Garuda neglects inbound travelers

Garuda has recently, in huge advertisements in the local press, praised and bragged about their improvements and how service-minded they are today. Gone are the old days and all the troubles faced by Garuda passengers.

Indeed, at least one potential group of passengers will never complain about the services, simply because they never got the chance to fly Garuda. Inbound passengers cannot book their connecting onward flights in advance with Garuda, unless they pay and pick up the ticket before the time limit expires, a day or days before they ever arrive in Indonesia!

How does Garuda expect arriving passengers to pay and pick up the ticket before they arrive at the ticket counter in Indonesia?

In our resort and furniture manufacturing business we have several customers every week arriving from overseas, tourists and businessmen who always ask our help to book their onward Indonesian travel. Due to Garuda's strange policy, it is impossible for us to book our guests with them. It is very hard for our guests to believe that the flag-carrier of Indonesia can behave in such an unprofessional manner.

Luckily there are other true service-minded airlines available in Indonesia now. With Garuda's policy, they will slowly blow out all hope of increasing arrivals to Indonesia, whether it be for business or tourism, both of which Indonesia badly needs.

SOREN LAX

Jakarta