Japan Airlines

KMJ-HND on B738. Flight departed and arrived on time. No IFE but for Japanese radio. Seats were narrow with no lumbar support. Got served an average tasting cup of green tea but no food. Service was ok but a little overbearing. For the price paid you are better off on Jetstar Japan.

Flew from Narita to New York on JAL yesterday. The flight reconfirmed JAL as one of my favorite airlines. Traveling in economy class for some 14 hours with my wife and 16-month-old daughter was made most pleasant by the highly professional helpful and genuinely friendly crew. Unlike with carriers on this side of the globe the economy class food was actually quite good. Similarly all drinks - including champagne and cognac - were free of charge and served throughout the flight upon request. And already the check-in at Narita was a completely non- stressful event as there is a special check-in section for people traveling with children.

Tokyo to Honolulu one of the best staff service ever experienced. Food was very nice and well prepared. Seat and entertainment was not as strong but overall it was a very smooth and pleasant flight.

NRT-LAX. This was our last flight after a month vacation and was looking forward to experiencing the "new" FC cabin on their 777300. I was not disappointed. The new leather seats great service from the FAs and food were all fantastic. Their menus are a bit complex for me and would suggest JAL look to their OneWorld partner Cathay for ideas. The tempurpedic flat bed set-up is crazy comfortable. PJs are almost as nice as Cathay's PJs. I'll be back!

PEK-HND Economy Nov 12: The flight left the gate on time but queued on the runway for almost 45 min the flight was very good JAL crew were smiling and very helpful. Food was ok but it caters more for the Asian taste the 787 dreamliner is really a great one. NRT-PEK Economy Nov 20: I tried to check my luggage directly with JAL via PEK to CAI but JAL staff said they cannot do that which is very weird! Flight departed on time B767-200. The crew again were excellent food is not to my taste and there was no choice the flight was nice seats were comfortable.

NRT-BOS SFO-HND. Both sectors were aboard the 787-800 and I must say that the service was excellent. Crew constantly moved throughout the cabin excellent large sized meals Haagen Dazs Ice Cream and a "Snack Oasis" even in Economy where you can help yourself to various drinks and cookies/ chocolates etc.. I usually only fly ANA but I will fly JAL again for sure!

Could not check in online and select a seat with my partner we were assigned seats in opposite sides of the aircraft for some odd reason - despite being on the same booking. IFE rather poor unless you are Japanese Food was ok but both mine and my partner dietary requirement were not met. All other OneWorld airlines always okay. Seats are cramped and odd. The seat reclines but in an odd angle. Cabin was really hot. Overall not that satisfied with JAL and will double check if they are covering any leg of OneWorld ticket to avoid them.

SYD-NRT-FRA-NRT-SYD. I generally like Japan Airlines especially the exceptionally high service standards and generally good food. However on recent Premium Economy travel through from Sydney to Frankfurt and return I found the shell seats almost impossible for sleeping (were these cast-offs from the similar old Cathay Pacific seats one wonders?) and due to a promotional fare offer the PE cabin was packed with noisy passengers and became claustrophobic which tends to negate the benefits of flying PE in the first place! Also this must be the only airline I can think of that allows passengers to keep their window shades closed during the take-off and landing phases of the flight - half the cabin was in darkness from before taxiing and then for the entire flight including the landings. Isn't this a safety hazard when passengers are unable to see out of the aircraft in case of emergency? On the other hand I like the JAL First lounges in Narita and use of the Qantas First lounge in Sydney - excellent. Overall however a mixed experience saved by an upgrade to business on one sector - a different experience entirely.

HKG-NRT-HNL R/T with a mixture of 767 recliners and 777 angled lie-flat. Service efficient and reasonably friendly. I found the seats outdated and far less comfortable than those of several Asian competitors. Briefly lost power coming into Narita which was not fun. Communication with passengers in English seems to be a challenge for the flight deck crew and seemed to be intentionally avoided. Food was generally good but nothing spectacular. The IFE on all flights was poor with limited mediocre content. All things considered JAL is barely superior to any domestic U.S. carrier but decidedly lagging behind many others on a regional and global scale.

From Tokyo Narita to Helsinki Vantaa with a Boeing 787-800 Dreamliner. Very comfortable cabin with good seats and ambient light. Large window and large video screen. Great choice of movies to see. The service was very good very friendly staff continuously through the entire flight. Lunch and dinner were very tasty next to the good quality there was also more than enough food served. Great choice for beverages and ice cream was also being served. Aircraft was clean including the quite large and modern toilets. This was a very good flight one of the best I ever had and the flight was relatively cheap. Definitely a recommendation!