JAPAN AIRLINES   Passenger Reviews and Passenger Trip Reports

JAPAN AIRLINES customer review :  12 January 2010 by S Smith   (Australia)

Rome to Tokyo. For a 12 hour flight it was very reasonable. Its fortunate I got an exit row seat otherwise I think I would have died. Im 6ft 5 and pretty thin so the width of the seat didn't bother me, but if you are even slightly overweight I think you would find the seats uncomfortable. Service of staff on JAL is exceptional, they are so wonderful, happy and willing to help. This was a night flight but I didn't sleep. Also the inflight entertainment is woefully inadequate by today standards. Movies & TV shows are not on demand, you have to wait until the movie/tv show restarts - very frustrating on a long haul flight. Probably wont fly again if it can be avoided.

JAPAN AIRLINES customer review :  26 December 2009 by Quek Keng Guan   (Singapore)

Singapore to KL on B767-300 in Y class. Managed to get a good deal from Zuji website for S$103 including taxes (return). Travelled with family and 2 kids. Were given bulkhead seats on both sectors. Singapore-Kl was about 40% full. Flight was from KIX, with a stopover in Singapore. Thus managed to get some seats from the back with my infant daughter. Was given packet of apple juice and disposable wet wipes. FA polite and offered more wet wipes when they saw me having a sandwich. Flight map shown during the flight. KL to Singapore was about 60% full, a newer B767-300. Cushions were thinner compared to ANA Y Class. Don't think it would be comfortable for a flight for more than 6 hrs to KIX due to thin cushions. Overall, flight was comfortable for a short flight and a bargain.

JAPAN AIRLINES customer review :  14 December 2009 by Y Phua   (Singapore)

SIN-NRT. 11pm flight and the aircraft was extremely warm to the extent that we were sweating. 1 hour into the flight, we were still waiting for our refreshments. We were only served a piece of cookie and a drink. This left us thirsty throughout the flight.

JAPAN AIRLINES customer review :  9 December 2009 by S Klein   (USA)

Late night flight to Narita, fully loaded 777. Despite the cramped seat pitch across their fleet, I have enjoyed flying JAL. The service has been very warm, efficient and polite. However, the catering on this particular flight left a lot to be desired. After take off, and waiting for a little over an hour - smiling flight attendants doled out a drink of choice and two small cookies. That was it - till breakfast was served a few hours later - no choice just the standard very bland congee. Also, having flown on JAL the previous month, having watched most of the movies available - I was a bit disappointed to find the selection of movies almost identical on this flight. So tried to catch up on sleep instead but with a short flight time, breakfast was served about 4.30am. so not much sleep either. While not the best flight I've had with them, I still would fly with them again - perhaps not a red eye like this one. Hope they get that cash injection from somewhere soon.

JAPAN AIRLINES customer review :  7 December 2009 by L Norton   (Australia)

BNE-NRT connecting to Sapporo. Aircraft from Brisbane cramped with seats close together. Had to sit with legs apart as knees hit seat in front and am only 170cm (5'7"). FA friendly, helpful and English speaking. Food disappointing. Hot meal was OK but snack consisted of stale multigrain bread with ham and plastic cheese with mustard pickle reminiscent of your school sandwiches. Obviously need better catering in Brisbane. Domestic connection in Narita was good. Seats better - less cramped. Efficient FA. Fares however cheaper than rival airlines so value for money.

JAPAN AIRLINES customer review :  6 December 2009 by Y Shon   (South Korea)

ICN-NRT-JFK in Economy Class. Flights between Incheon and Narita on older B767-300, no AVOD, Soraben meals are provided. Flights between Narita and New York JFK on older B747-400, PTV style AVOD. Food also provide only twice and hungry in the flight time. Flights between New York JFK and Tokyo Narita on latest B777-300ER with AVOD, 3D navigation is fitted. Meal was fine, snack bar (Sky Oasis). Overall, the crew was friendly, seat pitch was okay - but meals not delicious.

JAPAN AIRLINES customer review :  25 November 2009 by F Arman   (Singapore)

SIN-KIX, NRT-SIN. Aircraft older than most airlines - food flying out from Japan was excellent, although I expected sashimi for the seafood meal. Service was good on the way to Japan, with the stewardesses speaking English a little more than the average Japanese. However, the flight back was filled by FAs who lacked the Japanese charm and one even complained about me in Mandarin (thinking I could not understand). I think JAL needs a revamp in terms of uniforms and service style and its aircraft.

JAPAN AIRLINES customer review :  18 November 2009 by Quek Keng Guan   (Singapore)

Travelled from Okinawa to Tokyo Hanada on B747-400 in J Class. Check in staff assisted us as we are travelling with 2 kids (4 yrs, 18 mths). JAL check in counter has displays of weather of destination, seats available in Y class. Managed to obtain J class upgrades with 1000Yen (S$15.50). Seat has more recline and cushion and a padded footrest for this flight sector of 2.5 hrs. Two rounds of drink service done via trolley and Japanese cookies were given with wet wipes given, with frequent FA rounds. Cabin appears more cheerful in their pink coloured theme compared to grey contrast in their domestic Y class. Only Japanese news were screened on their main screen, and 10 channels of music (namely 9 channels of Japanese music and 1 channel of classic music) were available. Inflight magazine all in Japanese. Inflight duty sales available. J class were full on this sector while Y class were only 50% full, with many Japanese students returning to Tokyo with Okinawians goodies. Overall, J class is worth the upgrade!

JAPAN AIRLINES customer review :  12 November 2009 by Greg Harrison   (USA)

Chicago O'Hare - Nagoya (via Tokyo Narita), Boeing 747 and Boeing 737. Osaka - Chicago O'Hare (via Tokyo), Boeing 777 on both return flights. Flight to Tokyo on the 747 was disappointing. Outdated entertainment system, cramped seats, little storage under seats. However, flight attendants were warm and friendly, typical Japanese hospitality. Meals average, nice proportions, real silverware and wood chopsticks offered. Hot towel offered before meals, hot green tea and coffee served after. Be sure to try their sky time yuzu drink. Cabin and bathrooms very clean. Domestic service is typical. Pillows and blankets offered, drinks service after take-off etc. Seats are comfy with good amount of legroom. Once again, flight attendants very kind and welcoming. Flight from Tokyo was better - so much more legroom and seats a lot roomier. More storage space in overhead lockers and under seats. Magic III (features AVOD, multiplayer games, and more) is a lot better than Magic I, which was offered on the first flight. Meal routine and flight attendants' attitude are the same as inbound flight. Japan Airlines offers phenomenal service and a great product. The only bad thing is the Boeing 747, because the inflight entertainment and seats are very obsolete compared to the B777.

JAPAN AIRLINES customer review :  10 November 2009 by David Maerz   (Australia)

SYD-NRT-AMS-KIX-NRT-SYD. Excellent service on all legs with new, comfortable aircraft (if a little warm in the cabin). Very friendly cabin crew, great meals and on-demand second meal service is welcome. The complimentary overnight stay at the Nikko Narita is a pleasant way to break up a long-haul trip. The lounge at Narita is lovely with a good meal and bar service. My wife and I were able to get an amazing business class deal, many thousands cheaper than the nearest rival. We also redeemed points very easily for a return business class journey SYD- NRT-SYD next year on our desired dates for travel. The JAL frequent flyer website is very easy to use. We have been flying JAL executive class since 2004 and always been impressed with the service.

JAPAN AIRLINES customer review :  19 October 2009 by William Macintyre   (UK)

LHR-NRT-FUK return. Smooth check-ins, personable staff, and they try to do best to seat a long-legged person like myself in a seat that has some decent leg room if they can.

JAPAN AIRLINES customer review :  15 September 2009 by Bill Atkins   (USA)

SIN-NRT. Great check-in at private terminal with huge lounge and all the facilities, though no real food. Golf cart to the gate. Service on board unobtrusive and personal. Choice of snacks as late departure then decent breakfast before arrival. Great wines/other drinks choices. Old style twin seats, which I find extremely comfortable - cabin nice and cool (rare these days) with warm duvet and good pyjamas/cardigan. JAL always gets the priority baggage right. Hope they don't change to another alliance which will not match their style.

JAPAN AIRLINES customer review :  10 September 2009 by Michael Jones   (Japan)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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!