My Aero Dili A320 journey from Bali to Dili in economy class was an excellent flight with a full meal, despite its short length, and friendly service onboard.
Aero Dili A320 Economy Class Review (DPS-DIL)
My trip to Timor-Leste was a spur-of-the-moment decision the day before to visit the only country in the region that I had not previously visited. I’m on a quest to visit every country in the world.
Booking
Due to the very tight connection in Bali, I paid $40 extra to make the ticket refundable. The one-way economy class journey cost $272.60 and I booked it with Trip.com the day before travel.
Check-In
You can read my two-part check-in saga below.
- So Close, Yet So Far: My Attempt To Reach Timor-Leste Falls Apart
- Unbelievable! Aero Dili Calls Me Back, Lets Me Board Flight To Timor-Leste
Once my boarding pass was issued, it was an easy journey through security and to my gate, where boarding had commenced.
Aero Dili (8G) 182
Bali (DPS) – Dili (DIL)
Sunday, November 2
Depart: 1:25 PM
Arrive: 4:20 PM
Duration: 1hr, 55min
Aircraft: Airbus A320
Distance: 708 miles
Seat: 6A (Economy Class)
I was one of the last to board, though we ended up sitting for quite a while and pushing back after scheduled departure time.
Seat
Aero Dili has a fleet of two aircraft: one A319 and one A320. Today, I was flying in economy class on the A320, which features 168 sets, including 12 seats in business class and 156 in economy class.
The seats were plush, even though they were Recaro slimline seats, because of very generous padding. Legroom was decent: seat pitch felt like 31 inches, though I did not bring my tape measure.
Individual air vents and reading lights are available above each seat.
The flight was about 70% full.
Service
Every flight attendant was a physically attractive young woman…it appears that strict dress, weight, and appearance standards are still required to be an Aero Dili flight attendant.
When we landed in Timor-Leste, I was last off the plane because I wanted to take to take some pictures of the cabin. A ground supervisor came onboard, motioned for my camera, and told two of the flight attendants to stand next to me and began taking pictures.
(I don’t like forcing anyone to take pictures, but the FAs assured me it was okay.)
Food + Drink
After takeoff, a complimentary warm meal was served, even though the flight was only 708 miles long (well under the meal service threshold in premium cabins, let alone economy class, on most U.S. carriers).
The meal included a bottle of water, sliced beef with white rice and broccoli, a banana, and a very soupy chocolate pudding.
After all the flight connection drama, I was hungry and ate the main course (I skipped the banana and chocolate pudding).
After trays were cleared, coffee or tea was offered and the coffee was strong and very respectable (coffee is the largest non-oil export of Timor-Leste), with grounds at the bottom.
IFE + Wi-Fi
there was no IFE (although the seat armrests had the old audio controls you could use to adjust channel and volume) and there was no Wi-Fi onboard. There were no power plugs, though there was an in-flight magazine, oecumenical prayer card, and duty free catalog.
> Read More: The Quirky Interfaith Prayer Card On Aero Dili
We flew over several remote islands of Indonesia before circling over Dili.
Lavatory
The aircraft features one lavatory in the front of the aircraft and two in the rear. The rear lavatory I used was spacious and clean, though the electronic control to activate the flush had fallen off and was hanging by a wire…
CONCLUSION
We landed 30 minutes late, which was not ideal considering how little time I had before my flight back to Bali the following morning. Nevertheless, I quite enjoyed the charming service and yes, even the lunch, onboard this short flight.
This route is also served by Citilink (a division of Garuda Indonesia), but I’d take the the flag carrier Aero Dili.
Finally, you can read about my customs and immigration experience here…it was a bit tedious.
> Read More: Customs And Immigration In Timor-Leste Was A Mild Debacle
This is truly a wonderful trip report! It’s a route that I’d like to take. Photos include the airport.
While I do not aspire to travel to every country in the world, Timor Leste is a country that interests me.
Do you keep all your old passports as a souvenir of which places stamped your passport?
I have one of my deceased grandfather’s diplomatic passports and it has a few stamps in it that informed me a tiny bit of where he went.
I do! One of my favorite earthly possessions, especially my first one in which I had four sections added to it.
Very cool. How far along are you in your quest to visit every country on the planet? I’m at 189, so a few stamps left to get. North Korea was the hardest to visit for me, but I was able to do so back in 2007…took me almost ten years of trying to get a visa…which they don’t even let you keep when you leave the country!
I’m at 155, with a lot of the hard ones left (though a handful in the Caribbean that should be easy enough).
I “stepped into North Korea” at the DMZ inside the blue bungalow in Panmunjom…not sure whether to count being in the DMZ on the northern side, but I really hope to visit Pyongyang at one point. May need a second passport for that, however.
Great trip report! Are the Air Dili FA’s locals or from Indonesia?
I remember my ex gf (who’s Indonesian FA) mentioning that her friend worked for Air Dili.
She showed me a picture of her together with the Pope onboard when he was being flown to TL.