I've flown Japan Airlines first class several times before, so was super excited about finally trying their business class product, on both their 767 and 777. I boarded through the forward door, where I was greeted by the cabin manager and a very friendly flight attendant. Upon presenting my boarding pass I was pointed down…
Continue reading: Review: Japan Airlines Business Class 767 Singapore To Tokyo
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Air Canada had herringbone pods on some of their 767's... 3 across. I know it's not reverse herringbone, but its still nicer than 6 across.
These seats look like those ones on ANA 777 business. It seems there is only minor modification.
@mike murphy old biz seats (shell flat neo) on 787-8 are being replaced with new generation seats (B/E aerospace apex suite). Not all of Dreamliners have been refurbished though... there are some long haul routes such as Osaka - Los Angeles or Narita - San Deigo/Vancoucer that still are operated by 787s with old biz seats. JAL introduced 787s in 2012, but they weren't able to put newer generation biz seats on those new jets due to their financial trouble and bankruptcy... this is the reason why some of JAL's fleet (some 787-8s, all 777-200ERs) still feature horribly outdated hard products.
And thank you for this trip report Ben! I really want to fly JAL's internal-Asia routes but never got to try one except for Tokyo (Narita/Haneda) - Seoul (Incheon/Gimpo). I didn't really care that much about hard product as Tokyo-Seoul flights are like two hours long. While Japanese flight crews are always pleasant and extrmely efficient and service oriented, I found meal to be not as good as Korean carriers. But now things have changed as Korean carriers have cut back cost on intra-Asia meals. Especially Asiana's in-flight meal quality is deteriorating thanks to their parent company (Kumho Asiana Group) going through so much financial troubles. Now on its Japan flights, Asiana doesn't anything but water and orange juice on economy class (since when did coke become a such a luxury commodity that can be only served in business class?). Cost-cutting can also be felt on Korean Air's meal as well. Compare to those two airlines, in my opinion, JAL's in flight meal is pretty decent.
I flew them back in December from Honolulu to Narita. The seat was kind of narrow but I guess they cater mostly to their own clients rather than western builds. The food was well, unique. The crew were friendly. More of a professional kind of friendly, not casual like the Japanese crew that you would find on CX. I also had some Thai crew on my flight. Odd Anyways, I enjoyed my flight on JAL.
Regarding the eye refresher, I've used it. Just put it over your eyes and let it set for a few minutes. That's it!
P.s. CX now has 2 744's left with the last flight on October 1st from Haneda - Hong Kong. It's sold out.
@Dave - The eye mask comes with it. Standard.
"There were standard things, like a toothbrush and toothpaste, as well as earplugs and an eye mask. Then there were also some random things you’ll mostly only find on Japanese airlines, like an eye mask and eye refresher."
@Mike O. - Wondering what Lucky meant by this. Probably a typo
Nice review Lucky. Your pictures (especially the food shots) look significantly better since you got the new camera.
"...and every time I’d walk towards the front of the cabin to visit it, I noticed one of the flight attendants running into it to make sure it was clean, and then she’d hold the door open for me as I entered."
This really explains why I prefer service on Asian airlines so much better. For American airlines, no matter how good their hard product is, I probably won't expect anything like this.
Cabin looks nice and crew friendly but hate the small foot cubby (experienced this on SWISS) and also really don't like a warm cabin on overnight flights, I rarely need a blanket as it is. Sounds like JAL not an ideal choice for an overnight flight for me given this!