Garuda's new era service

Garuda's new era service

Garuda must be the only airline in the world that could shut
the doors of an airplane while my daughter (three-and-a-half
years old), my husband and myself were exactly five steps away
from the plane, and another five steps away from our seats. A
ground official, standing on the airbridge, put his arm out to
stop us while we watched in amazement as two flight attendants
closed the airplane door. Then GA 831 backed up and was out of
the gate ahead of schedule.

If the plane's captain, Wayono, was thinking on behalf of his
passengers, and was committed to service excellence, he would
have waited another 10 seconds for us.

Departure was scheduled for 6:25 p.m. on Sunday, July 9, from
Singapore to Jakarta. On this day, captain Wayono must have been
in a hurry for personal reasons, and decided to depart 10 minutes
ahead of schedule, at 6:15 p.m. We had been sitting in the first
class lounge since 5 p.m., and no one informed us of the earlier
departure time.

We checked in at 4:30 p.m., with luggage, and were allocated
seats 2A, 2B and 2E. At 6 p.m., a boarding call was made. We
instantly proceeded to gate D47. While in front of gate D44, our
names were announced over a speaker. It was very strange. We
started to walk faster. Then, in front of gate D45, A Garuda
official asked us "Are you the family being announced?" I said
"yes". The official spoke into his walkie talkie: "They're on
their way, they're on their way, two more gates to go. While
running, another official came up to us and said "Ma'am, sorry,
the captain would like to depart early, if he misses the
departure time, he cannot take off. I had no idea what he was
talking about, nor did I pay much attention to him, as by this
time we had arrived at gate D47. We went through the x-ray
machine, showed our boarding passes and proceeded down an
airbridge toward the plane.

We were about five steps away from the plane when a member of
the ground crew, stationed on the airbridge, put his arm out in
front of us and said "Sorry, the captain couldn't wait".

The airplane door shut in front of our eyes, leaving us
standing and staring at the crew.

My husband then quickly ran back up the ramp to the crew and
pointed at his watch, saying it was only 6:15 p.m. The crew just
shrugged their shoulders and said "The captain has made the
decision to depart".

The official said "Here's a dinner voucher. The next flight is
three-and-a-half hours from now, and you are on standby as the
flight is full".

At 9:20 p.m., my husband checked the transfer counter for any
available flights. Luckily, we were on Garuda's 9:40 p.m. flight,
and, of course, downgraded. I was given seat 1K, and my husband
and daughter 61J and 61K.

There is a regulation that a plane cannot take off if there is
unaccompanied baggage. The captain broke that regulation, and at
the same time broke the integrity of Garuda.

This incident was a total nightmare and Garuda put my daughter
through a traumatic experience. She is now afraid of flying. She
is afraid that the plane will leave her behind and she will not
be able to get home.

MS. V.V. RAMADHAN

Jakarta