My Londoner friend SMS-ed 2 days ago, when he was traveling to Tunisia. He read about Bunaken in North Sulawesi, and Wayag Islands in Papua and was so willing to visit those sites. He then asked me if there is direct flight from UK to both places, which unfortunately not. Well, about Papua, I am [...]

SKYTRAX Research today confirmed that Garuda Indonesia has been Certified as a world 4-Star Airline for the 2010 ranking period. Commenting on the 4-Star Certification for Garuda Indonesia, Edward Plaisted (Skytrax CEO) said, “…this 4-Star Airline Certification is a coveted seal Quality Approval that an airline receives in recognition of its front-line Product and Service quality. [...]

When Lion Air got its 1st Boeing 737-900ER, I managed to secure tickets to Makassar and Ambon. I probably was one of the first flyer of this excellent airplane. It felt different than its peer like Airbus A320. It is faster, comfier, and smoother (outside noise was reduced to minimum). Lion Air has received another [...]

Lion Air, Indonesia’s biggest private airline revealed it is planning to expand its international routes next year. Lion Air is considering flights to China, South Korea and Japan by mid-2010. Analysts said the move would challenge main rival PT Garuda Indonesia’s dominance in the lucrative East Asia market. Lion Air is considering flights to Beijing, Shanghai, [...]

THE EARLY 1960s are considered to have been the glory days of Garuda Indonesia Airlines, with a fleet of new Electras and the hotrod of the skies, the Convair 990A, taking the carrier to Hong Kong, Rome, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris and even Canton (Guangzhou) via Phnom Penh. It was considered among the best airlines in [...]

Turkish Airlines opens route to Jakarta. Yeah. Turkish Airlines introduced its flights from Istanbul to Jakarta, Indonesia starting about a month ago, September 30th, 2009. The five flights weekly will operate from Istanbul to Jakarta on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday and from Jakarta to Istanbul on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. With the [...]

Even though I fly a couple of times a week — and should be sick of traveling by now — I’ve never lost my childhood fascination with airplanes and airlines. (I can still remember long-departed carriers such as MSA, BOAC and Pan Am.) So when I read that Garuda was undergoing a transformation, I became [...]

No one would argue when i say that Blue Bird taxi is the most reliable taxi in Indonesia. It’s not merely big, but also number one in service, comfort, and the politeness of its drivers. It now has more than 17,000 taxi fleet across the archipelago. I have been a frequent user of Blue bird [...]

In the past ten years, emerging countries have considerably increased their production of cars. Although their share in world exports is still below 10%, these countries are now ready to conquer international markets, since they can produce on a large scale at very low production costs compared with the Northern standards. Given the lack of literature [...]

In Suvarnabhumi Airport of Bangkok, I met some Dutchs wearing beach costumes, and we made time to sip some coffees at one small coffee shop. I encourage myself to start a chat with them, “Dudes, Bangkok is nowhere close to any beach, and people stared at your costumes since you landed.” They started to laugh [...]