Garuda's policy, baby under three

Garuda's policy, baby under three

I am writing in complaint of a Garuda policy as presented to
me on my return trip to Jakarta from Denpasar on Dec. 1. 1995.
When I checked in to my flight GA 665 on Dec. 1 with my
two-month-old son, Joseph Azar, and my mother, a Garuda employee
asked me the age of Joseph. I told him two months. He asked if I
had a doctor's letter stating his fitness for travel. I
responded, "no." He said that in order for Joseph to fly on
Garuda to Jakarta he needed a letter from my doctor stating that
Joseph, being under three months of age, was healthy to travel.

I was extremely surprised because at Soekarno-Hatta airport in
Jakarta just five days earlier I was never asked for such letter.
In fact, I had previously traveled with Joseph on two
international trips on Singapore Airlines, once when he was just
ten days old (he was delivered in Singapore and my husband and I
were returning to our home in Jakarta) and again to Singapore for
doctors' visits when he was six weeks old. On neither of those
two occasions were we asked for such a letter.

After arguing with a Garuda employee for nearly an hour and
repeatedly asking for a copy of this written policy stating that
because my son was under three months of age I needed a travel
letter from our doctor, I was told that I could not board the
unless I signed a letter freeing Garuda Airlines from all
responsibility for Joseph's health on the airplane in case he
died enroute to Jakarta. Of course, initially they could not
provide me a copy of this Declaration written in English and
finally found one as the plane was ready to take off and I was
standing at the gate with my boarding passes in hand.

I signed this Declaration under protest -- the quality of the
English was atrocious and illogical, but seeing that my mother
had to return to Jakarta to board an international flight the
next day for her return to the United States, I signed the
Declaration.

My complaints are twofold, one that I was never given a copy
of the rule and two that I was not told about this rule in
Jakarta, before I traveled to Denpasar. I asked the employee to
send me a copy of this rule to my house in Jakarta, but I have
not received it yet. Rather bizarrely, I did however receive a
Christmas card from him.

Could Garuda please explain itself ?

MRS. MARY-ALICE GILLOGLY

Jakarta