When traveling to Asia there is bound to be a few airlines that you’ve never heard about before… Especially when traveling to more remote destinations! On our last trip to the country, we we flew Batik Air from Jakarta to Bandar Lampung en route to Krui Indonesia. Below you’ll find our Batik Air review as well as what to expect in Economy and Business Class.
First, we should start off by saying we didn’t actually book a Batik Air flight! We originally had something scheduled on their partner airline Lion Air after finding a cheap flight on Skyscanner. The night before we were in our airport hotel and received an email that our flight had been cancelled.
When we logged in it gave us some other options to change our travel plans and we switched to an earlier route on their partner Batik Air. Even though our original flight was canceled, the only thing that changed was that we had to leave for the airport 30 minutes earlier. So after a mini-freak out of thinking our plans were screwed up it all ended up okay.
Jakarta → Bandar Lampung
Departure: 9:30am
Arrival: 10:20am
Cost: 992,980 IDR / $63.53 USD
Bandar Lampung → Jakarta
Departure: 2:00pm
Arrival: 2:50pm
Cost: 992,980 IDR /$ 63.53 USD
We had traveled from Bangkok Thailand to Jakarta the day before on Air Asia and spent the night in an airport hotel. This actually wasn’t the first time we had stayed overnight at Jakarta International Airport. We usually stay at the 101 Airport CBC as they have comfortable beds, free shuttle service, and a rooftop restaurant with city views.
One nice thing about Batik Air is that even though it was an inexpensive flight they didn’t try to up-charge us with everything. So commonly with budget airlines we find the actual price to be much more after you get to baggage and other add ons.
Unfortunately, Batik Air website wasn’t working for us so we weren’t able to check-in online. We arrived at the airport 2 hours prior to departure and waited in the busy line. Batik Air Economy Class offers free baggage up to 20kg so we checked our luggage and headed to the terminal.
Our route was a domestic flight leaving from terminal 3 at Jakarta International Airport. There are plenty of shops and decent restaurants before security. However, if you wait until after know that you’re only going to have some small snack stands available.
We stopped into a coffee shop to grab a hot drink and toast before heading though security. The only issue that we had was that flight gate was changed from D5 to D3. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, but there was no signs on the display screen!
We understand that there was probably an announcement that wasn’t in English, but if we didn’t ask at the gate we would have been in trouble.
Honestly, we didn’t even realize there had been a gate change until it was past boarding time and no one was lined up. Thankfully, our new gate was close and we were able to quickly make the change.
This is where things got interesting! We were also traveling with some friends and family and two people in our party hadn’t arrived yet.
However, they only had limited time to make the transfer after a flight from Singapore. Our friends had to race from the international terminal to the domestic, check-in, AND pass security.
Knowing we were going to need some help, we asked one of the gate representatives for Batik Air. To make a long story short, the gentleman went above and beyond. If it wasn’t for his assistance our friends would have surely missed the flight! This customer service made up for any technical issues we might of had with their website.
The first thing we thought of when boarding the plane was that it was really nice! We’ve flown long haul flights in the US and Europe with planes that weren’t this new and comfortable.
The seats were leather and the plane was larger then expected for such a quick trip. There is a Batik Air Business Class section (photo below) but when the flight is so short we can’t see how it would be worth it to pay 3x the price. Maybe on a longer flight the Batik Air Business Class would be worth looking into though.
In the Batik Air Economy Class section each chair had its own tv. Here you had movies, games, music, and everything you might want for a much longer journey.
When we turned on our screens we were shocked to see that the flight time was just 23 minutes. We had expected it to be almost an hour! What was even more shocking was that they still handed out a small water and bread pastry.
We’ve flown airlines for 8 hours and didn’t even get a glass of water! In no time, there was an announcement from the captain telling the crew to prepare for landing.
Just 10 days later we were back in Bandar Lumpung on our way to Jakarta. We traveled to Sumatra for the holidays and had an amazing time with our family at Kruinaka Villa. This time around we didn’t book our flight back to Jakarta until a few days before we left. We had a great experience flying with Batik Air so decided to use them again for the quick trip!
When we got to the airport we were surprised by the thermal scanners and x-ray machines that you had to pass though to get to the check-in counters. We had about an hour to wait before our flight, and while the airport is small the terminal is actually pretty nice.
Once again, we were flying in Batik Air Economy Class. Yet, it turned out to be a different type of airplane on the way back. The flight was older and not as clean as when we flew to Jakarta. Still, the service was solid and the flight was so quick it didn’t matter. If we had a longer flight we my have been disappointed in an older model plane.
While we only had a short flight with Batik Air we were pleasantly surprised. Batik Air and Lion Air are partners, but Batik is the knowm as the more upscale airline of the two.
Based off our our first experience, if we were traveling in Indonesia we would definitely fly with Batik Air again! Really, the only airline that we would also look into is Indonesia’s flagship carrier Garuda Air.
According to their website, Batik Air connects 44 destinations (mostly in Indonesia) and operates over 300 flights daily. The hub is out of Jakarta as well. So if you are traveling extensively through the country you will likely have a flight route offered by Batik Air.
→ Did you like our Batik Air review? Check out more of our awesome airline reviews here!
Have any questions about our Batik Air review or want to share your experience flying Batik Air Business Class? Let us know in the comments below!
Safe Travels,
Brigitte & Jake
Where in the world are we? Follow our daily adventures on Instagram @nothingfamiliar!
Flights: We always find deals using Skyscanner and Kayak. That’s how we got flights from Singapore to Bali for $60 USD, and Bali to Surabaya for less than $40!
Accommodation: Compare competitive sites for hotels such as Booking.com and Agoda. Also, Hostelworld should be your go-to source if you’re traveling on a budget.
Transportation: 12Go is where we look first in Asia for ferries, trains, buses, and transfers! From speed boats to the Gili Islands and bus transfers around the country.
Tours: Check out Get Your Guide for activities all over Bali. We recommend taking a sunrise Mount Batur hike with breakfast, an authentic cooking class in a local village, and the Ubud waterfall tour!
Travel Insurance: Never travel abroad without being covered. We’ve been using SafetyWing for the last few years on the road and they are there when we need them.
Packing Lists: Here’s all the inspiration you need with our Amazon packing lists. Including electronics and camera gear, must-have medical items, and long flight essentials!
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