Japan Airlines 10
Tokyo (NRT) – Chicago (ORD)
Monday, December 17
Depart: 10:50AM
Arrive: 7:30AM
Duration: 11hr40min
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Seat: 2A (First Class)
Oh, Japan Airlines, how I love thee! At the door I was greeted by the cabin manager, cabin senior, and a trainee. The cabin senior and trainee escorted me to my seat. Japan Airlines’ first class cabin consists of a total of eight seats, spread across two rows in a 1-2-1 configuration.
Japan Airlines’ 777-300ER first class cabin
Japan Airlines’ 777-300ER first class cabin
This isn’t the most spectacular hard product, and personally I find the cabin finishes to be kind of boring. However, I have a strong preference for Japan Airlines’ first class hard product over ANA’s first class hard product, since ANA “boxes in” all their seats (so if you’re in a window you can’t easily look out, and if you’re in the center you can’t easily talk to the person you’re traveling with).
For those traveling together, the center seats are ideal, since you can enjoy the flight together. But don’t worry, if you’re traveling alone and end up in one of those seats, there’s a privacy shield that can be raised.
Japan Airlines first class center seats
I had assigned myself seat 2A, the window seat in the second row on the left side. While JAL’s first class seats aren’t fully enclosed, they do have a good bit of privacy.
Japan Airlines first class seat
As you can see, the seat is wide, and the aisle side has a nice shield for added privacy.
Japan Airlines first class seat
Then the front of the seat has an ottoman, personal television, and the tray table.
Japan Airlines first class seat
The seat has a good amount of storage — on the left side of the seat is a long (but narrow) storage compartment, the entertainment controller, another small compartment, and a small monitor.
Japan Airlines first class seat storage
Seat functions could also be controlled from here. You could either adjust specific functions of the seat, or you could just choose from a few pre-sets.
Japan Airlines first class seat controls
Japan Airlines first class seat controls
Then at the front left of the seat is another small compartment, which also has the charging port. I don’t love the location of this, since you have to get up to plug something in — you’d think they’d instead put this closer to the seat.
Japan Airlines first class seat storage
The tray table is well designed, though. It slides out easily from the front of the seat, so you can move it around even during the meal, in the event that you want to get up.
Japan Airlines first class tray table
My biggest complaint about the hard product is that Japan Airlines doesn’t have individual air nozzles at seats, which is frustrating since they tend to keep their cabins quite warm.
Already waiting at my seat upon boarding was a pillow and a light blanket. This isn’t all the bedding, as there’s a lot more when they provide the turndown service.
JAL first class pillow & blanket
Also waiting at my seat were Bose headphones, which are among the best headphones you’ll find on any airline. I find far too many airlines skimp on headphone quality — they spend a couple of hundred thousand dollars per seat, and then give you cheap headphones.
JAL first class Bose headphones
Also already waiting at my seat upon boarding was the amenity kit. Not only was there an amenity kit, but there was a Shiseido kit with products. Japan Airlines has excellent amenities in first class, among the best of any airline, in my opinion.
JAL first class amenity kit
There were also slippers, a shoe bag, and a shoe horn.
JAL first class slippers
Within a minute of settling in, the cabin senior came by my seat to introduce herself. She also introduced her colleague, who she said was a trainee. Service in Japan is consistently excellent, but the combination of her and the trainee was the most adorable thing I’ve seen in a long time.
The trainee was so nervous and as a result so over-the-top (in a good way) in the way she acted, and it was both amusing and refreshing to see how seriously she took her job.
They asked how they could address me, since they struggled to pronounce my last name, so I said “you can call me Ben.” She insisted that wasn’t okay, and then repeatedly practiced how to pronounce my last name.
Anyway, within a minute I was brought a (small) glass of champagne and a warm towel.
JAL first class pre-departure drink & towel
I was then also presented a leather binder, which contained the menu, duty free card, a card for free Wi-Fi, and more.
JAL first class menu
JAL first class menu
Japan Airlines has great inflight Wi-Fi to begin with, but I love that they offer free Wi-Fi in first class with no data caps.
JAL first class complimentary Wi-Fi
I’ve never really understand Japan Airlines’ product branding. They call their menus “BEDD” (which, like, might be a decent name for their bedding, or something), and am I the only one who thinks aubergine every time I see “Sky Auberge?” I get “auberge” is a word, but the whole thing just seems strange.
JAL first class menu
10 minutes after settling in the cabin manager came by my seat to introduce herself. While she did that, both the cabin senior and trainee stood behind her, and then they all bowed at the same time.
This was a pretty empty flight — there were four people in first class, only about 20 people in business class, about a dozen people in premium economy, and economy was less than half full. The boarding process was efficient. It was ideal to have four people in first class, since there was one person in each window seat, and the center seats all remained empty.
At 10:45AM the main cabin door closed, and the cabin manager announced our flight time of 11 hours. At 10:55AM we started our pushback, and at 11AM we started our taxi, at which point the safety video was screened.
By Narita standards we had a fairly quick taxi and queue, and by 11:20AM we were cleared for takeoff on runway 34L.
As is often the case when departing Japan, in my experience, there was significant turbulence after takeoff. The seatbelt sign stayed on for quite a while.
View after takeoff from Narita
View after takeoff from Narita
At 11:50AM the captain announced that we were expecting moderate turbulence for a further 5-10 minutes, and asked everyone to remain seated. Finally at 12PM the seatbelt sign was turned off.
As soon as the seatbelt sign was turned off, the crew asked if I wanted to change into pajamas, so they prepared the lavatory for me. There are two lavatories at the front of the cabin, with one being larger than the other.
Japan Airlines first class lavatory
The lavatory had some pretty amenities from Cle De Peau, which are apparently quite expensive.
Japan Airlines first class lavatory amenities
The most remarkable thing about these JAL lavatories is that they have bidets.
Japan Airlines first class lavatory bidet
Japan Airlines’ first class pajamas feel high quality, but the problem is that they’re quite thick, which isn’t ideal when you consider how warm they keep the cabins.
Japan Airlines first class pajamas
The meal service began a moment after I changed into pajamas. The menu read as follows:
The drink list read as follows (sorry this is really long, but I know many love to see all the details):
My table was set at 12:10PM, and I started off with a glass of Cristal champagne. Cristal isn’t my favorite champagne, but nobody can deny that the airline is spending a lot of money on their wine program!
Japan Airlines Cristal champagne
I was offered some canapés to go along with the champagne.
Japan Airlines first class — canapés
About 20 minutes after being served champagne I was offered the amuse bouche, consisting of piquillo pepper stuffed with cod brandade. The dishes was served warm, and I loved the presentation with the cute little dropper.
Japan Airlines first class — amuse bouche
About 15 minutes later I was served caviar, which was beautifully presented in a tin, with some crispy rice wafers, and a mother of pearl spoon.
Japan Airlines first class — caviar
At this point I asked to switch to the lovely Bollinger Rose 2006.
Japan Airlines Bollinger Rose 2006 champagne
When trying both champagnes I asked the flight attendant if I could take pictures of the bottle, though when I had the rose she proactively suggested she bring me both bottles, because it would be a better picture. LOVE!
Japan Airlines first class champagne
I was going to have my main at this point, but the crew insisted I also have another starter, so I tried the warm red king crab & sweet tomato salad with avocado. OMG this dish was good, and was easily one of the best salads I’ve had anywhere, in the air or on the ground.
Japan Airlines first class — appetizer
For the main course I had the grilled rosy seabass “saikyo miso” flavor with radish veloute. This dish was spectacular, and tasted like something you’d get at Nobu (which is an impressive accomplishment when you consider this is an airplane). The fish was so delicate, you could “cut” it with a spoon.
Japan Airlines first class — main course
After finishing the main course I ordered a cappuccino.
Japan Airlines first class — cappuccino
The dessert options were fairly limited, though frankly I was happy to have a light dessert, given how over-the-top the meal was. I had citrus fruits with herb sorbet.
Japan Airlines first class — dessert
The meal service concluded just over an hour after it started, and I have nothing but good things to say about the entire experience. The food was exceptional, truly one of the best first class meals I’ve had in quite a while. The service was just as good, with the crew being so kind and attentive.
After lunch I was quite tired, so decided to sleep. The crew immediately made my bed, and asked if I wanted a soft or firm mattress pad (I selected the former).
Japan Airlines first class bed
Japan Airlines has good bedding, though it’s not my favorite in the sky. I do find it strange how the mattress pad is literally just a pad they put on top of the seat — it doesn’t have a cover or anything that goes around it.
Also, while the blanket is comfortable, I wish it were wider. Personally I like to wrap myself in a blanket like a burrito, but that’s not possible with these blankets.
Japan Airlines first class bed
Japan Airlines first class bed
By the time I was ready to sleep we had just over 8hr30min remaining to Chicago.
Japan Airlines airshow
Japan Airlines airshow
I ended up getting a solid three hours of sleep, and woke up with just under 5hr30min remaining to Chicago, so we were right at the halfway point of the flight.
Airshow enroute to Chicago
Airshow enroute to Chicago
At this point I looked through the entertainment selection. One of the things I don’t like about JAL’s product is that the entertainment monitor isn’t touchscreen, so you can only peruse the entertainment selection the small monitor next to your seat. At least I couldn’t figure out any way to view it on the main screen.
Japan Airlines entertainment selection
Japan Airlines entertainment selection
At this point I tried to get some work done, given that we’d be landing in the US on Monday morning. Japan Airlines has among my favorite Wi-Fi of any transpacific airline.
Japan Airlines Wi-Fi
Ordinarily you can pay $18.80 for a Wi-Fi pass that lasts the entire flight with no data caps.
Japan Airlines Wi-Fi
However, thanks to being in first class I got a free code for Wi-Fi, which is even better.
Japan Airlines Wi-Fi
In the meantime while going to the bathroom I saw that the crew had set up a small display in the galley with bottled water and some snacks.
Japan Airlines first class snack bar
I decided to order some coffee at this point, since I knew I wouldn’t go back to sleep. I love Japan Airlines’ standard coffee service. They present the coffee in a french press and then pour it at your seat, and I love the Japan Airlines first class mugs — they’re my favorite coffee mugs offered by any airline.
Japan Airlines first class coffee
Eventually I also ordered some ice cream from the snack menu, which came nicely presented, much more so than the little tubs of Haagen-Dazs that some airlines serve.
Japan Airlines first class ice cream
About 3hr20min before arrival we were over the US West Coast, as we were just passing Seattle.
Airshow enroute to Chicago
Airshow enroute to Chicago
I worked for a couple more hours, and then 90 minutes before landing the crew asked if I wanted anything else to eat before arrival.
Airshow enroute to Chicago
The menu read as follows (this is all stuff that can be ordered at any time):
For the pre-landing snack I ordered a salad and the beef curry.
Japan Airlines first class snack
The salad was tasty, and had lots of veggies.
Japan Airlines first class snack
While it may seem simple, the beef curry was excellent. I find curry usually tastes great in the air, and really enjoyed this one.
Japan Airlines first class snack
About an hour before landing I decided to change out of my pajamas. When I got out of the lavatory the cabin senior asked if she could fold my pajamas for me so I could take them with me. That was a nice offer, though I guess she noticed they got a little wet (the water sprayed a little bit while brushing my teeth), so she brought a whole new set to my seat.
Japan Airlines first class fresh pajamas
I was also offered a box of macarons as a gift.
Japan Airlines first class gift
The last hour of the flight consisted of some absolutely glorious views, as the sun began to rise.
Sunrise approaching Chicago
Sunrise approaching Chicago
About 45 minutes before landing the captain announced that we’d be descending in about 10 minutes, and were scheduled to land at 7:25AM. As we descended all three first class crew members came by my seat to thank me for flying with JAL, and of course I thanked them for their exceptional service.
At this point the cabin manager said “thank you so much for saying thank you so much — we are nice because we are Japanese and it is our job, but you are so nice too.” LOL!
At 7:10AM the crew was advised to prepare the cabin for landing. We flew out over Lake Michigan, which offered some stunning views.
Sunrise approaching Chicago
We then circled back around and flew right over downtown.
View approaching Chicago
View approaching Chicago
As expected, we touched down at O’Hare at 7:25AM, and from there had a 10 minute taxi to our arrival gate.
Final approach to Chicago O’Hare
Taxiing Chicago Airport
We parked at a fairly empty Terminal 5, where there was a Copa 737 a few gates over.
Arrival gate Chicago Airport
I bid farewell to the crew, headed through immigration, and then made my way to United’s terminal for my connection to Miami.
Japan Airlines first class bottom line
Japan Airlines first class is spectacular.
The hard product is good but not remarkable. I find the seat as such to be comfortable, but there are a few design quirks I don’t like (the location of the power port, the monitor not being touchscreen, the lack of air nozzles, etc.). However, overall it’s a good seat.
Where JAL really stands out is with their soft product, as they have exceptional service, food, drinks, amenities, and even free Wi-Fi.
I love Japan Airlines, and rank their first class as being in the top five globally.
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