Last November I spent a few weeks traveling around Japan with my mom. I flew from New York-JFK (where I visited the lovely Greenwich lounge – full review here) to Tokyo-Haneda airport on Japan Airlines’ new A350-1000 business class, for which I posted the full review already (here).

Those of you that red it may recall that while I loved the seat and the food was good, the service was not as ‘excellent’ as I had expected. After all, you read reviews about JAL and everybody seems smitten by the service. My expectations were probably too high though.

For the flight back I flew with Japan Airlines from Tokyo-Narita to Boston (I couldn’t get an award flight direct to New York), on their B787-9, which features their old business class seat. However, service and foos were expected to be the same. Here I will provide a full review of this flight, after having already posted the quick look a little while ago, as well as my experience at JAL’s Sakura Lounge at Narita airport Terminal 1.

Briefly, this was a very nice flight, and perhaps surprisingly, I actually thought it was the better one of the two. The seat was actually quite comfortable, the food was a little fresher and better quality, and importantly, the service seemed quite a bit more polished. Continue reading for my full impressions!

1. How I booked this flight
2. Boarding experience
3. JAL’s ‘old’ business class seat is comfortable but lacks storage
4. JAL business class amenities
5. Departure from Tokyo-Narita
6. Business class lavatories
7. JAL dinner service was good quality and filling
8. Bedtime: this time with a comfy mattress
9. Pre-departure meal and the hours before arrival
10. Arrival in Boston
11. The service on this flight was better than before
12. Summary

How I booked this flight

I booked this flight through Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan for 75,000 points and $57 in taxes and fees. I got these points through a variety of channels:

• I had 15,000 points left after booking my flight from JFK to Haneda, which I earned through the welcome bonus and additional spending on Alaska Airlines’ personal credit card;
• I earned about 10,000 points through the Alaska shopping portal;
• I then also bought 50,000 points when Alaska had a 60% bonus going on.

75,000 points is a good price to pay for business class on a transpacific flight, so I was happy. While I had hoped to fly direct to New York, I wasn’t sure that would materialize so I decided to book this flight instead and see if a direct flight would show up later. Unfortunately it didn’t (I did have alerts setup).

I then booked a flight on Delta in economy on their lovely Airbus A220 for the flight from Boston to New York for about $145 – fully flexible, since I may want to cancel the flight if a direct JAL flight became available. Since I have Flying Blue Silver status, I was able to book the preferred economy seat for no extra cost, and got a free checked bag. The truth is that I had the opportunity to upgrade to first class for a mere 6500 SkyMiles, which in hindsight I should have absolutely done. I only didn’t because I may have had to cancel the flight anyway… Which never ended up happening. A lesson for the future I suppose. And to be clear, my main reason to upgrade would have been the baggage allowance: 2 free bags, which would have enabled more shopping in Tokyo! It turns out that’s really fun…

Boarding experience

I left from the Sakura lounge around 20 minutes before gate opening, as I ahd been advised that the walk would be about 11 minutes. The lounge is located around the area of the duty free, while my flight was departing at gate 95. This gate is located in the mid-field concourse, which takes you through a long walkway after which you turn right and walk shortly.

As you can see on the photo, boarding was supposed to commence at 18:15, but when I got to the gate the time had been pushed back to 18:25 for a departure at 18:30. A reason wasn’t given. Boarding finally started around 18:30, so we would leave with a delay.

Boarding was done in groups, and started with pre-boarding, which primarily included families with small children and those people needing more time down the jetway. A little later Group 1 was, which, since this plane has no first class, consisted only of elite status holders. And then, finally, group 2 was called, which included business class passengers.

JAL’s ‘old’ business class seat is comfortable but lacks storage

I boarded the plane through the second set of doors and was motioned to turn left, into the forward business cabin. There is smaller business cabin to the right, for a total of all in all 44 business class seats. Between doors 1 and 2 is also the premium economy cabin, and further aft is all economy.

I had initially select seat 1C for myself, which is the aisle seat next to the window seat on the left of the plane. I did that because I was not able to select the window seat when I booked the flight. I’ms till not sure why that was the case, but I imagine the seats may have been reserved for those travelers booking a revenue ticket or perhaps booking an award ticket through JAL’s own Mileage Bank program. When I cheked in, however, all seats that hadn’t been taken had become available to select, and sicne seat 1A was available, I chose it.

Perhaps silly, but I kind of got a kick out of being seated in the very first row, ‘right behind’ the pilots… sort of…

I was worried that the seat may feel a little cramped due to it being narrow and long, as it is in a 2-2-2 configuration on the 787, but was proven wrong. Note that on the 777 it is in a 2-3-2 configuration, but still maintains direct aisle access for all seats due to the middle seat having something of a little passageway.

Indeed, you might think that the window sats in this 2-2-2 configuration don’t have aisle access, but in fact they do. There is a little passageway in front of the aisle seat, as you can see below, which provides direct access to your seat. Then there is a partition between the seats which can be raised after takeoff.

These seats are essentially the Apex seats with custom finishing.s I don’t think there is anything else custom about it, and it’s a seat that you will find on various other airlines, such as Korean Air. The photo below shows nicely the sheer length of space you have. Essentially from the seat to the screen, your legs are completely free. The compromise that was made in this seat is to have less width but more length – that is, rathe than having a 1-2-1 configuration where your feet go into a footwell in the seat in front of you, that seat is next to you so that your feet don’t need to go into a footwell. The result is probably the ‘longest’ ‘free’ business class space currently on the market.

Of coruse there are some pros and cons to that. I initially was afraid that the seat would feel cramped, but I’m happy y to say that despite the 2-2-2 configuration, the seat felt perfectly wide for me. I didn’t feel squeezed and had plenty of space to sit (and later sleep) comfortably. I also really liked the space for my feet, especially in bed mode. However, I also felt that the screen was rather far away, and the window seats in particular do have something of a lack of storage.

But, as you can see below, I can sit quite comfortably in this seat. I can cross my legs without touching either the wall of the plane’s fuselage or the seat beside me, so I was quite pleased. To my taste, this seat is actually quite cosy.

Waiting on my seat were a pillow, blanket, slippers and noise canceling headphones. Sitting down, there was a lot of space for my legs. The carryon fits under the ottoman in front, which is a feature I really like. I personally like having the carryon with me so that when I need t grab something I don’t need to get out of the seat. Then, on the little table at the entertainment screen waited a menu, a bottle of water and the amenity kit. Although I saw a bunch of different designs, I suppose I ended up getting the exact same one that I got on my flight to Tokyo. Other than that there was a literature pocket to the left of the screen, and there was a narrow shelf to the right of the seat.

At the end of the flight, when I got up and looked over my seat, I noticed there was something of a storage shelf right behind my seat as well, though it’s not a place you’d probably want to store any personal items, such as a wallet. I also noticed that the aisle seats have an additional storage compartment right behind the window seat, so it does seem like the storage situaiton varies between seats.

Given that this is an older seat, the charging ports are sufficient but a little outdated in this day and age., With a universal charging plug and one USB-A plug, you may not be able to charge every single piece of equipment you own, and these days you may have at least three: a laptop or tablet, a phone and a watch.

Then, immediately to the right of the seat at the base of the narrow shelf are the seat controls. As you can see, there are preset buttons for upright, lounge, and full flat along the top, but then you can also adjust various parts of the seat individually. The little buttons to the left are to control the partition between the seats, there are light controls along the bottom, and the blueish button seemed to be a massage function. These controls are intuitive and easy to use, though they were a little worn.

The headphone jack was to my immediate right, a little below my shoulder, and above my shoulder was. reading light. This light is in addition to a bigger light on the overhead panel. There are no individual air nozzles.

To the left of the entertainment screen was a literature pocket with the usual fair. The turth is that due to the sheer length of the swat, the screen and literature pocket are quite far away, necessitating getting up to grab any stuff that may be here. For that reason, the remote control, placed to the right of the seat on the other side of the partition between the seats, is a must. On most business class seats you’ll find that the remote control is nice but not particularly necessary. In this seat, it’s kind of essential in order to control the entertainment system.

Overall, I do like this seat a lot. It’s narrowness did not bother ma at all, as I thoiught it was actually kind of cozy. However, I can see not everybody would like it. The seat is comfy to sit in and I do like having so much real estate for my legs. However, the side effect of having little storage, particular a protected compartment for personal items, is a miss. I wish there was at least some kind of pocket next to seat, such as KLM has in its seat, where you cna comfortably put your phone. It’s true that you cna utilize the shelf to your right or at the screen, but you’ll find that during takeoff and landing, or with turbulence, things cna fly off of those shelves.

How is this old seat compared to JAL’s newer seat on the A350? The A350 seat of coruse is the winner here, and that need not surprise. However, I wouldn’t avoid these older Apex seats either. I do find it a comfortable seat that was pleasurable to use.

JAL business class amenities

The amenities on this flight were almost identical to that on my flight to Tokyo, which should of course not surprise. it’s the same airline after all, and even if it’s a different pl;ane with a different seat, the soft product should be more or less the same. Hence the pillow and blanket were the same. I didn’t think the pillow waqs particualrly good. it seeme d aslittl eold and worn, and not paiucalrly soft. The blanket was nice, though. I did not receive the thin mattress pad that I had received on the A350 though, and neither was there the ‘relaxation wear’ that I was waiting for me on my seat in the A350.

However, while I didn’t get the weird nightgown ‘relaxation wear’ that I was offered on the A350, I did get the typical JAL cardigan this time around. They were handed out before takeoff by flight attendants after passengers had made themselves comfortable. I though this cardigan was superior to the night gown, being of a softer and more comfortable fabric, and also not too warm. It’s a pity you can’t take this cardigan off the plane. The slippers were the same I got on the A350, and unfortunately were a bit small for my feet. They did the job for the few times I went to the lavatory though, so I suppose it’s better than nothing. At least I didn’t have to put on my shoes.

As I had mentioned, the amenity kit I got was the same I got before, and had the same contents again, so I won’t go into details. It contained an eye mask, pocket tissue, charging cable, phone stand and a toothbrush. The typical skin care products that you expect from an amenity kit were not provided.

All in all, amenities that JAL give you in business class are quite okay, and not much to get particularly excited about.

Departure from Tokyo-Narita

After I made myself comfortable, I had a look and noticed that the business class cabin was half empty. This was actually thanksgiving day, so I imaging most people wouldn’t want to be flying back today. And if they did, they’d probably take the early flight so as to arrive in the morning, as my flight would arirve around 5pm EST.

Soon enough the flight attendant came by offering a pre-departure drink in glassware, with a choice of juice, water and champagne. I decided to have some juice, as too much alcohol detracts from my sleep on planes (somewhat ironically, since in economy I’d actually drink more to sleep – in business I find I get too hot and can’t sleep). Note that I made the below pictrue after having a few sips already… I assure you they weren’t stingy with the portion!

While I waited for the rest of the passengers to board the plkane, I had a look at the menu. This was provided in the same booklet in both English and Japanese. Eveyrhting was simialr if not identical to the menu on my flight to Toyko, so I won’t show everything, butthe dinner menu was slightly different:

The a la carte menu was also slightly different, primarily in that certain ‘A350 specials’ (namely the A350 curry) was not offered. For the rest, most items were about the same.

Killing some time until departure, finally the jetway was retracted and we started on our way. Soon enough we were taxiing to the runway, in the dark.

It took about 10-15 minutes to get to the runway, and I used the time to playa round with the remote control of the entertainment screen. The truth is that the controller is also a little worn and required some firm presses. It clearly wasn;t as responsive as its newer counterpart on the A350, but I found it worked quite reliably overall.

Finally we reached the runway and swiftly left the ground. Looking out one of the three windows I had along my seat, I saw Japan roll away from under us, and we sped into the night sky.

We took off in a northwestern direction and took a right turn towards the pacific ocean. So long Japan, so long… It was a great time and I’ll certainly be back!

Business class lavatories

Climb out was swift and after about 15 minutes the fasten seatbelt sign was turn off. The cabin crew sprung into action at this point, closing the curtains to the galley. I took that to mean that I was now allowed to raise the partition, which I did using the button on the seat control panel. Now I felt like I was really in my own little cocoon, and I have to say that the seat feels very private without making me feel isolated from the rest of the plane.

If you may remember, while I really liked the seat on the A350, I sometimes felt like communicating with the crew was a little difficult in that seat due to the high walls and door, giving me the sense that the overall service level suffered a little. Here I didn’t have that issue as much.

Soon the crew came by to start dinner service. First the purser came by to introduce herself and confirm that I had chosen the Washoku meal, the traditional Japanese cuisine. Then, another flight attendant came by to bring a hot towel, which was nice and refreshing. I then sped to the lavatory to quickly change into my pajames, which I had put in my carryon as I had done on the flight to Tokyo.

This lavatory is a normal Boeing 787 lavatory, and there’s little to distinguish it from lavatories of other carriers. Some will have nice prints or decorations, but JAL didn’t have anything in particular, with the normal bland walls you’d have in economy. However, the little control panel just below the trash bin does allow for the bidet function, which is a nice addition. Other than that, there was a selection of special amenities, including disinfecting hand soap, mouth wash, tooth brushes, some hand creams, and a more traditional dispenser of hand soap.

So while rather ‘normal’ in terms of looks, the lavatory is well-stocked with a bunch of nice amenities. The lavatory was also kept very clean during the flight, which I anticipate would have not been too difficult given that the business class cabin was anyway half empty.

JAL dinner service was good quality and filling

Often my favorite thing in business class is the dinner service, since it tends to be a drawn-out, three course dinner with much wine and good food. Now, of course I had knew what was waiting for me since I’d had this service already on my flight to Tokyo. As I had mentioned that flight review, I found that food to be very good overall, and quite filling. I did think the service was a little abrupt, even if it was given with a smile. I also thought some of the food was served a little too cold.

I was curious if there’d be any difference when departing Tokyo, rather than when departing from an outstation, such as New York.

As the flight attendants started distributing table clots, I popped out the tray table. It comes out of the narrow shelf to the right of the seat. You press it down once and you’ll hear a click, allowing a spring-loaded mechanism to assist in the movement of the table up from its compartment. Thus, while heavy, it’s not too difficult to get it to come out, but as you can see, once it’s out you’re kind of locked into your seat. So, go to the lavatory ideally before dinner.

As I pulled out my tray table, the flight attendant passed by and folded out a table cloth, and soon after I was presented with an amuse bouche (though I wasn’t actually told what it was), some mixed nuts, and they took my drink order. I went with a glass of champagne and my favorite drink: the JAL SkyTime drink. The amuse bouche was a new addition that I hadn’t received on my flight to Tokyo, and was delicious. The addition of the packaged bread sticks was odd, but tasty nonetheless.

After I finished this, the dish was swiftly removed and the next dish was presented quite quickly. One thing I do appreciate at JAL is that the service is personalized in the sense that they don’t come by with a cart, but that they present you the food at your pace. So, once you finish you’ll get the next dish, rather than waiting for the cabin to sort of finish and then come by with a cart. I will add that the flight attendant did ask if I was ready for the next dish, so in theory you could also tell them that you’d like to get it in another 5-10 minutes, and they’d comply, so you can eat at your own pace.

The next dish was the bento box with several small Japanese delicacies. I posted the descriptions from the menu below the photo of the dish itself so you can reference the various dishes with their descriptions.

I ahd a similar bento box on my flight to Tokyo, so I was familiar with what this was going to be. That said, the contents was different, with some new additions that were all very tasty. Last time this dish was served awfully cold – this time it was still a little cold but not quite as bad as last time. I will also say that the ingredients seemed fresher and more ‘alive’ so to speak, perhaps because it wasn’t as cold. My favorite part was the wagyu for sure, and a solid second the black cod. Overall, a very nice dish.

When done, the bento box was cleared but I was told to keep the utensils and cute origami bird, which is a chopstick holder, and the next dish was presented.

This was described as the main dish, and included a delicious beef with curry and Japanese vegetables, a side plate with Japanese pickles, steamed rice and miso soup. I’m a sucker for miso soup, to be honest – it’s such a comforting flavor, and it served nice and hot: a wonderful contrast with the cold bento box that came before. I really enjoyed this dish and thought overall it was actually quite a bit nicer than the main dish I got on the way to Tokyo.

When I finished this, everything was removed but the table cloth, and I was served the dessert. This consisted of green tea, was looked incredibly pretty with the stark green tea in the white cup and black saucer. I was also served a Japanese confection called ‘Yokan’, a kind of red been pudding with chunks of chestnut. Admittedly this is a very Japanese thing and some may not like it. I thought it was quite tasty.

Dinner service had now ended and the last dishes were cleared, as well as the table cloth. Overall, I thought this meal was very nice, filling and also a bit better than on the flight to Tokyo. The ingredients seemed fresher and the bento box wasn’t quite as cold as on that flight. I also liked the taste of these particular dishes more. On a separate note, throughout this dinner service I couldn’t help but feel that the flight attendants were more attentive and proactive than on the flight to Tokyo. Here and there an attendant poked her head around the corner to check everything was okay, which was more than what they had done on the flight to Tokyo. So overall, this was a very nice meal.

Bedtime: this time with a comfy mattress

Before dinner I had started watching the new Alien: Romulus movie, and had been watching it throughout dinner. After dinner I continued watching it until the end, and when I did reach it, I felt it was time to turn in. I went to the lavatory to peruse the mouth wash and tooth brush, and then went back to my seat. This time I thought I’d try and ask for a mattress, since I had not been given anything at boarding.

I called for a flight attendant and one appeared by my seat in an instant, who revealed a mattress pad from the overhead bin above me. I proceeded to make my bed by myself as the attendant (despite the fact that I heard that JAL flight attendants provide turndown service) made absolutely no move to do so and I felt a little weird asking her.

As you can see, without a foot well to put your feet in it’s really like a full bed. Of course it’s a little narrower than a standard bed, and I image that if you’re very tall you’ll find it’s too short for you. But as beds in the sky go, this business class seat truly is one of the closest things you can find to a ‘bed’ in business class.

I already found I’m not much of a sleeper, but with the mattress pad, the adequate temperature in the cabin, I fell asleep probably 1 or 2 hours later and I must have slept for about 5 hours, which is honestly amazing. I thought the mattress made a huge difference and was really very comfortable. Probably the best sleep I ever had on a plane! So next time, I’ll absolutely make sure to ask for that mattress pad, even if initially I don’t see it at my seat.

Pre-departure meal and the hours before arrival

After I woke up, I must have slumbered for a while longer, but I realized I had forgotten to dim my windows as the light of dawn started to peek through. It wouldn’t last for all that long given that we were supposed to arrive in Boston at 5pm, at which point it would be past sunset already over there. That said, the cabin lights were turned on, and it was announced that lasts service would be provided. This was about 2 hours before arrival, and we were flying over Ontario at the time.

In JAL business class, you can always order from the a la carte menu, which includes everything from fruit, to salad, noodles and a sandwich. This service is available until 1.5 hours before landing. It allows you flexibility, so that you can choose between lighter or heavier fare depending on how you feel. Personally, I was still quite full from dinner but if somebody asks me if I want food, I won’t say no either. So, I went with the fresh fruit and the SkyTime drink:

I liked that it was presented on proper dishware rather being in some kind of plastic cup of sorts. It was pleasant to have something refreshing after waking up. When I finished the dishes were cleared, and that was kind of the last I saw of the flight attendants until cabin prep started for landing. The sun had started to set at this point.

Arrival in Boston

As we were closing in on Boston, the descent was announced and the flight attendants came by to take back the mattress and collect any trash or dishes that were still lingering around. The pilot gave his address to the cabin, announcing details on our arrival. Descent was smooth and before too long we found ourselves landing in a cold and dark Boston Logan Intl Airport:

We taxied swiftly to the stand at the new Terminal E, where after a short wait the doors were opened and we were able to disembark. The airport was completely deserted, which allowed for a swift passage through immigration. After 20 minutes I also had my suitcase and was on the way to the Hilton Garden Inn Boston Logan, by courtesy shuttle. I would stay one night there before heading back to New York on a Delta A220 the next morning at 6AM. I will not review that flight, suffice it to say that I thought it was a lovely airplane. If I have the choice I’ll gladly choose to fly on it again if it works with my schedule!

The service on this flight was better than before

I have talked about this here and there already throughout the review. As I had mentioned earlier, when you read reviews about JAL, there is a lot of raving about the service standards, and so my expectations were quite high. For my flight to Tokyo, I didn’t think the service was necessarily all that impressive. Of course it’s better than on any US airlines and better than the average European airline, but that’s a given.

It’s not that flight attendants were not nice – they were! Friendly, always smiling and happy to help. But they also seemed rather rushed, not particularly polished in their service, and not at all proactive. So naturally I came away a bit disappointed. However, my feeling was that the crew was maybe not that familiar with the A350, and that this may have caused some of the issues, so I was curious if the service would be better on the 787.

I’m happy to report that the service was indeed better, on the whole, on the 787, but also note that the business class cabin was half empty. I felt that the service was not friendlier or anything, but it was less rushed and more consistent: more polished. When the food was served, the flight attendant took her time to bring the tray, put it down calmly, ask if I needed anything else, and was on her way. I thought that was an improvement over my flight to Tokyo, where the attendant moved so fast it seemed like the food just kind of appeared out of thin air.

I will say, however, that the famed proactivity was not really on display much, so I’m not sure if I just wasn’t lucky, but I don’t see what all the hype is about with JAL’s service. Like I said, it’s certainly better than on any US airline, probably (but not necessarily) better than the average European airline, but it’s also not so amazing as I’ve read elsewhere.

Again, I feel as though the privacy that the window seat affords is a double-edged sword, because on the one hand you are shielded from all other passengers but then you’re also shielded from the cabin crew. It makes it more difficult for them to anticipate your needs, and so perhaps that’s why, once again, I didn’t see much proactivity. However I should say this: I often found the flight attendant peek her head around the corner to see if I needed something, so she did make herself available, which I appreciated.

Overall, I think you should expect consistently friendly service, but maybe don’t have too high expectations.

Summary

So there you have it. I thought this flight was better than my flight to Tokyo, which is not what I was expecting on account of the superior seat on the A350. The seat is certainly less fancy than on the A350, here and there a little worn but in good state overall. I thought it was still very comfortable and I much enjoyed the privacy of the seat. Its biggest problem is lack of storage for personal items and such, but I like that the carryon can be stowed under the ottoman. I thought the food was very good, and a little better than on the flight to Tokyo. I particularly enjoyed the beef dishes and the curry. And while the service was once again not as stellar as other reviews made me expect, I thought it more consistent and polished than on he flight to Tokyo. Hence I feel that this flight Tokyo-Boston was actually better than New York-Tokyo, even though I was sure that the A350’s seat would blow it out of the water. Turns out, somewhat not-surprisingly I guess, that the experience of a flight is not all about the hard product: the quality of the soft product is a big, big component as well.

I will certainly fly JAL again, but the truth is that I may not specifically seek them out. I might fly with other airlines if the redemption opportunities (or cash fares) are better.

Have you recently flown JAL? I’m curious what your experience was like! Let me know in the comments!