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JAPAN AIRLINES Passenger Reviews and Passenger Trip Reports |
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JAPAN AIRLINES customer review : 10 September 2009 by Michael Jones (Japan)
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Trip Rating : 1/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | Business |
JAL is struggling financially and having travelled with them many times this last year, its
easy to see why. I've been lucky enough to travel in business class most of the time. My
latest flight from Tokyo to Brisbane was so poor I felt had to comment. Firstly, the seats are
tiny. I had to be moved from my bulkhead seat because of the lack of leg space. I'm 180cm and
anyone over 150cm would not be able to stretch. Even in seats further back, the footrest is
built for small people. Anyone with average height could not be comfortable. Of course, the
seat wasn't flat - even for an overnight 8 hour flight. The seats were also incredibly narrow.
6 across on a 767 in business class is really very mean. It is very apparent that JAL has a
monopoly on this route. The food service is also poor. On all JAL flights, the entire meal in
business class comes out on the tray together. No effort to serve courses. As the lids are all
removed, this leaves you racing to complete your appetizer before the main course gets cold -
and its never very hot to begin with. This food service is very reminiscent of Japanese
canteens - the warmth of food doesn't seem to matter. Next time I go to Australia I wil not be
travelling on JAL!
JAPAN AIRLINES customer review : 9 September 2009 by John Duffus (Thailand)
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Trip Rating : 2/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | Business |
HNL-TYO-SIN-TYO-BKK. HNL-TYO had the very old business class seats. After a 3-hour layover at
Narita, I was dismayed to find the 777 to SIN had the ol’ business class seats. Both are
massively outdated and hugely uncomfortable for long 7-hour plus trips. I arrived in Singapore
vowing never to take JAL business class again. The return from SIN and final sector to BKK did
have the newer angled lie-flat seats - bit I still found it difficult to get a comfortable
position because the seat seems to have a mind of its own! Japan Airlines business class meal
service is also outdated. With an 08:20 take-off from SIN necessitating a very early departure
from the hotel, I fail to understand why a full lunch is served at 09:00 rather than a nice
hot breakfast, or at least a brunch with an egg dish and plenty of croissants and preserves. I
could not face lunch at that hour and waved the meal away. The only flight of the four that
was reasonable was the last sector to BKK, but even this B744 had a first generation IFE
system with a very limited video selection. On the evidence of these four flights, JAL is
caught in a time warp and little has changed in at least a decade. Is there any other major
airline today which serves a whole business class meal on a tray, so that the main course gets
cold as you finish the soup, the salad and the starter? The flight attendants are courteous in
the extreme, but that cannot go near to making up for the airline's major failings. How JAL
qualifies for a 4-star rating defeats me!
JAPAN AIRLINES customer review : 8 September 2009 by Rodney George (Australia)
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Trip Rating : 9/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | First |
SFO-NRT on new Boeing 777 with the four class product fitted throughout. Only 4 out of 8 in
First with three flight attendants. The service was outstanding, attentive but unobtrusive.
Seats were wide and spacious. Very comfortable to sleep in with very nice pyjamas and quilt.
Food and wine sensational.
JAPAN AIRLINES customer review : 3 September 2009 by R Wong (Japan)
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Trip Rating : 7/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | Economy |
Tokyo Narita-Hong Kong on an old B747 with poor condition of seats and interior. I was on the
2nd deck economy class. JAL tends to put economy class on the second floor for their regional
flights. It is a 3x3 configuration. Wide range of meal and beverage selections and the movies
are fairly new. Cabin crew are attentive and polite but they need to brush up their English a
bit.
JAPAN AIRLINES customer review : 2 September 2009 by Brian Smith (Japan)
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Trip Rating : 1/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | Economy |
NRT-DPS-NRT in economy. I only flew them because of a free ticket. If you are considering
flying JAL in economy, only do so if it's free. The seats are lousy! I cannot state this
enough. I've flown them in economy on free tickets, and it's pure torture: no knee or leg
room, no seat cushion or lumbar support comfort, extremely narrow seats and they are the only
airline I've ever flown that I have to ask for an extension seat belt, humiliating every time.
Their entertainment system is outdated and offers very little choice (Magic II). The food was
not so great either. The only thing you can count on is decent service from the attendants and
clean toilets. On top of it all, their flights from DPS to NRT are overnight! There is no
sleeping going on, I can tell you that. If you travel economy on JAL, make sure you've got a
massage scheduled on the other end, like I do!
JAPAN AIRLINES customer review : 31 August 2009 by Andrew Roberts (Canada)
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Trip Rating : 8/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | Economy |
YVR-NRT-TPE and back in Economy Class. All flights by 747-400s except NRT-TPE which was a 767.
The 747s had fairly nice seats, with personal televisions and a fair amount of recline.
However, a footrest would have been nice, especially on the YVR-NRT/NRT-YVR segments. On the
767, seats were similar, but the personal televisions had AVOD, which made the flight more
enjoyable. The food was great - all meals had two choices for the main course, except
breakfast on the YVR-NRT flight. The cabin and lavatories were generally pretty clean, the
cabin crew and ground staff were friendly.
JAPAN AIRLINES customer review : 21 July 2009 by Daniel Keller (USA)
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Trip Rating : 4/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | Business |
Denpasar to Chicago with change in Tokyo. Both flights on 747s. I was not impressed with
business class. Seats narrow and were not completely flat but at a slight angle which made it
awkward to sleep. They were also fairly narrow and anybody not sleeping on their back would
struggle. Entertainment system was very limited, especially on Tokyo-Chicago Route with Magic
I system which seems to have fewest movies and audio selections. Video and music system was
difficult to navigate. Flight attendants were courteous, but service was slow and not as
focused as I would have hoped for business class. Food choices were limited and overall
quality of food was disappointing. Wine selection OK. Boarding for Chicago leg was not well
organized with no clear preboarding for business class. Snacks between meals on Chicago leg
minimal and disappointing. Amenity kit provided on either flight was almost non-existent and
very basic. I could not believe that business class bathrooms had "no" amenities such as
lotions, facial spray etc. Would not pay for Japan Airlines Business Class (my ticket was
frequent flyer award).
JAPAN AIRLINES customer review : 2 July 2009 by A Aiman (USA)
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Trip Rating : 9/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | Economy |
NRT-JFK-NRT in Y. NRT-JFK leg was operated as on a B777-300ER. Cabin spotless and bright; new
Y int'l configuration looks fresh and rivals CX's new Y config in appearance. Seat is
noticeably wider than JAL's old Y, with more pitch. Found it sufficiently comfortable for my
European size, though don't expect too much wiggling room. JAL cabins also don't have
individual overhead seat airvents, so can be slightly stuffy before take-off. Cabin crew
impeccable - extremely polite, and though not overly gregarious, are generous with their
smiles and definitely nowhere as reserved as JAL crews tend to be stereotyped. Walked down the
aisles with drinks regularly throughout the flight. Restrooms clean and dry, with all
varieties of paper - seat covers, napkins, roll, sanitary towels etc. AVOD was good enough -
on par with MAS, though not as comprehensive as say Emirates or SIA. Food was good. JFK-NRT a
B747-400. Older aircraft, but clean and bright. Used old Y configuration, with cramped seats
that Westerners may find very uncomfortable: seat base moves forward when back is reclined,
exacerbating the tightness. Old PTVs are small, and older IFE system is not AVOD, with much
less variety. Crew still immaculate, though the JFK-prepared meals were not as good as the
NRT-prepared meals. Overall, a very good experience that could've been better if the return
744 had been updated. Would definitely consider using JAL again.
JAPAN AIRLINES customer review : 15 June 2009 : by Peter Schweizer (Australia)
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Trip Rating : 7/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | Economy |
BNE-NRT-FRA return economy with 2 adults, 1 toddler (own seat) and 2 infants in bassinets. 767
used on BNE-NRT-BNE legs, B777 used NRT-FRA-NRT in excellent condition. The interior of all
aircraft in very good condition. Had 2 bassinets on all flights as booked. Ground staff very
good but male ground staff in FRA checking us in for the return was the best agent we have
ever dealt with. Big let down the provided transit hotel in NRT on our way to Europe. Got 2
separate rooms across the hall from each other but had requested rooms with connecting doors
which were available. Another let down was the always smiling but very mechanical inflight
crew on the mainline flights NRT-FRA-NRT. You could see that smiles were not coming from the
heart. Asian crew on the flights BNE-NRT-BNE operated by Jalways much warmer. Believe majority
of the flight attendants were from the Philippines and were extremely helpful preparing warm
water bottles for our infants or holding a child while we were busy with the other 2. Food
very average on all flights but not a big concern as we were more concerned keeping our kids
entertained. Would probably not fly JAL to Europe again because of the below average transit
hotel in NRT. Am a big fan of breaking down a long trip to Europe but other airlines such as
KE or MH offer a 5-star accommodation as their transit hotel included in the air fare.
JAPAN AIRLINES customer review : 14 June 2009 : by R Langlois (USA)
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Trip Rating : 8/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | Economy |
SFO-Narita and onwards to TPE and back. Excellent service on all flights. Planes were new
and well kept and time at Narita while waiting to connect to onwards flights very acceptable
(only one hour on the return flight). All in all a good experience, even though I was in
Economy class. The Premium Economy looked a lot nicer with its 2x4x2 seating though, instead
of the 3x3x3 of the regular Economy.
JAPAN AIRLINES review : 10 June 2009 : by N Short (New Zealand)
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Trip Rating : 9/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | Economy |
Brisbane - Tokyo Narita. A very empty flight so all B & H seats on the sides were blocked out
to give people more room. IFE was a little old and confusing, and had set times for the movies
screening, rather than being able to stop and start at your leisure. Boeing 747-400 in nice
condition. Crew maybe need to learn slightly better English and a louder PA system would be
good. Other than that no complaints - very simple typical Japanese designs incorporated
through-out aircraft; eg: heating stones on each food tray to keep meal hotter longer. Also
flight departed and arrived at very reasonable times! Would recommend booking JAL through
travel agent not online site as the online site is rather confusing to use!
JAPAN AIRLINES review : 20 May 2009 : by H Chan (Australia)
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Trip Rating : 7/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | Economy |
We chose JAL economy from Melbourne to London via Tokyo because of their complimentary
overnight hotel. However due to the Narita accident, we were rebooked at Sydney Airport onto a
Qantas flight via Bangkok to London. We were in Heathrow 10 hours earlier than planned but
missing out of the overnight rest. We returned to Australia from Tokyo on JAL. It was a B767
instead of those old 747 without personal screens. The onboard service was good but the food
was horrible – cheese macaroni for dinner and frozen croissant for breakfast. Compared to the
food service on flight between Heathrow and Tokyo, it is of a different grade. It negates
their staff wonderful service. Might just as well pack your own dinner and fly Jetstar to save
some money.
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