Greetings Flight Reporters and welcome to another whirlwind Asian adventure. This was an especially exciting trip for me because I was bringing along a friend who was a complete newbie to most of the experiences I had planned for this trip. New to first class on top airlines, premium lounges, and new to a couple of the cities we visited. It's always a special treat for me to share experiences that I I value with someone else that I think will value them as well. To see things again through the newness of someone else's eyes. The reports of our travel will be broken down as follows:
The "transit experience" took about an hour. We occupied our time having wheelchair races up the deserted concourse. The row of chairs for waiting was new. My last time I was offerd one of the broken office chairs the staff are made to sit on.
After our boarding passes were delivered we headed upstairs to the Pura Indah Lounge and the ultra exclusive First Class section. The lounge was not terribly crowded but the furniture was so close together it was difficult to move about. I believe we enjoyed some water here before heading to the gate.
The security screening was about 10 passengers deep and then it was on to D7. I very much enjoy the tropical/jungle architecture of the terminal. It appears dated but exudes charm.
The holding area for boarding is quite crowded but the wait was brief and after pr-boards First Class was invited to board. We descended the jet way to a warm welcome and escor to seats 2A and 2D. The seats are large, comfortable, and the finishes are pleasing to my eye and touch. There is ample storage. Amenity kit, male grooming products, slippers, and headphones were pre-provisioned at the seats.
Mark and both donned our JAL sleeper suits before takeoff.
Pre-flight oshibori and welcome champagne were offered and accepted.
We were soon off for Narita.
Service started promptly with the omni-present oshibori and my beverage of choice, the 2004 Salon Cuvee 'S' Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs. It's a lovely wine from the Champagne region of France. ;P
The menu was distributed and unfortunately I neglected to capture the wine portion. I'm always impressed with JALs menus on these late departure flights. Perfect light yet luxurious options like caviar and sushi.
Based on novelty alone we decided to enjoy our romp through the menu my suite as neither of us had ever had the opportunity to do so on an airplane.
The caviar to so start. Beautiful presentation and to pair with the Salon.
Also the assorted sushi and egg custard.
The wine was thoughtfully topped up whenever needed. This made for very happy customers.
We both opted for the cheese plates next. Rather sparse but it was still a nice finish to the meal.
Not wanting to succumb to sleep just yet I enjoyed Suntory time with the Hibiki 17. Snacks were offered as they should be with any serving of alcohol.
Eventually slumber beckoned and the seat ws converted to bed.
A trip to the lav for dental care.
There is a display of water and snacks near door L1. Also a placard with aircraft reg and staff names.
Sleep comes over Malaysia.
It was a quality slumber and I regained consciousness somewhere off the coast of Japan near Wakayama.
Water and OJ are promptly delivered and I am offered breakfast. What the heck, I'll have a look at the western option and some coffee too, please.
The excellent JAL coffee presentation.
Fruit was up first. Someone has been working on their knife skills…Ms. Kuramoto I'm looking at you.
Bread rolls were served.
A green salad, I guess to make the tabel look more full or generous.
Smoked salmon omelette.
Nothing really stands out here…its a western breakfast…on an airplane.
Nice view of the mighty GE90 as the sun was reporting for work this morning.
I received a nice note from the senior cabin attendant.
We near the coast of the Chiba prefecture and the is broken cloud cover. The wind whipped waves are present but I didn't really pay much mind to the conditions. Well, that wind would thwart our visit to Hong Kong but there is nothing I could have done differently.
We landed on time and were through immigration and customs quickly to enjoy a few hours of wandering around Nartia.
See more
Verdict
Japan Airlines
9.0/10
Cabin9.0
Cabin crew9.0
Entertainment/wifi9.0
Meal/catering9.0
Pura Indah Lounge
5.0/10
Comfort5.0
Meal/catering5.0
Entertainment/wifi5.0
Services5.0
Jakarta - CGK
5.0/10
Efficiency5.0
Access5.0
Services5.0
Cleanliness5.0
Tokyo - NRT
9.3/10
Efficiency9.0
Access9.5
Services9.0
Cleanliness9.5
Conclusion
Thank you for joining me for another fantastic JAL experience.
The Ground Service: Transit at CGK is an adventure but it all works out in the end. It adds to whole exotic feel of Indonesia.
The Lounge: I would not come to the airport early for the lounge however it was a fine place to stop in for some hydration.
The Cabin: It's functional, elegant, and spacious. The bed is very good with a generous mattress pad and quality bedding. I like the Japanese pillows too.
The Crew: Really good showing here. A bit more reserved than I prefer but very good. The attention to detail of a Japanese crew is always very impressive to me. They indulged our every request with grace and class.
The Food and Beverage: JAL does the supper flights really well. Caviar is always on the menu and the Salon is a rare treat.
Overall: We've chosen night flights to maximize day time at our destinations but still manage to get a good dose of the first class flying experience. Yes, sleep suffers but being pampered by JAL will keep me up late any time.
Thanks for reading and happy flying.
2 LIKESLIKE TO THANK THE AUTHORTHANKS ! FLIGHT-REPORT LIKED
Flight-Report is a free website hosting more than 500 000 pictures and 17 000 reviews, without ads, this website can't exist. We understand that ads can be annoying, this is why we only display a maximum of 2 non-invasive ads per page.
To continue using Flight-Report, we invite you to add Flight-Report to your blocker's "white list".
#10 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings.
173 reviews
2 Comments
Login to post a comment.