Japan Airlines First Class? Yes, Please

Simply put, Japan Airlines First Class is an incredible product, despite the cabin being a bit dated. JAL, as popularly called, undoubtedly offers world class dining experience as well. My family of 3 recently flew First-Class in the Boeing 777-300ER from New York JFK to Haneda Tokyo, where we received such an exceptional service from the flight JL005 crew.

 

 

We arrived at the Terminal 1 of JFK International Airport about 3 hours early and realized that our flight has been delayed for like 2 hours. The delay itself would have been an opportunity to spend longer time at the lounge, but the Lufthansa Lounge being utilized by JAL just doesn’t set the First-Class mood. More on that in a moment.

The check-in process was special, and all our bags (including carryon and stroller) were tagged with JAL First baggage tags. But personally, I was more interested in laying my hands on the approximately $50,000 worth boarding passes for myself, my wife, and our 7 months old.

 

 

BOOKING:

As at the time of this flight, JAL was pricing its’ First-Class seat for $16,500. But that doesn’t mean we paid $50,000 in cash for my family of 3. Here’s a little backstory about this booking:

Since JAL doesn’t release more than one First Class seat until a few days before departure, I instead booked my wife and I in First Class on two different flights on the same day. Although I could have just booked one First Class and one Business Class on the same flight, but I was just so confident that either of the two flights will have another seat available about 2 weeks before departure.

To our advantage, JAL later canceled its’ flight 003 and put my wife and I on the same flight automatically. I later called Japan Airlines to add our baby as a lap infant and was quoted a whopping $1,650 which is the 10% of the cash rate. Long story short, I booked another seat for our infant using additional 70,000 Alaska Airlines miles, which to me was a no-brainer. In a nutshell, we redeemed 210,000 Alaska miles for a $50,000 flight. What a steal.

 

 

We spent a fair amount of time before passing through TSA, after which we headed to the Lufthansa Lounge with plenty of time to burn. As I mentioned earlier, this Lufthansa Lounge isn’t anything special in any way.

 

 

THE JAL SUITE:

Fast forward to boarding. Without wasting much time, we settled into the JAL Suite, occupying all the four seats in Row 2. This JAL First Class cabin on the Boeing 777-300ER is arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration, and there were 2 additional passengers with us in First Class. We were offered pre-boarding beverages while the flight attendants introduced themselves to us.

 

 

Even though the JAL Suite doesn’t feature a door, the oversized seat thus compensate for that. The seat featured an ottoman which is big enough for another passenger to sit on. This is perfect for those that may want to dine with their travel companion.

 

 

Related: Emirates Airlines First Class – Airbus A380

 

The middle seats are perfect for couples or those traveling together, as these seats provide easy access for communication. You can also bring the divider up for privacy if you’re a solo traveler.

 

 

The tray table is located up above the ottoman right beneath the in-flight entertainment (IFE) screen. The tray table does slide in and out, and can be adjusted to better suit your preference.

 

 

The seat controls are well marked and easy to use. With features like upright, kickback and relax, lie-flat, and so on. The seat also has a massage functionality, which I didn’t put to a test during this 14-hour flight from New York to Tokyo.

 

 

Japan Airlines is notoriously known to keep its’ cabin warm, and to make matter worse, each seat doesn’t have personal air nozzles. 

Passengers can choose between either the soft or hard mattress pads that JAL offers, and we opted for the former option. To put it to test, we beckoned on one of the amazing flight attendants to prepare the bed for our little human. Let me also use this opportunity to state that our infant was well taken care of throughout the flight and was showered with some swags.

 

 

FOOD & BEVERAGE:

The food and beverage service started off with a white glove table making service, followed by a delivery of wrapped moist towelette as I look through the JAL leather binder food and beverage menu which the airline calls BEDD (Sky Auberge by JAL). 

For appetizer, I opted for Caviar, which was nicely presented in a tin and accompanied with waffles and canape, and served with a mother-of-pearl spoon. The flight attendant had recommended I paired my caviar with their chilled smoked salmon soup, which I gladly said yes to. Afterall, this is JAL First Class, an exclusive fine-dining restaurant at 40,000 feet up in the air.

 

 

My wife had ordered the “Pan-fried Sea Bass” earlier, so I opted for the “Dainomono” (braised beef short ribs “oden” style) from the Japanese menu. The main dish was accompanied with sea bream rice, miso soup, and Japanese pickles. I paired the meal with the Japanese royal blue tea “queen of blue.”

 

 

I kept it simple for dessert and opted for cheesecake, plus green tea on the side.

 

 

Related: Virgin Atlantic Upper Class

 

LIE-FLAT BED:

With about 7 hours left, I decided to get some sleep in. The JAL soft mattress pad did provided a comfortable sleep, and I was able to get in 4 hours of sleep.

 

 

AMENITIES:

JAL provided couple of amenities to make the flight more enjoyable for the passengers. Upon boarding, Shiseido Men’s skincare, Zero Haliburton hardcase amenity kit, slippers, and Wi-Fi voucher were all waiting at my seat. The flight attendant later came around to ask for my pajama’s size, which is a Japan Airlines’ branded pajama and of a good quality.

But in my opinion though, you probably wouldn’t want to utilize the pajama during the flight due to its’ thickness and the temperature in the cabin.

 

 

Unlimited complimentary Wi-Fi was provided to First-Class passengers. Though the Wi-Fi wasn’t great, and the connection process itself was daunting. A voucher code is provided, which is valid for 24 hours after your first login.

 

 

For Mrs. The Points Engineer, one of her best moments onboard this flight was having a personal SPA at 40,000 feet up in the air. The cle de peau facemask provided by JAL was one of the highlights of the day. 

 

 

Related: American Airlines Flagship First Class

 

The lavatory was kept spotless throughout the flight, and it seems the flight attendants went in there after each use to ensure it looks clean for the next passenger. The toilet featured a bidet, and for me, the best part of the lavatory was the changing station. 

It’s worth mentioning though, the bathroom in the first-class cabin was a little too small for such a wide-body aircraft.

 

 

Our flight JL005 from New York JFK to Tokyo Haneda touched down at 7:15pm, with the total flight duration of 14 hours 15 minutes.

After spending some unnecessary time battling with the machine which just wasn’t scanning my QR code from the declaration/registration form, we then picked up a $57 taxi for a 20-minute ride from the airport to AC Hotels Tokyo Ginza where we spent a few days before we headed out to Jakarta, on our way to Bali .

And again in my opinion, I feel like Japan was just focusing too much on all the wrong places with its’ Covid related travel restrictions. And there were way too many airport staff than the passengers at the airport.

 

 

MY VERDICT:

Even though the Japan Airlines First Class “Sky Suite” needs a refresher in terms of the look, the seat itself was very wide and fits 2 of us comfortably in lie-flat mode. The exceptional service from the ground staff and the flight attendants onboard was top-notch, and the food, beverage, and amenities provided were first-class worthy.

Honestly, I have nothing to fault here, even with the temperature of the cabin. And for 70,000 Alaska miles, it was an absolute steal. 

 

What’s your take on this Japan Airlines First Class product?