Birthday Surprise onboard Garuda Indonesia

Date : 30 June 2018
Aircraft : A330-200
Flight Number : GA 402
Route : Jakarta (CGK) - Denpasar (DPS)
Cabin class : Business Class

It was 30 June 2018, right on my birthday I have to fly to Bali for a close friend's wedding. Since it was my birthday, My Dad who doesnt usually fly with much often ( due to work commitments) flies with us to ensure he's there during my birthday. My Dad is a family man and our family philosophy is that family's first.

It was a morning flight and we were worried that our flight might be cancelled due to the volcanic ash of one of the mountains ( some flights before were cancelled or delayed for days ) . We had city check in the day before to print our boarding pass to confirm that we'll be flying the next day.

I was sure expecting a very full load on this flight because Of the previous delays and flight cancellations. I expect nothing on this flight, even in Biz class.

Fast forward to the flight, around 15 minutes after my meal service, 6 crews came front the front galley singing happy birthday to me. Bringing a tray, with a 3 cupcakes in a cake , a birthday greetings card and a glass of orange juice( Kak Adel, one of the FA remembered that my fav drink was orange juice ).

So literally half of the jumbo jet A330’s crew is celebrating my birthday, on a full load. Ultra short haul flight from Jakarta to Bali. Thats incredible.

Turns out my Mom and Sister arranged the surprise, they managed to bring cupcakes without me knowing anything and told one of the FA’s (before take off) to help hand in these cupcakes & writing birthday greetings for me because Im an #AvGeek and it would mean the world for me.

And yes they really made my birthday extra special. It was a great birthday surprise. I was speechless and felt so blessed when the crews were cheering and singing happy birthday to me and literally all smiles, theyre very happy to see me happy.

I really appreciate every single thing they do. Even if Mom and Sis brought the cupcakes themselves, ofcourse kak Adel ( the FA whom Mom and Sis spoke to for the surprise ) made an extra effort to really asked for every crews serving the biz class to write birthday greetings for me. Whats even more is the captain of the flight even wrote for me and also wrote ‘God bless you’ im deeply touched.

Do note once again it is a very short flight, the crews should be rushing everything. But things are very calm on this specific flight and the service was beyond amazing. This is the kind of service that makes Garuda deserve World’s best cabin crews. I wish more FAs are like kak Adel, very sincere, has high initiative and would go up and beyond.

Group photo – with all the crews serving the J class cabin. Kak Adel is in green uniform second from the left.

When we’re on our way from the airport to our hotel, Mom and Sis told me that at first they’re worried because kak Adel told them that there are no spare plates in the aircraft because all the meals are pre-prepaid so they just reheat them. But you see at last they use the plate for cups, thats completely fine at least they figure something out. And what amazes me is the fact that Kak Adel literally brought other cabin crews like 5 of them to celebrate my birthday. Like on that specific 10 minutes, can you imagine the 6 biz class crews for 2 biz class cabins was there to celebrate my birthday, they dont think whether the singing would bother ( with the singing and all )all passenger ( and see, other passengers were curious and see whats going on and was smiling because they adored the crew’s work ! ) the crew went all out to make my birthday so special, they came to me one by one to personally wish me a very happy birthday.

If you’re curious about the surprise moment, you can watch the video on my youtube channel : Elena Bensawan or check my Personal Instagram account’s ‘18’ highlight :)

Conclusion:
I cant thank all the cabin crews and pilots enough for simply everything. The service was amazing for this specific flight and with the birthday surprise, it really made this flight simply my best Garuda flight.

Kak Adel ( one of the FAs ) was amazing. I will definetely highlight her during my guest speaker session at Garuda’s uplifting class at Garuda Indonesia Training Centre in the near future.
And on this article, I’d like to also mention about Kak Maranatha, my close friend who works in Garuda as cabin crew, she got amazing personality and GA is definetely so lucky to have her. One day, if you’re reading this, kak Maranatha, please know that Im so blessed to know you. And Everytime I fly GA, I always hope I could bumped into you on the flight. I really do.

Thought I can honestly say Garuda’s service is inconsistent. Like fair enough, I understand that there is never a perfect flight or a perfect service. And that no one is perfect. Cabin crews are just humans. They have a tough job in not only serving passengers, but to also ensure passengers’ safety. While having to look neat and professional at all times. I always appreciate them, always. And whenever I get bad service, I always remind myself, that life is never perfect as well, some days are great, but other days may be harder to get through. They can also have bad days, its very human. Whatever it is, as a passenger, respect and appreciate them whenever and whatever. Like the saying, respect others so others will respect you.

Anyways, though as mentioned I said its inconsistent, some of the crews and some flights are simply amazing. So keep it up Garuda :) show the world that you have world’s best cabin crews and soar higher than ever.
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Date : 1 July 2018
Aircraft : A330-200
Flight Number : GA 425
Route : Denpasar (DPS) - Jakarta (CGK)
Cabin class : Business Class

The next day after my birthday, I had to fly back to Jakarta because I had morning class on Monday Morning #StudentLife

GA425 is a night flight and is operated by an A330 ( ofcourse I always choose twin aisle planes whenever I can ;) )

After the meal service, I spoke with a cabin crew that I just had my birthday yesterday, and as #AviationGeek , it would mean a lot to me if I could get birthday greetings from all of the crews onboard.

( Mom is amazing, shes knows me best. She prepared 2 birthday cards for me, 1 during the surprise on the CGK-DPS sector and one for the return flight ( cause she said she need to do back up incase the FAs of the CGK-DPS flight is uncooperative lol, - as usual Moms always have plan A B Cs )
Ofcourse she said yes! ( I kept the other empty greeting card with me as, me and my sister is taking a flight later than Mom & Dad due to full load on the A330 and I want to fly on the A330 im so sorry - we have to fly seperately ) im not being so picky but then knowing that you can get something better with the price that you pay, who wouldnt resist? :)

Back to the birthday vibes, the FA came to me with the greeting card filled with wishes from the crews! :)

Then whats more, she then came with another FA and sang a short happy birthday while clapping their hands, personally say it to me, then asked me to look at the IFE screen. Guess what, I saw my name. They made a personalized message for me, for my seat. The screen says ‘ happy birthday E L E N A , wish u all the best :) ‘

How extra can it be?? Can I ask for more??

Weeks after my birthday, I met Kak Yora, a friend who was working as an A330 FO in GA, she said she just knew having those personalised messages on passengers’ IFE’s is possible. Wow.

Our flight lands just 20 minutes later than my Parents’ , they waited for us at the arrival gate. And on our way back home, Mom kept on sharing her experience on her B737 , she said the Pursor was sooo attentive and even addressed Mom & Dad with their names ( a very light load only 4/8 ) but the seats are dirty and the recline is so limited lollll, and I reminded her, hey Mom Garuda just recently threw me a surprise, just see the good in them hahaha ( well I was joking, because we had same feeling towards Garuda lol )