SilkAir is Singapore Airlines’ (SQ) regional full service subsidiary, used for routes that are two thin for an SQ widebody to serve profitably.  SilkAir does have its own website, but it’s services are also sold through the main SQ site, sometimes using an SQ codeshare flight number, which is how I bought my ticket as part of a journey from London to Bali and from Java back to London in August 2019.  I was very keen to see if SilkAir offered the same high levels of service as its parent, but I wasn’t prepared for the shambles that is Jogjakarta airport (JOG); possibly the worst airport I’ve travelled through! (a new airport is due to open in 2020).

JOG: I’ve already commented on JOG’s failings in terms of aircraft movements for arriving domestic pax, so this review looks at my experience as a departing international pax.  This small airport is busy. The check in area was overcrowded, and although SilkAir (MI) offered a separate business class counter we had to practically climb over people to get to it.  Check in went OK though and when I asked the agent where the business class lounge was he said “Gate 4”.

We proceeded through security to the domestic departures area because international departures lay beyond that. I did see a “Concordia Lounge” but only gates one to three.  So we went to international departures where a young lady checked the boarding passes and passports of those entering. She told me the business lounge was inside, so we went through passport control and then a bizarre ‘security’ check, just checking for liquids and only in hand baggage. As we stood in a queue I could see pax putting their water or juice bottles in their pockets and just walking through!

We found ourselves in a very crowded gate waiting area (with our MI pax plus an Air Asia departure) without any sign of a business class lounge.  So I turned round and went back under a cordon to avoid the liquids security and got an immigration officer to let us walk back through passport control, to ask the lady agent why she’d directed us to the wrong place.  And lucky I went back:  The lady told us very matter-of-factly that our suitcases had not cleared check-in security, and she escorted us out of the building and back in through the street-side entrance we’d been at 30 minutes earlier, and back to the MI check in desks.  The check in staff could not speak enough English to tell us what was happening, so Mr A intervened in Bahasa Malay. A security man appeared and showed us our two cases and said that only one of them (Mr A’s) had to be opened because their systems had detected something prohibited.  When the case was opened the security man took hold of a can of mosquito repellant which we’d brought onto Java from Bali without problem. He pointed to the can’s “Toxic” sign before taking it away and allowing our bags to go through to our aircraft.  How did they suspect that can, next to deodorant cans in the bag, was toxic?  And what would have happened if I hadn’t gone back to the agent? I suppose both of our bags would still be in JOG.

The lady walked us back through domestic security, where she then pointed to the Concordia Lounge I’d seen earlier and told us that’s where we should have headed to.  But by this time we didn’t have the time to use the lounge, but I wanted to go in just to see what we’d missed out on.

The lounge was a joke!  About 16 chairs were crammed together, there was a TV and a derisory food and drink offering.  I was glad we weren’t staying, and our lady took us back through passport control and liquid security into the overcrowded gate lounge.  Our lady was very apologetic about the misunderstanding; she was new in the job and she felt her English wasn’t very good.

I eventually found a seat by encouraging a very reluctant lady to vacate the ‘priority seat’ she was fraudulently using, and tried to relax before our impending flight.  I could see our plane outside, alone on the apron.

Then a weird thing happened: our flight was called for boarding through the only ‘gate’, but the sign above referred to the Air Asia flight, which was obviously delayed because the plane hadn’t landed yet.  But the lack of aircraft didn’t bother all the Air Asia pax, who rushed forward to board too!

The flight:  So at 17:25 we finally climbed the steps and boarded flight MI153/SQ5157 which was being operated by the 2 year old B737-800 9V-MGQ.  The front cabin had 12 chocolate brown leather recliner seats laid out 2-2 over 3 rows, separated by a 40″ pitch.  Everything in the cabin seemed new, bright, clean and in good order.  There was an overhead IFE screen, plus an i-Pad in the seat pocket in front! We were offered only apple or orange juice (I’m guessing because Java is a muslim dominated island) and a hot towel when we sat down, along with one menu to share.  We had to give our order there and then, then the FA took the menu back.

Doors closed some 24 minutes ahead of schedule, at 17:36 and we pushed back from stand at 17:39. We didn’t have to wait too long for our turn to use the shared taxi and runway and we took off at 17:48 from runway 09.

My meal consisted of a starter of a small bowl of coleslaw with a gristly piece of cold chicken on top, and a warm main course of chicken, potatoes, veg and a tomato sauce. The chicken was dry and tough, the vegetables were overcooked and the sauce was astringent. I didn’t dare touch a piece of purple cake topped with sugar cream. Two small pieces of garlic bread were ‘OK’. 2/10

Happily alcohol was served at this stage of the flight. After my request for “chardonnay” the FA produced a quarter bottle and poured me a measure. She then took the still part-filled bottle away!  Later on, when she came to collect my tray and asked me if I’d like more wine, she returned with a new bottle and did exactly the same thing!  My questions for SilkAir are; why and what happens to the bottle remnants??

We landed on Singapore’s runway 20 at 20:40 and got to stand F32 at 20:50, some 10 minutes ahead of schedule.

This SilkAir flight’s cabin environment was comparable to the short-haul operations of Garuda and Malaysia Airlines, and perfectly good enough for a two hour flight.  Just as I’ve found on Garuda and Malaysia in the region, catering was poor, although it was nice to have alcohol served, however curiously.  The FAs were pleasant enough, but they wouldn’t warrant the extra praise their long haul colleagues in SQ regularly receive.  So, just like  GA and MH, I score MI 6/10