Japan Airlines (JAL) 777 Business Class Los Angeles (LAX) – Tokyo (HND) Review: Old Seat, Still Great

Rating: 4/5 (Some of the best airplane food & service I’ve ever had. Seat & tech are a bit old but it’s still comfy)

Route: LAX-HND (JAL15 depart 1:40PM arrive 5:25PM+1 day)

Price: 70,000 AAdvantage Miles + $17.20. Note this is the cost for this flight AND my flight from Tokyo to Bangkok in Japan Airlines 787 business class. This is why I love American Airlines miles so much (although they are generally harder to rack up vs. Delta or United…)

Introduction

For my first long-haul flight on my quick trip to Singapore, I was flying Japan Airlines’ business class. I had taken a “repositioning” flight from NYC to LA a few days prior, given Asia-bound award seat availability was much better originating on the west coast than from NYC during my travel dates. Plus, I could just crash at my friends’ place in LA, and have a mini vacation there before my actual trip.

All-in, I paid 70,000 AAdvantage points plus $17 for LA to Tokyo to Bangkok in Japan Airlines business class. Given cash rates for flights started at $6k (or $12k round-trip), this was an incredible redemption for value. Not to say that maximizing CPP is the end all be all, but it does show how much value points can yield, especially for last-minute premium travel.

This was my first time ever flying Japan Airlines business class, and I had high expectations. Long story short, their reputation is well earned, as the flight was incredible. The food was legitimately the best airplane food I’ve had in my life, and the service was extremely friendly and professional. This seat is one of their older business class hard products, and while looking a bit old it’s still a perfectly comfortable and decently competitive product.

Here’s what you’ll find in this post:

Ground Experience at LAX

The biggest disappointment of the trip was the ground experience at LAX – so no knock to JAL. I went to the airport a bit early to check out the Amex Centurion Lounge at LAX (horrible) which I had access to via my Amex Platinum card. I also swung by the OneWorld Business Class Lounge (mediocre), which I had access to since I was flying JAL business.

The Amex Centurion lounge at LAX is a disgrace and should be avoided at all costs. Amex seriously needs to do a complete rip and replace of this one:

The OneWorld Business Class Lounge was marginally better, in that it was massive and quiet and a decent place to relax for a bit. However, the food left a lot to be desired. I wasn’t too bummed though, since I wanted to eat during the flight anyways.

Boarding & Seat Tour

Today, I was flying JL15 from LAX to Tokyo Haneda. This flight has a block time of 12 hours. Since we were flying westbound, the entire flight is during daylight. The flight was to depart LA at 1:40pm, and arrive in Tokyo at 5:25pm the following day.

Japan Airlines is kind of funny in that it has horrible hard product consistency in business class. Depending on the type of aircraft you’re flying, your seat can be wildly different. They have 6 different types of business class seats in their fleet.

However, in general for international long haul flights, no matter what you’ll have a lie-flat seat with direct aisle access, which is the most important thing for me on a long flight.

Here’s a guide of all their different seat types:

Today, I’d be flying onboard their original JAL Sky Suite on their 777-300ER. This product is unique – there are technically middle seats in the cabin since it’s in a 2-3-2 configuration. However, every seat has direct aisle access because of the way the seats are staggered. Below is a map of the cabin. Today, I was flying in seat 11G, which is an aisle seat in the middle section:

Their 777-300ER has a very premium-heavy configuration, with just ~244 seats total on this massive plane:

8x JAL First Class Suites in a 1-2-1 configuration

49x JAL Sky Suites (Collins Apex) in a 2-3-2 configuration

40x JAL Premium Economy seats in a 2-4-2 configuration

147x JAL Economy seats in a 3-3-3 configuration. Note that most airlines with 777s fly 3-4-3 configurations, so JAL is being extra generous with roomy economy here.

Here was my ride for today’s flight out to Tokyo Haneda on this sunny LA day:

Boarding started around 45 minutes ahead of departure. The process was surprisingly quick for a widebody aircraft. Although, this is a very premium-heavy aircraft with a far lower passenger count than what other airlines pack into their 777s (record goes to SouthWind airlines with 550 seats in their 777 with an all-economy layout. JAL’s 777-300ER has less than half that amount).

Today, business class boarded with group 2, behind first class.

Windows were shut in the cabin to keep the aircraft cool from the LA sun.

Here was my home for the next 12 hours. Despite all seats having direct aisle access, I would recommend choosing the actual aisles, as the middle seat is pushed a bit forward to allow its own little pathway to the aisle. It’s kind of awkward though, as both people to the sides are right behind you. However, there is a privacy divider than can be raised after takeoff.

Each seat comes stocked with slippers, pajamas for sleeping, water, and an amenity kit. Before pushback, flight attendants came around with preflight drink options (non alcoholic and alcoholic). I opted for the orange juice.

The seat, despite is age, is really comfortable. I’m 6’2 and had plenty of legroom to lie down during the flight. Also, there’s a really nice storage cubby towards the side of the seat where I stashed my jacket and passport for the flight.

The amenity kit is a bit unique, in that it came with a phone charger and a phone stand. I’ve never seen that before.

For pretty much the entire flight, windows were kept shut by most people. Given it was a daytime flight, I kind of wished there was more natural light, but not a huge deal.

Flight Service and Food Review

Where this flight shined was in its incredible service and food.

Food menus were promptly handed out after boarding. The menu is split into two parts – an a la carte menu that you can order from at any time, and the main meal course menu.

For the a la carte menu, it’s a dine-on-demand concept, so you can just order food whenever during the flight and the flight attendants will whip it up for you.

For the main course, a Japanese and “international” western option are available. If you don’t choose the Japanese option on Japan Airlines, you’re doing this wrong.

There was good mix of drinks – for this flight I just went with cold green tea, water, and the “JAL Original Drink”, which is a sweet juice.

Food service started around 30 minutes after takeoff. To start, a small snack of nuts and olives:

Followed by the appetizer. This is the best airplane appetizer I’ve ever had. I just wish I could have a few of these boxes.

For the main course, I had halibut and chicken teriyaki, alongside miso soup. The paper wrapped rice was the best rice I’ve had in my life (Japanese Koshihikari rice).

To close out the meal, I had the passion fruit mousse cake, which was really good.

The in flight entertainment options were decent. The screen is a bit old, but it did the job. I watched a bunch of movies throughout the flight.

Each seat in the business class cabin comes with this little remote. In theory, you can order food from it. For some reason mine wasn’t working, so I just would ask the flight attendants for things whenever I needed a snack or drink.

Here’s the cabin lighting as we were a few hours in, and getting later LA-time.

The bathroom was a bit small but clean.

Best yet, they have a bidet on the plane in true Japanese style. I was not brave enough to try this, but it was the first time I’ve seen this on a plane.

For my a la carte meal, I opted for the JAL original noodle, which was incredible. I also got the “JAL Original Drink” with it, which was really good.

Before long, we were already approaching Tokyo Haneda airport, after a smooth Pacific crossing.

Conclusion

This was one of my all-time favorite flights. 12 hours is the perfect amount of time to truly enjoy a great business class product without it starting to get too physically tiring. The crew was super friendly and attentive, and the food incredible. The seat is starting to show its age a bit, but is still lie flat with direct aisle access at every seat, so it’s hard to complain for a trans-Pacific long haul flight. Anyways, next stop: the Japan Airlines Business Class Lounge at Tokyo Haneda Airport. At this point, I was getting very fuzzy after being awake for 20+ hours. I was excited to get some (uncomfortable) sleep in this lounge before heading onto my next flight.