My Aero Dili A320 flight from Bali to Dili in economy class was the sort of flight you might expect long ago in much of the world but is still true in parts of East Asia today.
Aero Dili A320 Economy Class – My First Impressions
Aero Dili has a fleet of two aircraft one A319 and one A320. The A319 actually has angled lie-flat seats in business class while the A320 has standard recliner seats in business class. But today, I was flying in economy class on the A320.
The seats were plush, even though they were Recaro slimline seats, because of very generous padding. Legroom was decent.
As in decades past, 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 and duty free catalog.
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.
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 drama, I was hungry… and enjoyed 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).
We flew over several remote islands of Indonesia before circling over Dili.
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.
Finally walking off the plane, I was hit by a blast of heat…it’s warm here.
Next up: immigration (and what I failed to do beforehand, despite a reader urging me to do it, that cost me a lot of time…)
Full review of this flight coming later. Great flight!
I’m sharing about my whirlwind trip through Asia.
This is such a fantastic series of posts. Well done, Matthew. You are the “everyman” of our world of travel and why you are so respected.
It’s true tho. Almost every other travel influencer is all international lie flat first and business all the time
Nice jacket! Glad to see a smile after all that trouble. Beautiful photos en route. Enjoy!
So happy to read that Matthew made it to Timor Leste. Many posts about the airline or the airport or the country would be welcomed.
This has been a very fun series to read. Given the heat and rushing around and uncertainty– perhaps more fun to read about than to actually do, but definitely fun to read. Looking forward to hearing more.
This journey of yours is inspiring many of us to travel more and go beyond our comfort zone. I like the mention of historical facts, local interaction, relaxed photos and food of course. That’s what travel blogging should do… tell a story and inspire. Although I must admit that I prefer Asian fruits (like durian, lychee and jackfruit) over Taco Bell.
Glad you made the flight.
I’m confused why you keep referring to South East Asia as East Asia. It’s not.
How would you refer to it? Doesn’t “east” include “north east” and “south east” ?
I studied the region in undergrad and post-grad and here’s what I learned:
East Asia generally refers to North-East Asia, specifically Japan, Korea, China. Don’t ask me why it’s not clarified as “North-East Asia”, but it generally isn’t specified.
South East Asia refers to Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia. The ASEAN grouping of countries is a good proxy for defining South-East Asia.
South Asia refers to Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal
Central Asia refers to the five “stans”: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan.
There are some grey areas, where the definition is more about cultural associations than geographic. Papua New Guinea for instance is culturally melanesian so viewed as part of Oceania and not South-East Asian. Vietnam could be categorized socially as more part of a Confucian culture so can be lumped into “East Asia” into “South-East Asia”, though I don’t think this is very common any longer.
Interesting. Thanks for this explanation.
Seja bem-vindo a Timor-Leste!
I’m glad you made it.
Honestly he’s like a model. So handsome.
Complementary hot meal for economy class have been disappeared in North American short haul routes for decades.
Well done Aero Dili!