Did you know the airline, Garuda Indonesia was named after a Dutch poem? In 1949 the first Indonesian President, Sukarno cited the poet named Noto Soeroto on the occasion of the naming and foundation of Indonesia’s national airline Garuda, “Ik ben Garuda, Vishnoe’s vogel, die zijn vleugels uitslaat hoog boven uw eilanden”, which translates into English to:
“I am Garuda, Vishnoe’s bird which spread its wing high above your archipelago.”
I was invited to experience and photograph Garuda Indonesia’s new inflight business and first class dining at Mascot airport recently. The new menu is in line with Garuda Indonesia’s new service concept under the title ‘Garuda Indonesia Experience’ which sets out to combine friendliness with strong atmosphere of Indonesia hospitality that roots in the culture of the nation. It is also fair to say that the meals onboard a Garuda Indonesia flight do not feel like you are eating typical ‘plane food’, which is pleasing change and it was such a pleasurable and delightful experience.
An interesting fact is that there is a chef on board each of Garuda Indonesia’s flights (about 125 of them). Garuda Indonesia brought the head chef of Garuda Indonesia’s in flight meal services to Australia, along with the VP of Inflight Services, to showcase to us what has earned Garuda Indonesia the accolade of World’s Best Cabin Staff for 2014.
Garuda Indonesia, the airline of Indonesia, has signed a five year contract with Alpha Flight Services to cater all of the airline’s Australian ports (Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane). Alpha Flight Services chefs will work with the airline to offer the cuisine within its recently introduced new service concept across Business and Economy Class from Australia to Denpasar and Jakarta.
Signed at Sydney airport, the contract is unique in the industry as most catering contracts span a maximum of two to three years, demonstrating the two company’s commitment to premium quality in flight food service.
Garuda Indonesia VP Inflight Services Luigi D’Alessio said “One of our biggest concerns when developing our world class new service concept was that we needed a catering company that could match our vision; with our chef on board and multiple menu choices. Alpha is one of only two companies worldwide that we are signing five year contracts with, so this shows the level of confidence we have in Alpha’s expertise”.
Commenting on the contract, Pak Uun Setiawan, Vice President for Garuda Indonesia Australia and SWP agreed with D’Alessio, saying “The highest level of service and quality is required of Garuda Indonesia inflight products, and we are happy to partner with a company as dedicated to excellence as Alpha”.
Pat Osborne, Alpha Catering sales manager agreed with these sentiments, saying: “It’s fair to say it’s unusual and really exciting to sign a five year contract, both companies are committed to delivering on the new menus and meal service initiatives put in place by Garuda Indonesia”.
The partnership was celebrated with a tasting event in which media and travel trade guests enjoyed a full long haul First and Business Class menu, sampling aspects of Garuda Indonesia’s three menu choices; Modern European, regional Indonesian and Japanese Kaiseki.
The new service concept developed by Garuda Indonesia includes such touches as a chauffeuring services, assisted check-in, on-board chefs in both Business, award winning luxury amenities kits and First and a First Class Butler.
Garuda has been awarded 58 awards in 2014, including Best Cabin Crew by Skytrax, Passenger Choice Award in both the Asia and Australian regions, and Indonesian Customer Satisfaction Award 2014 for the best airline to achieve total customer satisfaction, and Service Quality Award 2014, among others.
I will now leave you with more photos of my food photography from Garuda Indonesia’s Food Experience.
For further information, call Garuda Indonesia on 1300 365 330 or visit
www.garuda-indonesia.com
About Garuda Indonesia
Presenting a new level of service excellence in air travel, Garuda Indonesia, the national airline of Indonesia, seamlessly connects more than 60 destinations worldwide to not only one of the largest economies in Southeast Asia, but also a plethora of exotic locations in the beautiful archipelago of Indonesia all at once. With approximately 500 daily flights and a fleet of around 130 aircraft, Garuda Indonesia proudly serves our passengers with the award-winning “Garuda Indonesia Experience” service, which highlights Indonesia’s warm hospitality and rich diverse culture.
After receiving the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certificate in 2008 and becoming a registered IOSA Operator, Garuda Indonesia implements security and safety standards that puts it on par with other leading IATA member airlines. The airline continuously strives, through its ongoing transformation program, to provide better and more convenient services with one of the youngest fleets in the sky, which should grow to around 194 aircraft by 2015.
In line with improvements in various aspects of its performance and service, Garuda Indonesia has won a number of accolades and recognition from both national and international institutions, including “The World’s Best Economy Class” award from Skytrax and the “Best in Region: Asia and Australasia”, by the “Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX)”.
For further information, please log on to www.garuda-indonesia.com or follow @GarudaAustralia on Twitter, @GarudaIndonesiaAus on Instagram and Garuda Indonesia Australia on Facebook.