After a wonderful few days in Okinawa, we flew Japan Airlines Economy Class back to Tokyo for some more fun. Having flown budget airline Jetstar Japan on our way to Okinawa, we were excited to see how Japan’s flag carrier compared.
From the booking experience to the onboard service, we’re covering everything you can expect when flying Japan Airlines economy class!
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Japan Airlines Economy Review from Naha to Haneda on the A350-900
We booked our one-way tickets directly on the Japan Airlines website. While the price was a bit higher than other carriers, Japan Airlines had the best flight times that worked with our schedule.
We also factored in that Japan Airlines economy class includes free checked baggage and carry-ons.
Flight Overview
- Route: OKA to HND
- Flight number: JL 902
- Aircraft: Airbus A350-900
- Departure Time: 10:10 am
- Flight time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Our seats: 31H, 31J, 31K
- Cost: JPY 13,310/adult and JPY 9,825/child one way (about $123 CAD/adult and $91 CAD/child)
Booking Japan Airlines
We booked our tickets six months in advance which helped bring the cost down. I noticed as we got closer to the date, the Japan Airlines fares went up a lot.
Booking our flights directly on the Japan Airlines website was an interesting experience. It was different from what I’m used to. For example, after reserving our flight online, our reservation details were emailed to us with a PNR before I had even paid for the flights.
The e-mail stated that I had three days to purchase the tickets. This was a first for me! In addition to being able to pay by credit card, there was also the option to pay by cash at select convenience stores in Japan, participating ATMs, or internet money transfer via Japanese banks.
As always, I paid with my favourite American Express card and was e-mailed a purchase confirmation with ticket numbers.
Using the Japan Airlines app, I was able to select our economy seats free of charge.
Japan Airlines Economy Check-in
I am used to checking in online with other airlines, but to my surprise, Japan Airlines did not offer online check-in. In fact, there was no check-in at all.
Instead, Japan Airlines uses “JAL Touch & Go” boarding where you proceed straight to security and scan the QR code on your phone.
I usually prefer to have a physical boarding pass as a backup in case something goes wrong with my phone, but there was no option to have one printed at the airport. So, I just added the digital boarding pass to my Google Wallet and all worked out fine.
The cutoff to proceed through security is 20 minutes prior to your flight. We got there with plenty of time to spare and went through security 1.5 hours before our flight.
After security, the Naha Domestic Terminal has duty free shopping and a convenience store where you can purchase some snacks, drinks, and souvenirs.
Japan Airlines Economy Class Baggage Allowance
Japan Airlines allows up to a total of 20kg of checked baggage free of charge (and there’s no limit on the number of bags!) on domestic flights. This was one of the reasons why we chose to book Japan Airlines over other budget airlines.
At Naha airport, Japan Airlines uses a self-baggage drop. First, you print your bag tag at the kiosk and attach it to your bag. Then, proceed to the self-serve baggage drop machine and place it on the conveyor belt with the tag facing up.
The machine automatically scans and weighs your bag. If it’s too heavy, it will not be accepted. As long as your baggage is under 20kg, you’ll receive a confirmation slip and your bags will be whisked away on the luggage belt.
As for carry-on bags, Japan Airlines allows one carry-on bag plus one personal item with a maximum combined total of 10kg. The maximum dimensions of the carry-on bag must not exceed 55cm x 40cm x 25cm. However, we didn’t find them to be very strict about this and no one weighed or measured our carry-on bags.
Boarding
Japan Airlines offers pre-boarding to wheelchair users, those with young kids under 2 years old, and anyone else who may need additonal help. You must first speak with one of the staff to request this if you need it.
Boarding is done by boarding group number, which you will find on your boarding information slip. Boarding groups one and two are for priority members based on status. Group three is for those seated in a window seat, emergency exit row or at the rear of the plane. Everyone else is assigned group four.
This confused us at first since our daughter had a different boarding group number than us even though we were all travelling together as a group. However, Japan Airlines allows everyone in a group to board with the earlier group number.
For our flight, boarding was actually delayed by 20 minutes due to late arrival of the incoming aircraft. We had heard so much about how Japan Airlines has one of the best on-time performance ratings so this surprised us!
Cabins and Seats
Japan Airlines’ A350-900 offers three classes of service: First Class, Class J (not to be confused with business class), and economy class.
First Class offers elevated service and the most spacious seats, while Class J is just a more spacious seat without any special service (more like premium economy).
All three classes offer personal entertainment monitors in each seat and free Wi-Fi.
The economy class cabin was very clean and modern.
Our seats were perfectly comfortable for a domestic flight and felt quite spacious for economy class.
We appreciated the USB ports at each seat and universal power outlets. It was also nice to have the tray tables that can fold in half or have the option to just be a cup holder. This makes the seats feel less cramped not having the tray table take up all the space when it’s not all needed.
Wi-Fi
We were really impressed that all passengers get free Wi-Fi on board!
This was such a nice surprise. It was easy to connect to and speeds were actually quite good.
Drink Service
Being in economy class meant that there was no meal service offered (not even for purchase). However, there is a complimentary beverage service.
Coffee, tea, soft drinks (Coca-Cola) and juices (peach and grape mix, or apple) are all offered for free on domestic economy routes.
Entertainment
We were pleased with the personal seatback monitors at our seats and we loved that we could even watch the live views from the external cameras!
Our daughter enjoyed watching Mickey Mouse shows (and it didn’t even seem to bother her that it was in Japanese only).
I appreciated having the Skyward magazine to flip through as well.
Service
The flight attendants were all incredibly kind and served us with big smiles.
We were surprised when they came around towards the end of the flight and offered our daughter a present. She was given a replica JAL A350-1000 toy airplane! What a nice souvenir.
Final Verdict for Japan Airlines Economy Class
Japan Airlines is not the cheapest airline in Japan but we found that we got what we paid for.
We loved not having to pay for checked baggage and having personal IFEs at our seats along with free, fast Wi-Fi. The warm service we received from the flight attendants made a big difference as well.
In the future, we would definitely book Japan Airlines economy class again even if it cost a bit more than the budget airlines. It’s worth it.
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