Aero Dili A320 Economy Class: Old School Charm

By Leila

a man and two women posing for a picture

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.

an airplane at an airport

people standing in a room with a group of people

people walking on a walkway

The seats were plush, even though they were Recaro slimline seats, because of very generous padding. Legroom was decent.

a row of seats in an airplane

a man sitting in an airplane
Still exhausted from the drama…

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).

food on a tray on a plane

The meal included a bottle of water, sliced beef with white rice and broccoli, a banana, and a very soupy chocolate pudding.

a tray of food on a tray

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).

a cup of soup and a packet of sugar

We flew over several remote islands of Indonesia before circling over Dili.

a group of people sitting in an airplane

an island in the ocean

an airplane wing over a body of water and mountains

a city next to a body of water

an airplane wing over a body of water with a city and mountains in the background

a plane on the runway
We pulled up next to the Aero Dili A319, the only other aircraft in the fleet

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.

a woman walking in an airplane

a man and two women standing in an airplane

a man and woman posing for a picture

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.

a man taking a selfie in front of an airplane

a road with a sign and flags

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.