Review: What it’s like to fly Japan Airlines first class
This international airline’s first class has great food and service but is it really that much better than its excellent business class offering? Here is our verdict.
This international airline’s first class has great food and service but is it really that much better than its excellent business offering? Here is our verdict.
At the airport
JAL’s first-class counter in Tokyo Haneda Airport is next to business and economy, but as soon as I give a staff member my name to check in, he comes out from behind the desk, takes my bag and tells me to follow him. A tiny part of me fears I will be hauled back to economy, but instead he takes me to doors that I hadn’t even noticed on arrival. They slide open to reveal a beautiful flower-filled lounge where I am greeted by more staff, who invite me to sit and relax. They take my passport before returning with my boarding pass and it dawns on me that this is the effortless check-in process for first class. I am then escorted through security screening, where I am the sole customer, before going through another set of doors, emerging into the airport again just before customs. I have missed all the tedious queues and am just a few minutes’ walk from the first-class lounge. Magic.
Take a seat
First class is a 1-2-1 configuration and I have a window seat. This particular cabin iteration is the most dated in JAL’s fleet (the plane is 17 years old) and the Boeing 777-300ER is slowly being replaced by the Airbus A350-1000, which is already in service from Tokyo to New York, Dallas and London. There is no sliding door on my suite but I cannot see any other passengers due to the clever curved design. The brown leather seat and woodgrain finishes are not the most attractive but it is spacious and comfortable; the seat is 84cm wide, and at a 200cm pitch, my feet can’t touch the matching footrest. Small storage compartments are on one side of the seat but they are not big enough to hold my laptop, so I place it at my feet with my handbag. An amenity kit has been designed by Japanese company Heralbony, which works with disabled artists. It has all the usual inclusions as well as an “illuminating” sheet mask by Japanese skincare brand Cle de Peau Beate.
It’s an overnight flight, so after dinner I go to the bathroom to change into the understated organic cotton pyjamas provided. Upon my return I find that staff have transformed the seat into a 200cm-long flat bed, adding a mattress, pillow and a wonderfully warm quilt. The seat is so wide it feels like a single bed; it’s easy to sleep as I can change position to get comfortable. I rarely get any shut-eye on planes (I blame my 181cm height and overactive brain) but this flight is an exception and for the first time I am woken by staff for breakfast.
Tech talk
Panasonic noise-cancelling headphones are provided along with a USB-A port and an international power plug, so I can charge my phone. Wi-fi is available (via very complicated instructions) but I don’t use it as sleep is the priority.
That’s entertainment
At 58cm wide, the screen is big – and it needs to be, given it’s quite far away. It is controlled by a remote on the right-hand side of the seat. There is a good selection of Hollywood and Japanese movies, and over dinner I watch Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum
fake the moon landing in the film Fly Me to the Moon.
On the menu
The luxurious leather-bound menu offers two cuisine choices, Japanese and international, with extensive options for both. There is an ornate five-course Japanese dinner that includes seasonal starters, fish soup, steamed Kichiji rockfish, Wagyu beef tongue with lotus root, rice with mushrooms, Japanese pickles and matcha bavarois for dessert. I opt for the international menu and have six courses. The dishes are all presented beautifully; it feels like a fine-dining experience. The beef fillet with red wine and peppercorn sauce is a highlight while the deconstructed chestnut cake looks like a piece of art. There is an extensive wine list but I settle on champagne. Just before landing, I choose a lighter offering of a fruit platter and yoghurt for breakfast (I am still full from dinner) with coffee. Served on a banana leaf, the fruit selection is like a sculpture.
At your service
Service is impeccable from the moment I check in at the airport to when I leave the plane. Staff are always one step ahead. They take my clothes and hang them when I change into the pyjamas, and set up and pack up my bed without being asked. Flight attendants make the experience seamless and, unusually for me, I leave the plane feeling refreshed.
In the bag
First-class passengers can check in three 32kg bags and two cabin bags totalling 10kg.
Make your points
Japan Airlines has its JAL Mileage Bank program and is part of the Oneworld alliance. Qantas frequent flyers can earn points and status credits on all JAL flights.
On the ground
The spacious JAL first-class lounge in Tokyo is spread over two floors. There’s an a la carte restaurant with different seating options on each floor, from comfy couches to more formal tables and chairs for meals. Two chefs make sushi on demand and I order through a QR code at my table – it is delicious. The highlight, however, is the Joseph Perrier champagne lounge in the Red Suite area on the ground floor where I help myself to a glass of bubbles from bottles in silver ice buckets on a table adorned with flowers.
In the know
Sales on Japan Airlines in first class from Sydney to Tokyo will be paused until the end of October; bookings can be made from late August for travel dates from October 26 onwards.
The bottom line
From $11,997 return, Sydney to Tokyo.
The verdict
JAL’s first-class seat and decor is dated compared with other carriers such as Singapore Airlines, Qatar and Emirates, which offer premium sliding-door suites. However, passengers still have a first-class experience, with privacy and seclusion from the crowds at the airport during check-in and impeccable service during the flight. My advice is to fly the airline’s excellent business class until JAL’s new A350-1000 planes and first-class suites arrive in Australia.
Milanda Rout was a guest of Japan Airlines.
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