Wake up, Garuda!

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