainment

The entertainment screen was large and modern, and could be controlled using either touchscreen or a remote. It was responsive, although the UI let the system down.

Unfortunately, the entertainment content was below average. It consisted of about 100 movies (around 40% were in Indonesian, but with subtitles) and as many TV episodes – with 25 of these being Pokemon for kids.

While this is definitely suitable for a single flight, if you’re flying Garuda regularly you’ll run out of content pretty quickly. It was all a bit random – like one or two episodes of TV, or the third Harry Potter film – and not any of the others.

No Wi-Fi is available onboard. There are power outlets (each one is shared between two passengers) and USB-A ports available.

The Soft Product

Waiting at my seat was a blanket, pillow and headphones.

Shortly after takeoff, water bottles were handed out. The lunch service began about two hours after leaving the wet Sydney runway.

Two choices were available: chicken with polenta and tomato, or beef rendang. I chose the latter. The meal was accompanied by a pesto pasta salad, cheese and crackers, bread and a raspberry chocolate cake.

Drinks were also offered, with a choice of red or white wine, beer (including Bintang) and spirits, as well as the usual collection of soft drinks and juices. I went with a simple orange juice.

The beef was dry, but the curry sauce was flavourful, and the pesto salad at least tasted fresh. The dessert was extremely sweet and rich, but I don’t mind that at all.

I was offered a second drink while the trays were cleared.

The hard-working crew were constantly walking through the aisles, checking if anyone needed refills and responding promptly to the call button.

Bizarrely, the pilots kept the seatbelt sign on for large portions of the flight. Unfortunately, this was ignored by many passengers, and the crew did not attempt to enforce it.

Another drink service and icecream was provided about two hours prior to landing.

It probably would’ve been nice to get something less sweet for the second meal service. But it’s ice cream, so it was good!

As Garuda Indonesia is a full service airline, all of the amenities, meals and drinks were complimentary.

Landing was right on time, with buses provided to get to the terminal.

Wilson McTaggart

Wilson's love of travel started from a young age, but his love for points developed after figuring out ways to travel on a gap year for less - leading naturally towards Australian Frequent Flyer! Wilson's hobbies include skiing, cricket and planning trips, both with and without points.

Wilson posts on the AFF forum as @WilsonM.