Wake up, Garuda!

On April 25, I was in Singapore and had to change my return flight to Jakarta for the following day. The phone number in Singapore of the Garuda office is 6250 2888. Upon phoning, people are advised to dial extension 16. However, the extension was not available and so I dialed 0 for the operator. There no response at all from the operator. I tried at least 10 times during the afternoon without any success.

The same announcement also said that you could dial 6250 5666 to change a reservation or 6542 3085 after hours. I tried both numbers and got no response.

I tried the after hours number on April 25 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at least 10 times, only to receive no response at all.

The next day I left for the airport without having a reservation and hoped to get on one of the morning flights. Luckily I was able to get on flight GA 837 at the last minute after being on standby for one hour.

This is by far the lousiest service I have ever experienced worldwide by an international airline. On one hand Garuda charges a "No Show" fee, yet on the other hand the airline operates offices that seem to have nobody to take phone calls.

Wake up Garuda, low budget carriers offer better services at even lower rates!

PETER R. KOEBKE Jakarta