New Japan Airlines Osaka To Los Angeles Flight

I think you have an error, " Japan Airlines announced that they will be introducing daily nonstop 787 service between Osaka and Los Angeles as of March 20, 2014." I think you mean March, 14 2015...

Do you mean starting March 20, 2015? Otherwise, maybe it is on Northwest.

This is AWESOME!!!! I've been wanting to fly JAL 787 for quite some time now. Will hopefully get to fly JFK-NRT-JFK next year.

Flew JL HND-SFO J. Underwhelmed not only by hard product (obviously), but also soft. Service and food lacking. Amenity kit was a joke. It felt like E+, not J.

So the retrofit will be welcome, of course. But (at least in my one time experience) they will have to work on improving service as well.

How are they making money with 161 seat 787s?

@ Tony @ Christian -- Fixed, thanks.

@ Lucky
Any idea when the KIX-LAX awards will be bookable?

@ Mike -- I would assume the flight will be loaded into the schedule within a few days. I'll post as soon as I see it.

Lucky,

Osaka is the 3rd largest city, not 2nd. Yokohama is the 2nd largest.

I already have a ticket on hold for me and my wife for next year. Its not been loaded into US AIRWAYS though.

@ Leon -- Whoops, should have written "economy" and not "city," thanks.

Actually, Lucky was right the first time and Leon was wrong to correct him. Technically speaking, Osaka is the second largest city and Yokohama is the largest. Tokyo doesn't count because it is actually a prefecture-level entity composed of a bunch of smaller cities.

Oh to be pedantic. Yokohama and Tokyo are really both parts of one huge conurbation, Kanto, with no clear delineation between the two, which is why inaccurately Tokyo can and is sometimes described as the world's largest city. Whether Yokohama or Osaka is Japan's second city really does depend on whom you ask! And as for Osaka, the 'City of Osaka' is not that large if you seperate it from its greater conurbation and exclude the likes of Sakai.

As per the official release, JAL will deploy the new config with the upcoming 4 x 787s to be delivered starting next month. Remaining 788s and 789s to be delivered will also get the new config but JAL stopped short from saying if they will refurbish their existing 15 x 787s. Seems like the existing 787s will be gradually redeployed to short-mid haul Asian/leisure routes as new 788s/789s join the JL fleet.

Lucky, do you know when JL will be refurbing their Osaka-LAX 787 route?

I'm on that route in July and have my fingers crossed -- also hoping for CX space to open as I'm heading HKG to the east coast.