Review of Japan Airlines flight from Tokyo to Singapore in Business

JAL

JL - Japan Airlines

Flight taken on 27 December 2017
JL711
17:00 09h 00m 01:00
Class Business
Seat 4K
Rewardflying
3,920 · 72 · 11 · 6
photo jl711 cover 2

Hello Flight-Report #avgeeks. Rewardflying returns traveling across the pacific and back. This trip will start with a favorite and end with Garuda Indonesia's A330 (newest seat) and the highly anticipated Delta A350.
I hope you enjoy the trip!


Flight Segments


ORD American Airlines Flagship Lounge
Japan Airlines ORD-NRT First Class 777-300
NRT Japan Airlines First Class Lounge - Main Terminal


Japan Airlines NRT-SIN New Business Class 777-200 - This report


KLM SIN-DPS Business Class 777-300
Garuda Indonesia DPS-ICN Business Class A330
Delta ICN-DTW Business Class A350
Delta DTW-ORD - No report


Japan Airlines B777-200 Business Class SkySuite III


Japan Airlines introduced another business class seat for their Asia 777-200 aircraft as well as some new 787-9 aircraft. That makes:


photo jl business class seats

Reward Flying has reviewed the JAL Sky Suite twice as well as the Shell Flat Neo, so reviewing the Sky Suite III was anticipated.


photo jl711 boarding 2

Boarding was slightly delayed but didn't impact the arrival time into Singapore. There seemed to be a lot of confusion at the gate as multiple zones were roped off. The #1 zone was for JAL/Oneworld elite and turned out to be the longest line. I was in line #2. We all get there the same time but it didn't help for getting cabin shots of the aircraft.


photo jl711 cabin 5photo jl711 cabin 1photo jl711 cabin 2

There are 42 Sky Lounge III seats in two cabins on these 777-200ER aircraft.


photo jl 777 seat map

I secured seat 4K. The front cabin was almost full for this flight.


photo jl711 cabin seat 2

These reverse herringbone designed seats are made my Zodiac and are in the Cirrus family. But they are alot different than the Cirrus seat you might be accustomed to.


photo jl711 seat 1

So far so good.


photo jl711 seat 2

You can begin to see this pod is much smaller than the standard Cirrus pod installed in Cathay Pacific, American Airlines 777-300ER and EVA Airlines to name a few. 
There is an ottoman that is your foot rest and/or storage area for a small carry-on like a laptop bag or purse.


photo jl711 seat 5

While it was dark down there so it's hard to tell, you can't put anything on the floor.


photo jl711 seat footwell ottoman

You need to use the ottoman for stuff so your feet have company when you want your legs supported in any position other than sitting erect.


photo jl711 seat footwell - sitting 1

Why don't you just raise the footrest that every other business class seat has you may ask. Because there is none. The ottoman is your foot rest. 
Since the seat is close to the ottoman, again it's a small space, using it as a footrest isn't a horrible thing. The problem is the ottoman is lower than the bottom of the seat and with your legs angling slightly downward there is no support underneath them, meaning all the weight is on the back of your heels.


photo jl711 seat footwell - sitting 2

Notice what's missing on the seat control pad.


photo jl711 seat control

I just found it this position uncomfortable. Maybe with shoes on it would be different.
The seat reclines to a 78 inch flat bed.


photo jl711 seat bed 2photo jl711 seat bed 1a

And don't forget, you share the footwell with whatever isn't up in the luggage bin.


photo jl711 seat footwell- sleep

So the seat extends flat to be level with the ottoman as most pods do, but it seemed like this ottoman was really low. Therefore it seemed like you were sleeping on the floor.


photo jl711 seat bed level

(courtesy Aviation Wire)
Was this an issue for someone working on 24 hours without sleep? No. I slept well. But I sure wish they provided one of those Airweave mattresses as the only bedding was a pillow and thin blanket. 
Probably the main issue I had with the comfort of this seat was its firmness. The wasn't any cushion. 
Yet it had great privacy. The walls of the pod came up to the top of your head, but some of that was that the seat is lower to the ground I think.


photo jl711 seat privacy 1photo jl711 seat privacy 2

Center seats have a small retractable partition.


photo jl711 seat privacy divider 1photo jl711 seat privacy divider 2

Like the standard Cirrus seat the aisle armrest is collapsable for more bed width.


photo jl711 seat bed extra width

On the back of the pod in front of you is a coat hook along with the table tray. Apparently you are limited to using only one of these two features.


photo jl711 seat coat hook

The tray folds downs placing it at an angle to how you are seated. So if you hang a coat how to you use the table?


photo jl711 seat tray 2

Then swivels to be parallel to you. A nice feature of this is you can push the tray back and exit your seat without having to stow the tray table.


photo jl711 seat tray 1

Typical of the Cirrus pod is a compartment for headphone storage. Even better there is a mirror you can probably actually use!


photo jl711 seat mirror open

And underneath the door they've solved the Cirrus pod issue of ports inside the compartment by placing a nice easy to access strip with everything you need as well as a reminder of where you are.


photo jl711 seat mirror door

The strip has standard power, USB and headphone jack. Well done.


photo jl711 seat power

Next to you is the IFE controller that can be used while in its cradle.


photo jl711 seat ife controller

While the 17 inch monitor was within reach and is touch screen, not everything was selectable by touch and you had to use the controller. Maybe this was limited to my seat on this plane. Nevertheless I wasn't much interested in anything other than sleep after the meal.



Above your shoulder is a reading light.


photo jl711 seat light

You are a long way from the window in these pods as well, assuming you aren't in the center section.


photo jl711 seat window 1

This is was my view of the Tokyo sitting in 4K


photo jl711 seat window 2

Of course you can lean forward and look back.


photo jl711 scenic tokyo 2

If you are interested in learning more about this pod, Japan Airlines has a bevy of info on their website including the routes this seat is flown on.


photo jl711 bev 1photo jl711 menu bev wine red small

I wasn't able to locate this Chilean Organic wine to understand it's pricing. But I did find the "limited edition" Cabernet from the same vineyard and it was about $15.00.



Well here's my Wagyu that I was looking for on the way to Tokyo. But the preparation as well as cut isn't all that exciting so I move on.


photo jl711 menu food west

And beef tongue is really good when prepared properly.


photo jl711 menu jap full

Plus one last look at the JAL bento box is too much to resist.


photo jl711 food pres 1

.


photo jl711 food pres 2

.


photo jl711 food wc 0

Winter Calm. Interesting.


photo jl711 menu food winter calm

Simmered Chicken & Vegetables with Soy Sauce


photo jl711 food wc 1

Crabmeat with Soy Starch Sauce


photo jl711 food wc 2

Poached Potherb Mustard, Garland Chrysanthemum & Mushroom in Japanese Broth with Herring Roe & Abalone (quite the mouthful)


photo jl711 food wc 3

Soy-simmered Beef Ginger Flavor
Burdock seasoned with Sesame
Broiled Sardine Sweet Soy Sauce Flavor
Slow Cooked Egg
Vinegared Turnip wrapped with Smoke Salmon
"Namafu" (wheat gluten in dish I assume)


photo jl711 food wc 4

Seared Yellowtail with Grated Radish


photo jl711 food wc 5

Everything was good, some were great, except whatever was wrapped in that green leaf.


photo jl711 menu food dainomono

.


photo jl711 food pres 3

.


photo jl711 food main 1

Japanese Style Stewed Beef Tongue


photo jl711 food main 2

Fabulous - too bad is was such a small portion and rather difficult, no impossible, to eat the sauce with chopsticks!
Broiled Eel Sweet Soy Sauce Flavor


photo jl711 food main 3

The Dainomono was excellent.


photo jl711 food main 4photo jl711 food main 5

Finally Kanmi which is a dessert. Japanese Sponge Cake "Castella" with Citrus Hyuganatsu Jam.


photo jl711 food main des 1photo jl711 food main des 2

It doesn't look like cake. After food and some wine the mind was drifting so frankly I don't remember it. 
A simple amenity kit was provided with the basics and Panasonic headphones (along with the slippers you've seen too much of).


photo jl711 amenity 1photo jl711 amenity 2photo jl711 amenity 3

Mood lighting has been added to this 777-200ER


photo jl711 cabin mood lighting

After a couple hours of shut-eye and 24 hours of travel destination Singapore was in view.


photo jl711 scenic singapore 1

I visited Japan Airlines' First Class lounge in Narita. You can view that report here.
This link is the complete report for this flight on rewardflying.com


photo jl711 flight path
Display all

Product ratings

Airline

Japan Airlines 7.1

  • Cabin6.5 / 10
  • Cabin crew7.5 / 10
  • Entertainment/wifi7.0 / 10
  • Meal/catering7.5 / 10
Lounge

JAL First Lounge7.0

  • Comfort8.0 / 10
  • Meal/catering6.0 / 10
  • Entertainment/wifi8.0 / 10
  • Services6.0 / 10
Departure airport

Tokyo - NRT8.0

  • Efficiency8.0 / 10
  • Access8.0 / 10
  • Services8.0 / 10
  • Cleanliness8.0 / 10
Arrival Airport

Singapore - SIN9.3

  • Efficiency9.0 / 10
  • Access9.0 / 10
  • Services9.5 / 10
  • Cleanliness9.5 / 10

Conclusion

I'm on the fence on these seats and not sure how they would be when sitting for the whole flight due to the lack of a footrest as well as the firmness of the seat cushion. But I would try them again, however in my opinion the ANA staggered business class seat that flies this same route is preferable. 

Thanks for reading. See you on KLM.

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Comments (11)

  • Awesome trip report! I agree that boarding was chaotic at Narita but I'd say it was smooth at Haneda. The seat features look weird to me.

  • Thanks for reading Cathay_Flyer. I do believe the lounges are better at Haneda as well. Happy reward flying.

  • Thank you for this report! I am really surprised at the seat --- would never have known how different it is from the versions used by CX, BR, etc. It seems somewhat "cramped" which is not something I'd ever have expected to say for a reverse herringbone J seat. I wonder just how many more seats JL can fit due to this setup. It also intrigues me given their low-density overall configuration on their 77Ws with the different J seat.

  • Hi Dreamweaver888, I was surprised too. The photos make them look the same. But it you compare window side front cabin LOPA's of say EVA, Cathay and JAL on their 777's between door 1 and door 2 you get:

    EVA: 6 seats plus a closet and handicap sized lav

    CX: 7 seats plus a very small storage area by door 1

    JL: 7 seats plus a small lav at door 2.

    So the difference is they angle the seats differently to fit more in, which is why you are so far from the window. That and the pod is smaller.

    Of course these have been installed on routes that are about 6 hours so they won't be TPAC or Europe bound. The farthest they fly these to is Delhi. I get why they did it this way.

    Plus these aren't any worse, and probably better, than Thai's new A350 business class seat. They are more private for sure.

    Thanks for reading and the comments.

    • Thanks again! I suppose for 6 hrs max they make sense. I feel that there's a certain point when the pod gets small enough, that high privacy dividers and walls feel claustrophobic. Still find it a major contrast to the "Sky Wider" cabins on the JL 77Ws.

  • Hi, Rewardflying, and thank you for this FR.

    "You can begin to see this pod is much smaller than the standard Cirrus pod installed in Cathay Pacific, American Airlines 777-300ER and EVA Airlines to name a few."

    -Why? Just.. why? I fail to see the point in this. To make the aisle more roomy? CMIIW, but the business seats on their 767-300ER are narrower than usual as well. Do you know of this?

    “The seat reclines to a 72 inch flat bed.”

    - Eh? Is it just me or must one angle oneself in order to “fit” into the bed more?

    “Therefore it seemed like you were sleeping on the floor.”

    - At that height, you might as well do. Has it anything to do with Japanese design language, being close to the floor when sleeping? I mean, futons are very common in Japanese inns..

    "Well here's my Wagyu that I was looking for on the way to Tokyo. But the preparation as well as cut isn't all that exciting so I move on."

    -Heh. So it's safe to say that you "got beef" with the cut that's offered on the flight? :P

    Glad to see improvements on the meals they serve you ex-NRT. Were there no meals served before landing? Or were you making room for KL & GA?

    Thanks again for this FR. Cheers!

  • Hello Razza_Pr

    Why? Just.. why? I fail to see the point in this. To make the aisle more roomy? CMIIW, but the business seats on their 767-300ER are narrower than usual as well. Do you know of this?

    -I just looked at seatguru (so grain of salt) and the Vantage seats on JL 767 are 25" wide while Delta is 21" wide. That seems like a lot so I don't have an answer for you.

    Eh? Is it just me or must one angle oneself in order to “fit” into the bed more?

    -Another typo, 78 inches is the correct length. Actually the best thing about the seat was being fully flat, there isn't much room to angle so if you are over 78 inches (198cm) then this seat might be problematic.

    At that height, you might as well do. Has it anything to do with Japanese design language, being close to the floor when sleeping? I mean, futons are very common in Japanese inns..

    -Maybe, we will see if anyone else puts this seat in. Zodiac has it on their website. It's the Cirrus Long Range while the Cirrus we are accustomed to is Cirrus NG Long Range, of course JL could have modified theirsl.

    Glad to see improvements on the meals they serve you ex-NRT. Were there no meals served before landing? Or were you making room for KL & GA?

    -Nope, unless I was sleeping which I think I woke up. It was a 1AM arrival so maybe that is why.

    Thanks for reading Razza, see you on KLM soon!

  • Thanks for sharing this report Mark!

    The new regional JL Sky Suite looks more private than its predecessor but it has less space and is tighter than the J seats on the long-haul.

    IMO the food looks better than your previous F flight, maybe it is due to the ex-NRT kitchen.

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