Garuda Indonesia is known for having an excellent first class product. One of the things that makes the airline so compelling and interesting to AvGeeks is that you can’t fly it direct to (or from) the U.S. Our initial set of reviews was small, with only six, but we’ve expanded out the airline and have a much better feel for the product. Read on to see what’s new and different with our expanded Garuda Indonesia first class reviews, or skip to the main Garuda first class reviews summary.
As a reminder, Premium Travel Insider aggregates reviews from around the web and scores them on a 1-3 scale. A 3 indicates that a given category exceeded reviewer expectations, a 2 indicates it met expectations, and a 1 failed to meet expectations. We evaluate a variety of categories, the most important of which we call the “Big 5” that are most important to a premium travel experience: seat, food, drink, service, and in flight entertainment. You can learn more about our methodology here.
Expanded Garuda Indonesia First Class Reviews Top Line
Garuda Indonesia has an excellent 2.77/3 overall score, and a 2.66/3 “Big 5” score. There’s some deviation here, largely due to the somewhat below-average IFE offering, which dragged down the “Big 5.” Despite that, the overall experience of most bloggers was quite good, which explains the discrepancy. We have 13 reviews from 10 different sites, with a 1.92/3 level of detail. As a result, we have moderate confidence in these reviews, as we’d like to see a bit higher quality in the level of detail than we have. Sounds like we need a Premium Travel Insider business trip on Garuda Indonesia to get that level of detail up with some in-house reviews!
What Changed the Most?
| Category | Current Rating | Previous Rating | Change |
| WiFi | 2.13/3 | 2.00/3 | +.13 |
| Seat | 2.88/3 | 3/3 | -.12 |
| IFE | 1.83/3 | 2.00/3 | -.17 |
| Amenity Kit | 1.60/3 | 1.83/3 | -.23 |
Doubling our total reviews actually didn’t cause a lot to change, and even these changes didn’t create any significant new insights, but rather solidified existing conclusions. WiFi increased .13, driven by good speeds and free WiFi for all first class passengers.
Several categories decreased. The first was seat, which dropped from a perfect score to a 2.88/3, which is still superb. This is not cause for concern—Garuda has a great enclosed suite. The one review that had a mixed experience was due to a broken seat, which happens.
The IFE and amenity kit are both more concerning. Both decreased and have overall below-average scores. For the IFE, the key issue was a lack of selection. For the amenity kit, there was a fairly consistent vibe of a subpar product compared to the rest of the experience. No one flies based on an amenity kit, but it’s understandable reviewers were a bit concerned considering how great the rest of the product is.
What (Mostly) Didn’t Change?
The good news is that Garuda Indonesia is very consistent as a first class product otherwise. The soft product—namely food, drink, and service—remain excellent, with the service being a shining highlight at 2.92/3. Bedding rated as very comfortable, clocking in at 2.50/3.
Is Garuda Indonesia First Class Worth Flying?
Based on our expanded Garuda Indonesia first class reviews, we can state this is a great—if not excellent—product. The enclosed suites are incredibly private and comfortable. The soft product experience is also excellent. The biggest weaknesses are the IFE and the amenity kit. The IFE is concerning, particularly on some of the long-haul flights that Garuda Indonesia operates, so you may want to bring your own entertainment. But there’s a reason this product is sought after by AvGeeks, and if you’re in the Southeast Asia region, you should give this product a look!
Looking for more details? Check out the full Garuda Indonesia first class reviews page or look at our full first class reviews for alternatives.
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