- April 12, 2023
- Citilink 690
- Jakarta (CGK) – Bali (DPS)
- Departure: 1223(CGK)
- Arrival: 1503(DPS)
- Duration: 1:40
- Aircraft: Airbus A320-214
- Registration: PK-GQC
- Seat: 22C (Economy Class)
Hello from Bali where I will be spending a few days with my parent for my Marriott Bonvoy mattress run before the global promotion ends.
In this post, I will be reviewing the Indonesian low-cost airline, Citilink, which I took yesterday from Jakarta to Bali.
About Citilink
Citilink is a separate low-cost subsidiary of Garuda Indonesia founded back in 2001. Its main goal is to offer shuttle services between Indonesian cities. The airline has 50 narrowbodies in its fleet and used to have two brand new Airbus A330-900neos that were initially planned to be delivered to now-defunct WOW Air. However, the two A330s were transferred to Garuda Indonesia last year.
As of now, Citilink operates in 47 domestic and international destinations, with up to 330 daily flights.
Citilink CGK-DPS Check-In
Since you do not have to show up early for check-in on most domestic flights, we decided to get to Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta Airport(CGK) one hour before departure. On top of that, I have booked a meet and greet service provided by Joumpa which really helps you save time when the airport is crowded.
The staff will take care of every single formality prior to and after you arrive so as for us, we just have to arrive at the airport right before boarding time.
As soon as we arrived at the airport, two staff members were waiting for us in the drop-off area. They greeted us and surprisingly they already printed our boarding passes. All we had to do is to get to the gate and board our flight.
Citilink CGK-DPS Boarding
With the assistance of the Joumpa staff, we breezed through security to the gate within five minutes. As we reached the gate, the boarding was just starting so we wave through the crowd from the landside to our seats in a blink of an eye.
Citilink A320 Economy Class Cabin
Citilink currently has 50 Airbus A320-200 series including the A320neo. Both variants are configured in a single-class cabin with 180 seats. As usual, the cabin has a layout of 3-3 with select rows with extra legroom called ‘Green Zones.’
The cabin itself felt like Air Asia or other low-cost carriers in Indonesia with the exception that the airline is a sister airline of Garuda Indonesia so there was more of a Garuda-like full-service carrier atmosphere.
Citilink A320 Economy Class Seats
As mentioned above, there are two separate seat types on the A320s: Regular Zone and Green Zone. The Regular Zone has a seat pitch of 28in (71cm) and a width of 17.5in (44.4cm) while the Green Zone has a pitch between 29in ~ 38in (76cm ~95cm) with the same width.
This particular aircraft is almost nine years old so seat coverings were rather aged quite a lot. Moreover, I was a little disappointed with the cleanliness of the seats as there were smudges and chip crumbs on the seat.
The airline offers hot dishes and beverages on board for purchase during the flight. You can also pre-book the meal during your booking. Also, there is an inflight duty-free sale during the flight where you can check the items from the booklet on the seat pocket.
One thing that caught my eye was there is a card with prayers in different religions on every seat. From Christian prayer to Buddhism, the airline list six different prayers for a safe journey.
Reading lights and air conditioning vents are available to every passenger. The AC vent is especially important as Indonesia is a hot and humid country and trust me you would definitely need one to make yourself comfortable under the scorching sun.
Citilink A320 Economy Class Lavatory
There are three lavatories on the A320 – one forward, just behind the flight deck, and the other two in the aft of the cabin. All of them are equipped with liquid hand soap and were kept clean, unlike some airlines…
Summary
Yesterday, I flew from Jakarta to Bali with an airline I have never tried yet – Cilitlink. The airline is a sister airline of Garuda Indonesia and serves large numbers of domestic and international destinations.
My first impression of the flight was, although it is a low-cost carrier, the overall passenger experience was not too bad. Except for the cleanliness of the seat itself, I find it a great competitor for Air Asia and many other LCCs.
