For the next portion of our winter ski trip to Niseko, we flew Japan Airlines Airbus A350-900 Class J on the 1hr10min flight from Tokyo Haneda (HND) to Sapporo (CTS). Domestic aviation in Japan is absolutely fascinating, since both All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines have dedicated domestic fleets, with high density layouts and different…
Continue reading: Review: Japan Airlines Domestic Class J Airbus A350 (HND-CTS)
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Regarding the paper cups they use, I get that they're going for sustainability, but I wish they'd go for a reusable option like ceramic or glass; don't you think single use cups defeats the purpose of trying to eliminate wastage?
Besides, I like my coffee in proper ceramicware anyway 😉
Nice review. It's a shame you don't review more Econ or PremEcon long haul products - I'm sure many of us would be interested in that.
The point of the blog is redeeming points for travel experiences that most people don't pay cash for. Economy is economy is economy - you're squeezed in, fed & watered to a tight budget, and have a few movies thrown at you. The only really difference is the uniforms on the cabin crew.
oh thank god.
for a second I thought you flew Economy.
Love your reviews. Thanks for the amazing content. Would love some help for a point review issue I'm having for late August if you happen to be bored and have time...
Very minor nitpick w/ JAL, but I wish they would market their class J as premium economy instead.
When you buy international business class tickets connecting out of HND, you get the domestic leg in class J, instead of First Class, which I think more accurately corresponds to international business class. I know it's hardly the end of the world considering Japan domestic flights are like an hour long, but still
The paper cups weigh next to nothing and can be recycled. Glass or ceramic would be considerably heavier. The combined, network-wide weight saving over the course of a year would mean a decent saving on the company's fuel bill. If you're doing short hops between Japanese cities, you can live with a paper cup.
That would be nice, but it mirrors the way public transport is in Japan though so it's likely acceptable and familiar for the local market. Class J is like JAL's version of Green Car lol. Then there's real first class on JAL domestic just like a few shinkansen routes.
Also, there is probably not enough domestic F seats if everyone in intl J was given access. If we look at how small the domestic F footprint is and how many intl J seats there are, intl J would likely fill 100% of the domestic F cabins, which is then not creating a revenue premium / JAL doesn't have to do that. Intl F does get domestic F.
What could be interesting is if full fare intl J gets domestic F, kind of like how JAL gives full fare intl Y a few perks. I wonder how many of those tickets are out there daily.
I took this flight in the other direction also in J. Great as Lucky says. Not mentioned is how pleasant and efficient the boarding experience is, not even in a rushed way. Japanese culture of quiet, respect, and situational awareness is something to behold.
I think it would be lovely if you could highlight the names of the cabin crew who embraced your avgeeky nature. Having done so on your domestic and international JAL A350 flights in J and F, it sure is something special to get a truly cabin crew, even in domestic Class J. Looking forward to fly Class J myself on the A350 in a few weeks’ time, from FUK to HND!
Yeah but there is some value to showing the occasional long haul premium economy review.
@Aaron? For what? The seat was a little better than I expected. The carrots weren't so mushy. It's still an increment above economy. The max value is in the J and F redemptions.
Just fly F to Japan, on a non award fare and your domestic connection will be in F. For award F arrival it will depend on the highly scarce domestic F availability whether you get F or Class J, or more likely Y.
Your "not unusual to find class J under 100 USD" is quite misleading looking in on random days in June the lowest is roughly 26,000 yen, going in to mid week days in Early August the 3 last flights from Tokyo (out of 17 for the day) comes in at roughly 15,000 yen. Or 104 USD. That is actually just about the floor, if you don't get a fare sale. Admittedly that would have been less than 100USD when the flights were taken.
It is not usual to find the lowest fare on any departure that is just remotely attractive in timing, and within a couple of months not usual at all to find these 15,000 yen fares in class J. They exist, to say it is not unusual to get them is quite the overstatement.
i think the best value premium experience is an interesting question - I've just booked Aer Lingus from Malaga to Dublin for €205 in their lie-flat A330 seat (except I paid €110 + 8500 avios), and that would be even cheaper in the off season - I contend there isn't really a cheaper lie flat seat anywhere, in absolute terms or per hour (€70/h)
I've been looking for and not finding award availability for CTS-HND-JFK, as I want to fly JAL A350-1000 in business class. Any tips on this? I have Capital One miles to transfer.
Booked J with VN, the flagship national carrier of Vietnam, from HAN to SGN this October on their A359, lie-flat reverse herringbone for €134 which works out to be €62/hour. This includes priority security line, lounge access and an in-flight meal service. They also offer this route (same price) on their 789 as well.
then go make an economy and premium economy blog yourself and see how it goes. Most people aren't interested in that, because everyone knows what economy offers. Most of the population, even "frequent" travelers haven't flown international first or business class. So people want to read about it!