Our First Class Long Haul Flight Experience With Garuda Indonesia! Part 2/3

Continuing into part 2 from our previous post on Our First Class Long Haul Flight Experience With Garuda Indonesia! Part 1/3 , we will focus on the first class flight experience from Singapore to Amsterdam ( SIN-AMS GA88 ) via Garuda Indonesia! Be warned because this is an extreeeemely long post packed with details. Read when you have plenty of time.... or bookmark it! Hehe.

For some idea on how we secure this first class flight, check out our previous post : Our 90% Off Miles Redemption For Garuda First Class, Business Class and Economy Class Tickets, Confirmed!
Me, myself and I.

Pre-Flight in Singapore 

Prior to the flight, Mr OOPS received an email reminding him of his flight and asking for some information such as any food allergies, pajamas size (yes, pajamas) and any special requests. Unknown to me, Mr OOPS had planned a surprise for our dating anniversary by requesting for an anniversary celebration, along with some of my favorite food to be served during the flight! 

Check in was done at the first class counter, whereby we were directed to the Dnata lounge inside Changi Airport terminal 3. In this lounge, there was not much of a difference from the business class passengers except for a small section which was cordoned off for first class passengers. We shared the same range of food and drinks, which included alcohol. There was no special menu for the first class.


Seating area for first class
Shortly after, we were greeted by our personal first class assistant who informed us that he would be on standby if we need anything and our buggy is out there waiting for us if we need to go anywhere. 

"Wow... our personal assistant with buggy..?" Yes it is!



Since there is a recent advertisement that talks about the Sunflower Garden inside Changi Airport, we decided to check it out. We ended up having mini tour around all 3 terminals, visiting places like Butterfly garden, Social Tree, Cactus garden, an in house movie theater, Koi pond, and Sunflower garden of course! There was a gaming area that had Xbox stations, computers and Kinect available for play. It was a big pity that we had a night flight and therefore most of the gardens were dark. This mini tour helped us to realize why Changi Airport is one of the most recognized airports internationally.


Timelapse journey of our buggy ride around Changi Airport. 





About 10 mins before our flight departure, our assistant drove us to the boarding gate via the buggy. We noticed that all the other passengers were paused from boarding and the entire passageway was cleared just for us to walk through. Wow. Wow. Wow.

In-flight experience inside 

Onboard the Boeing 777-300ER, I was welcomed by a group of very friendly crew. Settling down, I started to orientate myself with the functions of my seat, the entertainment system, my personalized wardrobe, getting my pajamas, going through the amenity kit and dining menus etc. Everything was new to me. The Chief Purser checked in with me to ensure I am comfortable. Next, I was greeted by my personal attendee. I was also given the password for free WIFI access throughout the flight.


We chose Seat 2A in the First Class and seat 6A in the Business class for this flight.

Playing around the functions of the chair... this is the massage function.


The bedroom slippers were so comfy with thick cushioning!

Instead of the Loewe amenity kit as per advertised on their website, I received the Clarins one. This amenity kit is of no difference from the business class, which made us wonder if it is because this is a discounted flight redemption.

To entertain myself throughout the flight, there are newspapers, magazines (mostly in Indonesian) and also the entertainment system via the touch screen television. The variety of movies and songs are not bad but if I recall it right, Singapore Airlines had a wider variety of choices.
23.5" Touch Screen LCD, newspaper and magazine selection for each seat

Not sure if the noise cancellation headphones belonged to any specific brand because I only saw Garuda logo

My welcome greetings included a glass of champagne, macademia nuts and a warm towel

Shortly after I was served with some pre dining snacks which consisted of caviar, blinis , creme fraiche and prawn crackers . Tasty and not too filling. 

Before bed time, the personal chef came over and went through the supper menu with me. I am not a supper person so eating before bed time was rare. But I was so tempted to try the food while he explained about the food individually so I ended up ordering a sweet and 2 savory. 

These are my savory dishes - coconut marinated chicken satay drenched in peanut sauce, accompanied with rice cakes and pickles. I didn't finish it as the chicken was breast meat. Too tough to my liking. The peanut sauce was super aromatic.  I also tried the beef noodle soup, which I enjoyed it better!



Ending it off with a sweet, I choose this half dome mango cake, accompanied with fruits. Slurps... and this is definitely to my liking.

One big effort which I noticed from all the Garuda crew was that they tend to kneel down when they talk to me. This simple move ensured them to have direct eye contact and warm tone while communicating with me. Though overwhelmed at the start, I really appreciate this gesture subsequently. They were also very open to my requests for photo-taking. 
A shot with my Chef-On-Board for the flight.
Sidetrack, I really love their kebaya and batik uniform too as it is a good representation of  Indonesia.

After supper, I went for my first toilet break. The first class passengers share one common restroom, together with the pilots and first class flight crew. Considering there were only 3 First Class passengers onboard my flight, I did not have to wait. The restroom had amenities like L'occitaine make up remover wipes, Loewe freshener and face towels. 


When I was back from the restroom, my interior cabin was transformed into a single bed, accompanied with comforter blanket. I also requested for additional pillows. My intial plan before I board the plane was to stay awake and watch as many movies as I could. However, with such comfort, I found myself dozing off without me realising. The closed doors on my cabin provided me with that extra sense of privacy. I can now sleep without any form of disturbance or discomfort.. on a plane. 

By the time I woke up, I was greeted with a full range of snacks, presented on a tray for me to select. Look at the amount of cheese exploding from my sandwich!

Movie time.

Loving the morning blue skies!

Altocumulus clouds from the top! <3

Shortly after, my Chef-On-Board informed me that I would have my breakfast with Mr OOPS in my first class cabin.  He came and went through our breakfast menu with us. However, this time round, he explained it differently, like there was some form of glee and excitement behind that smile. He shared that my special breakfast was pre-arranged by the hubby and would be something out of the menu.

Excited. Super excited to be exact. Having Mr OOPS around was a real joy. =D

Ta-Da. Besides getting served with pastries, cornflakes and a variety of jams, we were served with freshly made avocado milkshake (super thick and nice). Main course was omelette with lobster, scallops, asparagus and sweet potato. Even for the fruit platter, mine was overfilling with blueberries!!! Everything about the breakfast were my favorite food! But I have to confess the scallops are pretty much overcooked and not the tastiest.






Super happy to be drinking my favourite avocado milkshake for breakfast!!!!!

Just when I thought that was it, we had a blackforest cake for a mini celebration of our anniversary. The crew also prepared a card for Mr OOPS which allowed him to write his wishes for us. We really appreciate their efforts in attending to Mr OOPS's special requests and making this flight a super memorable one!


With such "action pack" moments going on inside the plane, it was with a very happy and very heavy heart that we reached Amsterdam! That moment was contradicting, isn't it? Heh.

The moment when we reached Amsterdam, we spotted 2 Audis awaiting for the other 2 first class passengers. So that is the VIP transfer service which I would get if I paid the additional EUR 300 per passenger. Oh wells, nonetheless, it's a really thrilling moment when I was the first person to alight the plane. Cheap thrills!

Alighted the flight with my slippers and amenity kit all in one bag!

There we go! We are all ready for AMSTERDAM! =D


Afterthoughts for SIN-AMS route:

To be honest, initially I felt kind of overwhelmed. Be it by the attention or the kind of hospitality we are receiving. But after some orientation and getting used to, I recalled the number of miles and cash we put in to redeem this flight. We are paying customers and this is the kind of premium service which the airline is offering under First Class. There's no need for me to feel paiseh at all, right?! I did not read up much about Garuda first class flight service so I went in with zero expectations in my mind and past experiences with other airlines. It ended up to be a really mind blowing experience.

However, we were very appreciative that although we are travelling via first class and business class, they allowed us to enjoy the first class pre and post flight services together as a couple. Our initial plan is for both of us to redeem the first class flight together but this plan was not possible because Garuda Indonesia only allowed one First Class redemption per flight. We were so worried about how strict they would be but it ended up to be a very pleasant journey after all. In fact, at some point, travelling in such comfort and luxury is equivalent to taking a bite on that poison apple and getting one hooked after that one bite. With our current financial commitments, going for another holiday via first class would be tough. So... Ouch. LOL!

Do look forward to our next post whereby we will share more about the return flight (GA 87) from London to Singapore via Jakarta! Of course, as promised, we will be having a giveaway of the First Class Amenity Kit (which will be revealed in our next post). So stay tuned!


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Note: Information are accurate as of 2017 and may be subjected to changes within Garuda Indonesia's terms and policies. The following photos and words are of our personal experiences. All photos are credited to Mr and Mrs OOPS unless otherwise stated. Follow @mrandmrsoops and @djoops on Instagram for more instant updates. Not sponsored or affiliated.

I-amsterdamming,
Mrs OOPS!

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