Japan Airlines 777 “old” First Class: Bottom Line Review (BKK-HND and HND-ORD)

On the way home from our recent “Flying by the Seat of Our Points” challenge, I had the opportunity to fly Japan Airlines first class both from Bangkok to Tokyo and from Tokyo to Chicago. This was aboard the 777 in JAL’s “old” first class seats. Despite being an “old” product that is clearly dated in comparison to first class aboard the likes of ANA, Emirates, or Singapore Airlines, the seats are nonetheless very good and this was a fantastic value at 80,000 American Airlines miles and $48.70 in first class from Japan to the United States (note that I separately paid 40,000 miles and $21.40 for Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok to Tokyo because I made two separate bookings based on when flights were available). I’d not necessarily prioritize JAL first class on the overnight from Bangkok to Tokyo since it is only about 6 hours long and therefore isn’t the “full” first class experience, but I’d definitely fly it again from Japan to the US.

Japan Airlines 777 First Class Bottom Line Review

Simply put, Japan Airlines first class is an excellent way to fly given the price tag at just 80,000 miles and about $50 in taxes from Japan to the United States. I’d say it is certainly worth the additional 20,000 miles over the 60K that American Airlines would charge for business class from Japan to the US. Food and beverage are top notch and very befitting of the first class label. That said, the “old” first class seat is certainly dated compared to competitors, with smaller IFE screens and no privacy door, so if you’re after a snazzy seat then you’ll probably want to look for availability on ANA or perhaps Singapore Airlines from Japan.

• How we found it: I set a seat alert at Seats.aero. When the alert came though, I immediately went to AA.com and put a hold on the flight. We were using Player 2’s miles, so she later called to pay the taxes and ticket since I couldn’t do so from Morocco (I kept getting a website error — I had to use a VPN to successfully get the flight on hold).
• How we booked it: We booked using American Airlines miles. I actually had two separate bookings — one from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok (on Malaysian) to Tokyo-Haneda (in first class on Japan Airlines) for 40,000 miles and one from Tokyo-Haneda to Chicago (in Japan Airlines first class) and on to New York-JFK (in American Airlines domestic first) for 80,000 miles. Theoretically, that should have been bookable as a single ticket if I found it all available at one time, but I booked those separately simply because they became available separately.
• Cash Price: ~$12,400 one-way from Tokyo to the US in Japan Airlines first class
• Route: Bangkok (BKK) – Tokyo (HND) – Chicago (ORD) for the Japan Airlines segments
• Ground Service:
  • Check-in: I was on two separate tickets, one from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok to Tokyo (with Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok on Malaysia Airlines and Bangkok to Tokyo on Japan Airlines) and one from Tokyo to Chicago to New York. I checked in online for the initial ticket with Malaysia Airlines and received Malaysia Airlines digital boarding passes for both the segment from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok and Bangkok to Tokyo (I was surprised to be able to check in entirely online without needing to go to the counter to show my passport). In Bangkok, I went to the Japan Airlines lounge and explained the separate ticket situation and they were able to interface with someone at their transfer desk to get my two tickets tied together and get paper boarding passes for both segments in Japan Airlines first class. They told me to have a seat and they would take care of it and bring me the boarding passes and they did indeed.
  • Departure Lounges: The Japan Airlines lounge in Bangkok is nothing very special — if you’re flying in business or first class on a oneworld airline from Bangkok, you definitely want to go to the Qatar Airways lounge. The Japan Airlines First Class lounge at Tokyo-Haneda was certainly nice, though perhaps less elaborate that I might expect for a first class lounge. Still, if you take the time to explore, it’s pretty cool. Most people go straight to the main dining room (where rather than a buffet you order via QR code for table service). However, there is a much quieter bar area upstairs with some upscale beverages (they had Hibiki Blender’s Choice, which the Internet tells me is about a $300 bottle of whiskey, among others that were special enough to display alongside it; I am not at all a whiskey drinker, but I tried it to compare to the Hibiki 17 that we had in ANA First Class last year and it was (as you might expect) completely different. I only drank a couple of sips of the Blender’s Choice). They also had traditional Japanese tea and nice runway views. Downstairs, beyond the main dining room is the “Red” lounge, which had a “cigar bar” vibe (minus the cigars) with a lot of cool aviation-related decorations and two shoe shiners working away at polishing shoes.

• First Class Seat:
  • Comfort: Very good. The seat is wide and well-padded. The footwell is also wide as the ottoman doubles as a buddy seat if you’re looking to dine with a partner — you should have no trouble sleeping or reclining to a comfortable position.
  • Storage Space: Plentiful. This is one of my pet peeve’s in business class — I hate when I’m working on my laptop and then dinner arrives and there’s nowhere to put my computer. With the Japan Airlines first class seat, there was a deep storage well to the side what would easily accommodate a laptop of any size along with several other devices and charging implements. There was also a shallower storage compartment where I actually put my chargers for easy access once the flight took off (though I had trouble with both my laptop cord and my phone charger shorting out the power during the flight, so I was unable to charge my laptop, which was disappointing).
  • In-flight Entertainment (IFE): The screen is noticeably smaller than ANA (or perhaps it is fairer to say that the massive screen on ANA is noticeably larger?), though that’s to be expected given that this is an “old” first class seat (Japan Airlines has launched a more modern seat on its A350-1000 aircraft). I only briefly glanced through movies and shows and they seemed to have enough to keep you entertained, but I didn’t watch anything during these flights.
• Food and Beverage: Step aside, Dom Perignon and Krug: From a beverage standpoint, Japan Airlines is known for featuring 2013 Salon Cuvee ‘S’ Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs Brut champagne in first class on flights departing Tokyo-Haneda. That champagne goes for in the neighborhood of $1200 a bottle. It was excellent. I’m ordinarily a one-glass-only champagne drinker, but I had 3 on this flight. Food was very good, though choices were somewhat limited. For dinner, there was a Japanese menu that featured almost entirely seafood (not my thing) and an “international” menu that still had a fish course, a crab course, and an amuse bouche with some sort of small squid — while I liked the fish course more than I’d have expected, it was still more from the water than I’d generally prefer (I’m sure that if I’d asked them not to bring those courses it wouldn’t have been a problem, but I like to try to experience flight service as it is intended and I also figure that if I’m going to try those types of dishes, better to be doing it in an environment where I imagine they are well-prepared and where it isn’t costing me separately to taste test). The wagyu beef steak was without a doubt the best beef I’ve ever had in the sky. I had the ramen from the snacks menu before arriving in Chicago and wished I had time for a second bowl!
• Service: Very, very attentive. As soon as I finished anything, it was gone or refilled. The flight attendant alerted me to the fact that they had Moriizo Shochu available for purchase from the duty-free catalog as soon as we boarded, which is something I wouldn’t have even known about if she didn’t tell me (apparently it’s a type of Japanese distilled beverage made from sweet potatoes that can more or less only be purchased in Japan Airlines first or business class). Service was also very friendly, with the main flight attendant serving me making more casual conversation than I tend to have in a premium cabin. That was actually nice! On the other hand, at times I felt like service was a bit too attentive. It seemed like there was almost always an attendant passing by to check on me. That’s well-intentioned, but for example a few times I wanted to get an undisturbed video of the seat and I had some difficulty getting it.
• Cabin Ambiance/Temperature Control: Very comfortable. I feel like a stereotype exists about Asian carriers keeping uncomfortably warm cabin temperatures, and I’ve experienced flights that were too warm plenty of times, but I didn’t find that to be the case at all here. I put on the provided pajamas, which are like a light sweatsuit and I was completely comfortable sleeping in them with a duvet.
• Internet: Japan Airlines provides free in-flight WiFi in first class via a redeemable code. I had a bit more difficulty than I’d have expected in getting connected in part because the instructions didn’t provide the URL to get connected — and then I had trouble getting that URL to open for several hours on the long-haul flight.
• Amenity Kit: I received two different Zero Haliburton amenity kits on the two flights. Both were nicely stocked and I appreciated that the kits come with a small plastic shoehorn (I like keeping one of those in my bag when I travel to conferences / formal events!). Japan Airlines also provides a separate boxed amenity with a “male” and “female” version. On my flight from Bangkok to Tokyo, they had the “male” version waiting at my seat. On the Tokyo to Chicago flight, the attendant brought both and asked which I’d prefer. I picked the female version on that second flight to bring it home to my wife. It included a mask and a couple of creams — she was happy enough.
• Would I choose to fly it again?  Yes, absolutely. I’d rather fly ANA First Class if given a choice, but I certainly wouldn’t turn down the chance to fly Japan Airlines first class again. I’d probably prioritize flying out of Tokyo over flying into Tokyo so that you get the full catering experience, including the Salon champagne and the shot at buying the shochu if that’s your thing.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Wide, comfortable seat
• Very attentive service
• Awesome high-end champagne departing Tokyo
• Nice amenities
• Pajamas included
• Excellent food
• Great value at 80K miles from Japan to the US in first class (just 20K miles more than business class)

Cons

• Service may have been too attentive for some
• In-flight entertainment screen was smaller than in first class products like ANA and Emirates
• No doors, so it feels less private than other first class products

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