By Shawn Gallagher
Hello, internet, from Osaka Itami Airport!
Earlier this year I reviewed First Class on Japan Airlines on a domestic flight. I had a great time including a fantastic ground experience and wonderful service from the flight attendants. In addition to first class and regular economy, Japan Airlines has seats called Class J.
Class J falls between economy and first, and it’s quite similar to a premium economy class seat from an international flight. I had the chance to try this on a recent flight. Let’s take a look!
Boarding
Japan Airlines does boarding very efficiently. Everyone boarded the plane in about 15 minutes, despite the full flight. There are only 5 boarding groups as well, contrary to the whopping 9 boarding groups on American Airlines, which is the one I’m used to.
Our aircraft today is JA846J, a 4 year old Boeing 787-8 delivered back in October 2019.
Class J seats are in a 2-3-2 configuration on the Boeing 787, while they’re in a 2-4-2 configuration on the Airbus A350.
Related: Japan Airlines Domestic First Class Review
The IFE is very responsive. I actually like this screen better than the ones on their international flights! The selection of TV shows and movies are not big, but there’s no need for a huge selection as this aircraft is configured for short haul flights.
Legroom was more than enough.
A remote control for the IFE is on one side of the seat. Although the touch screen is very responsive, some may find the screen a little too far from the sitting position because of the legroom.
Controls for the recline and the leg rest are next to it.
A small storage space can be found on the other side.
My seat was right beside the engine.
Inflight
We pushed back on time and took off on time. It was a very quick taxi to the runway.
There was still a drink service despite the short flight time. I got JAL’s original peach and grape mix. I get this on pretty much every JAL flight.
Related: Japan Airlines Business Class Review, Tokyo To Chicago
I just relaxed for the remainder of the flight as we approached Tokyo. This seat offers a lot of space, which is good to have even on a 1 hour flight.
Concluding Thoughts
Class J can often be purchased for an additional 2000 JPY, or around $12.52 (1 USD to 159.78 as of June 22, 2024). If you see a price difference this cheap, I think it can be very worth it for the extra space and getting off the plane early.
All photos taken by the author.