Flight Segment 3 : Airfast PK-OCC to Sangatta

The long process of baggage claim for my Citilink flight in Sepinggan Airport made me quite worry about my connecting flight to Sangatta. After I waited for about 20 minutes, baggages rolled around the baggage conveyor, and I managed to collect my luggage. I proceed straight to the Departure section of the airport, which in this case it did not take a very long time to reach the departure area of the airport, since it is mainly a regional airport.

 waiting area in the boarding gate at Sepinggan Airport

The check-in process was smooth, and this time airport tax must be paid in separate counter with the check-in counter. The airport tax for Sepinggan is Rp 40,000 which is equivalent to around SGD 5.50. Before entering boarding gate, we have to go through a security screening and proceed to the waiting area near the gate. I waited for around 30 minutes for the boarding call, in which I could spend my time reading the 'Angkasa' (Sky) magazine which makes time passed very fast.

 

Inside the bus that took us to the airplane.

Note the TV in the bus is playing the safety video

Shortly after the boarding call was made, passengers heading for Sangatta would be taken by a bus to the airplane that is parked in a remote stand. In the bus, there is a television playing the safety video of the airplane, which is a CASA 212 airplane.

The load factor of the aircraft was around 50 percent, which allows me to have the row for myself, as there is no other passenger seated beside me. During the 50 minutes flight to the town of Sangatta, definitely there's no meal service or inflight entertainment, but there are some spectacular views below that is worth for our camera shots, since these scenery is not common in cities such as Singapore or Jakarta.

Views of Balikpapan while climbing

Cabin shot of the 20-seater airplane

Due to the noise level created by the engines, passengers have to wear earplugs, including me. 

 Safety instructions of the aircraft 

Views of the Kalimantan rainforest while on approach to Tanjung Bara Airfield 

Tanjung Bara Airfield Building

 CASA 212 after landing in Tanjung Bara Airfield

At around 11.50am, the 20-seater CASA 212 airplane touched down in Tanjung Bara Airfield runway. After the plane had stopped completely in the parking stand in front of the small terminal building, passengers were exiting the aircraft from the rear door. By then, my mother and brother was already in the airport to pick me up.

Flight Segment 2: Citilink flight GA 060

 

 Citilink flight 60 in Juanda Airport Surabaya

 

I was so surprised that even before 6 am, the sun has started to rise in Surabaya. Unlike in Singapore, where 6 am would still as dark as night time.

I went to the airport by car, and it did not took a very long time to reach the airport, thanks to the newly opened highway that could link the airport and downtown, also at the early morning of around 6 am, traffic was definitely not heavy, but I could see that the congestion was already building up to reach its peak at maybe around 7 to 8 am, where most of the working people would head for their respective offices.

I managed to reach Juanda International Airport at 6.25 am, which means I have to rush because the flight is scheduled to depart at 6.50 am. In the domestic flight terminal, there was a large crowd of passengers bound for different flights to destinations across Indonesia. My flight's check-in queue is still quite long actually. Check-in process in the Citilink airlines counter was just fine, the process was quick and efficient.

I rushed to the assigned boarding gate in a worry that the time was quite tight, and again.. I saw a long queue there for the second security screening. Boarding process was quite long, because of the full load of the flight today. We were escorted to the bus that will take us to the airplane, which was parked at a parking stand away from the gate.

Morning flight gave me the opportunity to see some of the international visitors of Juanda Airport, such as China Airlines Airbus A330 or the Cathay Pacific Boeing 777. I sat on the emergency exit row this time, providing me with more legroom on this short 1 hour 10 minutes hop between Surabaya and Balikpapan.

Friendly legroom in Emergency Exit row 

Armrest tray tables is used in emergency exit rows

 

The Citilink Boeing 737-400 after arriving Sepinggan Airport

 Sepinggan Airport in Balikpapan 

During the flight I chose to just sleep and let the time pass by. By the time I woke up, the airplane was already on approach to Balikpapan's Sepinggan Airport, and landed in the airport's only runway around 10-15 minutes later.

Surabaya : Family Business

I have less than 24 hours in Surabaya before continuing on to Balikpapan, in which I had to use my time to visit my extended family members from both my mother and father side, and eat my favorite pangsit mie I stayed in my grandma's house before continuing on for my early morning 6.50am flight to Balikpapan.

Flight segment 1 : Valuair Flight VF 247

I headed for gate C19 at around 12.30pm in which I had to wait in the gate for around 20 minutes. Boarding call was very organised by Valuair, as staff were calling passengers to board the airplane row by row, using the order of the tail rows of the flight 25-30 allowed to board first, followed by passengers in middle rows and the last group of passengers allowed to board was the passengers seated at first few rows in the airplane.

The pilot-in-command at that day, Capt. Alvin Tan welcomed us on board through the public address system. The flight lifted off from Changi on time, and headed for Juanda International in Surabaya on the two hours flight. Although Valuair and its parent company, Jetstar is a low-cost carrier, but a coconut taste bun and a glass of water were provided free of charge, followed by meals and beverages that is offered on a buy-on-board basis.

During the flight, I took some pictures of the cabin from my seat, and the skies outside the window, which was very clear on that day. After snapping some pictures, I slept for the rest of the flight, until I have missed the distribution of the immigration card of Indonesia, which is compulsory to be filled upon arrival by every international passengers arriving to the country. We touched down at Surabaya in a clear weather, 10 minutes ahead of estimated time of arrival (ETA).

I managed to get the immigration card in the airport and managed to passed through customs uneventfully. Claimed my luggage and met my family for a whole day family business in Surabaya.