I have been wanting to fly Japan Airlines in its premium cabin for the longest time ever and I pulled the shot rather slow as there is a slight devaluation. I booked this ticket via Alaska Airlines. Regional business class flights used to be a deal as you can do the stopover trick and issue a ticket from SIN – TYO – KUL for just 25,000 miles. This was devalued and you could only do SIN – TYO for 25,000 miles. Now it is no longer even 25,000 miles anymore. While I paid just 25,000 miles and 82.30 SGD in fees it is almost free as I got these miles from my Cathay Pacific error fare back in 2019. That allowed me to get 2 tickets from Singapore to Haneda and Sapporo. While I have heard many reviews that both the hard product and soft product are lackluster the value is unbeatable. Furthermore, I can also take the opportunity to check out tons of Oneworld Lounges in Singapore. 

Checking In

This ended up being quite a hassle. JAL no longer offers early check-in using the Jewel facility and you are only able to check in 3 hours ahead of your flight. I wanted to have more time in the transit area since I plan to check out all 4 Oneworld business class lounges. I checked ahead with the staff if I could do an online check-in and use a self-printed boarding pass or mobile pass to enter. I was informed that it is possible. I ended up being denied by ICA as their scanner rejected my self-printed boarding pass. In the end, I managed to get a JAL staff to assist me and got a printed boarding pass to enter. JAL uses Terminal 1 and check-in counters row 1, which is to the left of the terminal. They have also resumed early check-in at the Jewel facility from 26 Dec 2023. 

Boarding 

Boarding is scheduled for 9.20pm. It is located in gate D48. It is the furthest gate in terminal 1 and a good 15 to 20-minute walk. Boarding started with passengers needing special assistance, elite holders and business class passengers. Everyone boards via a single door. The Japanese airline boarding process is too efficient and that makes it very difficult to take good pictures of the seats. 

The crew were quite cold and busy during boarding. There isn’t any personalised service. They do not come by to introduce themself or address you by name. There isn’t any welcome drink service as well which is an eye opener in premium cabin. All the crew did was take breakfast orders while on the ground. This is hands down the most lacklustre boarding service that I have experienced on a premium cabin. Even US Domestic flights are superior. Boarding was very efficient and done in less than 30 minutes. We push back shortly after 9.50pm.

Japan Airlines Business Class Sky Suite III

The seats on these aircraft are the JAL Sky Suite III. These are reverse herringbone seatings. Business class here is in a 1-2-1 configuration. It consists of 2 cabins for a total of 52 seats. I opted for seats 8A and 9A on the left aisle. We got seats on the left to have a chance of spotting Mt Fuji from the air. 

Right on the seat is a pillow, menu, amenity kit, blanket, slippers and headphones. There is also a bottle of water on the platform. 

The entrance to the seats can get rather tight. Right on the panel in front of you, you can find the seat controls as well which are rather rudimentary but it got the work done. There is also a pouch with some reading materials. 

I hated that the seat didn’t come with a leg rest and you could only adjust your backrest up and down. You could also adjust the lumbar support. The table folded out from the panel beside the TV. It’s my first time seeing such a set-up. It can get tight in the seat after opening the table. 

The seat comes with a 17-inch TV. JAL IFE is known as Magic VI. It is not the best and the system is quite laggy. We couldn’t get it to work the first time around and the crew had to reset it. The IFE can be controlled by a handheld remote that looks like a smartphone. It wasn’t very intuitive and sensitive making it a struggle to control. 

The seat lacks storage other than the small little cubicle. It comes with a vanity mirror and perhaps just space for your little items like phones. I hated this seat and will go out of my way to avoid them. It’s so difficult to find a spot to be comfy while seated upright or fully flat. They were tight and not very well padded. The pillows provided were lumpy and back support wasn’t good. 

The seat can be converted fully flat using the controls. There is no turn-down service or additional amenities. You just use the same pillow and blanket. I miss ANA’s awesome memory foam pillows. It was a squeeze-in-bed mode and especially tight around the knees and arms area for me. Leg space is very spacious and generous. I barely slept for 2 hours. 

The toilets are typical and nothing memorable. It comes with a Japanese-style bidet and it is equipped with a toothbrush and mouthwash.

Meal Service

The seatbelt sign was turned off pretty fast and the crew came by to take drink orders. There is only one main service for this flight and the breakfast service will be served before landing. For a flight that departs at 10pm, this is ridiculous. Imagine those passengers who rush to the airport right after work without having dinner. You can find the menu for the flight over here. I have also attached a copy of the drinks menu. I selected the Japanese meal. I tried one of the JAL original drinks and got the Sky Time Peach & Grape Mix. They just serve a light snack consisting of some Eggplant and Bok Choy with minced chicken sauce with smoked duck. It is nothing too memorable. 

If you want something more memorable, you will have to get items from their Anytime menu which are cup noodles. The snacks menu is extremely underwhelming. They don’t even have things like ice cream and potato chips 

Breakfast was served right before landing. We got the Western meal. The baked truffle egg was very good. 

Conclusion 

The price is unbelievable. That is where most of the good things end. It is one of the worst international premium cabin flights I had. The seats were subpar and the same goes for the meals. If you are talking about Japanese carriers, ANA is far superior to JAL. It is nice that I got it for almost free due to the Cathay error fare back in 2019. If you have an upcoming flight on this routing and timing, I suggest you eat to the brim in the lounge before boarding and just sleep straight after. The IFE was meh at best too. Flights like this make SQ shine even with their breakfast and supper service. I am excited to try the new upcoming JAL products.