Questions and Answers

I am flying to Asia in October and have the option of flying a Japan Air 787 from Vancouver to Narita or a Hainan Air 787 from Seattle to Shanghai. Both would be business class flights.

I will travel within Asia for a couple of weeks and head to Hong Kong. I like Japan and could spend a week there with a JR Passand then head to Shanghai and Beijing. I think October would be a good month to travel in Japan or China.

From Hong Kong I will head to Australia.

Can anyone comment on the relative advantage of flying Japan Air or Hainan Air?

JAL has a far better reputation over Hainan in terms of seat and soft product. JAL seats are the B/E Apex direct aisle access Skysuite that is completely private with a huge monitor while Hainan is 2x2x2 standard catalog Zodiac Aura lite seat that is comfortable but offers no privacy. Here is info on JAL and a photo of the Hainan seats.

Unless cost is a factor IMO there isn’t a choice.

Whoa! I just checked and the skysuite isn’t on that route, its the shell 2x2x2. That’s too bad. Even still these are the B/E Diamond which United has in their ex-Continental 777’s and now 787s and many other carriers have. It’s a comfortable seat. Given the seat privacy is a tossup I would still take JAL myself for the food and service. Japan carriers are superior to Chinese I think. I’m flying JAL both skysuite and shell in a few weeks.

Also touring Japan on the Shinkansen is fun.

[URL]https://www.jal.co.jp/en/787/[/URL]
[URL]http://www.rewardflying.com/airlines-2/2016/2/12/japan-airlines[/URL]

Thanks for the feedback. I was thinking Japan Air would be better. I live in Seattle so going to Vancouver is not that much of a hassle. I like the city and the airport. I can get 7H or 1H. 7H has more leg room. It is a day flight that leaves relatively early in the afternoon so I probably won’t sleep that much anyway. Better to be a bit tired getting in to Tokyo late afternoon and falling asleep early.

I can easily fly from Japan to Shanghai or Beijing and get from there to Hong Kong.

Might try Hainan Air coming back to North America in early December of 2017. Still not sure of the route. Will depend on what shows up for tickets back home.

This coming March I am flying Japan Air in Premium Economy to Tokyo from Sydney and will go to Kyoto for the Sakura blossom if the timing is right. I can handle the Premium Economy seat on the 777 and it got decent reviews. I am paying for the round trip ticket and got a good price. I got an aisle seat which is the seat I prefer because I like to get up and stretch every couple of hours and don’t like to crawl over someone. I can cover my lodging and my JR Pass with the cost savings between the business and premium economy ticket.

My trip in March originates in the U.S. from LAX to MEL and returns in early April and is also in Premium Economy but on Qantas which I have flown many times. I will be able to log a lot of miles on this trip with bonuses.

I am looking forward to trying Japan Air. I really liked Cathay Pacific when I have flown with them. Hope Japan Air is a similar experience.