Insight: Difference between SIA & Garuda Airlines……..

Hi, met an interesting Indonesian friend a few days ago and he gave some fascinating remarks on these 2 airlines.

He is actually emigrating to Australia for good, to look for greener pastures together with his wife. So it’s not only we Singaporeans who want to leave their own country. It’s a phenomenon which seems to affect Chinese in other South East Asian countries as well.

(By the way, a substantial amount of Indonesian Chinese have become Singapore Permanent Residents or PRs. This PR status is very easy to obtain due to the Foreign Talent Policy of the Singapore Government, definitely much easier and faster than getting a Green Card in USA! A recent newspaper report on latest wealth figures of Singaporeans mentioned that the drastic jump of millionaires in Singapore was attributed due to the influx of Indonesians.)

Normally the first choice of airlines for Indonesians to visit Down Under is SQ or SIA. These people don’t mind making a stopover in the opposite direction at Changi Airport in Singapore. If no SQ flight is available, then they would request for Qantas, if still not available then it’s BA or British Airways. No Indonesians in their right frame of mind would want to be onboard Garuda on international flights, unless if they are civil servants?!

Before the Surharto regime toppled in 1997, Garuda was the pride of Indonesia and it was one of the first airlines in the world to own some newest Boeing planes then. But a reliable source pointed to me that the post-Suharto era may have resulted in a lower level of attention regarding maintenance of Garuda planes, possibly due to some subtle changes in government emphasis on the aviation industry. But the planes may still be considered safe as like most other international airlines except for a few isolated disasters in the past decade as far as I know. (SIA also has had a major disaster in which hundreds died in Taiwan.)


... ... It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Garuda the Superbird!

One Example:
The landing pattern (pardon my terminology as I’m no expert in aviation knowledge) of a Garuda plane seems to be abrupt and shaky. It may also wobble on either side. This can be rather dangerous or fatal as the plane may lose balance on one side and skids out of the runway. Whereas for SQ planes, the touchdown is normally steady and controlled, with no feel of erratic vibration. People who travel frequently like me might be able to appreciate the difference.

However in-flight service of both airlines seems to be of the same excellent standard - “Bules” (Indonesian word for Caucasians or any other person with blue eyes, blonde hair, sharp nose and the like) will always be their 1st class passengers regardless of their seat classification.






... ...Fatal Attraction - Sorry, for "Bules" only


To conclude, preference for airlines is subjective and my sharing on the above shall in no way affect your objectivity in selecting Garuda or any other airline for your smooth journey from point A to point B.

Cheers.