Japan Airlines premium economy review – A350 from London to Tokyo

This is our review of JAL’s premium economy cabin on the new A350-1000.

Last year, Japan Airlines introduced its new flagship aircraft – the A350-1000. With 13 on order, these will form the backbone of the international fleet and replace the existing 15-year old 777s it currently operates.

From an operational perspective, the A350s should introduce significant fuel savings on long routes thanks to the lighter carbon fibre construction and improved Rolls Royce Trent XWB engines. JAL will also benefit from commonality with its existing A350-900 fleet, which operates on high-capacity domestic routes.

There are also improvements in onboard comfort. The A350 features one of the quietest cabins in the sky, beaten only (I think) by the A380. It also has a lower cabin altitude, which reduces the effects of jet lag, and there are bigger windows.

And, of course, JAL has taken the opportunity to introduce brand new seats in all cabins – First, Business, Premium Economy and Economy – so it now represents the latest the airline has to offer.

I spent a week in Japan last month, with flights provided by Japan Airlines for review purposes. In this review I’ll be looking at JAL’s new A350 premium economy experience, which will be followed by a review of the new business class seating.

I will also be looking at the JAL lounge at Tokyo Haneda and reviewing the two hotels I stayed at. As usual, HfP paid for all incidental costs.

There should be one piece of Japan-themed content each day this week, so keep visiting Head for Points if the country is on your bucket list.

You can earn and spend Avios with Japan Airlines

As a reminder, Japan Airlines is part of the oneworld alliance.

You are able to earn and redeem Avios for these cabins via the British Airways, Qatar Airways, Finnair or Iberia programmes.

The JAL premium economy check-in experience

Japan Airlines offers two daily flights from Heathrow, with one morning and one evening departure. For now, just the evening departure – JL44 – is operated by the new A350.

JAL operates from Heathrow Terminal 3 and the check-in zone varies depending on which flight you’re on; morning flights are in Zone C whilst evening flights are in Zone E. It was very quiet when I arrived around three hours before departure, with nobody in any of the queues:

In premium economy you are allowed to check in with business class and oneworld Sapphire status members. That’s a plus as most airlines either have a dedicated premium economy lane or lump you in with economy. There were at least three dedicated business class check-in desks in addition to one for first class and several for economy.

Unusually, JAL’s premium economy DOES come with lounge access, which is practically unheard of these days and a big perk. In London, JAL doesn’t operate its own lounges but will direct you to the British Airways Galleries.

If you have BA / oneworld status you can also use the Cathay Pacific, Qantas or American Airlines lounges. You are spoilt for choice – my ranking of the best lounges at Heathrow T3 is here.

The Japan Airlines premium economy cabin on the A350

Bording is orderly and by cabin/group, as you would expect from a Japanese airline. What immediately struck me as I boarded was just how far back the premium economy cabin is thanks to the large first and business class cabins. It feels like you’re trekking all the way to the back, although it’s only row 17!

JAL has configured the premium economy cabin on the A350-1000 with 24 seats in a typical 2-4-2 arrangement across three rows.

Whilst I would normally choose a window seat in the back row so as not to have to worry about anyone behind me when reclining, JAL has selected a fixed-shell seat for this cabin which means this didn’t matter. I was lucky enough that the cabin was only half full on my flight and I was able to select a bulkhead seat just a few days before departure.

The bulkhead comes with a bit more personal space and legroom as there is no seat in front of you. It also means that certain features, such as the personal TV screen, are wall-mounted.

Even if you’re not in the bulkhead row you get excellent legroom thanks to the 42″ seat-pitch. This is at the upper end of what you typically get – BA and Virgin Atlantic are normally 38″ in premium economy, a good 10cm less.

Let’s quickly run through the seat features. As is increasingly common, these seats have winged headrests for extra privacy and support when sleeping, a big thumbs up from me.

This is the first premium economy seat to launch with an electrically operated recline function. This may be overkill, although it does mean recline is very smooth. And of course, the fixed shell seat design means you never have to worry about the person sitting behind you as you recline into your own space: instead of the entire seatback tilting back, the seatpan slides forward.

Other seat features include this little cocktail table with a fold-out extension:

There’s some storage in the armrest, as well as mains, USB-A and USB-C power: no need to run out of juice here.

The second and third rows get a bit more storage by way of the seatback in front. This includes a small cocktail table, water bottle holder and coat hooks:

In terms of lavatories, there are two at the back of the cabin although, according to the seat map, one is reserved for premium economy whilst the other is for the economy cabin. In practice they were interchangeable. The left-hand lavatory was an extra spacious accessible toilet and even came with built-in bidet TOTO Washlet-style. I think that’s the first time I’ve seen this on a plane!

JAL premium economy amenities

Waiting at each seat was a pile of goodies. As this is a Japanese airline, everything is unfortunately wrapped in plastic.

First off is a grey fleece blanket and thin white pillow. I’m not sure if this is Japanese custom but the pillow was flat and about an inch thick. I didn’t find it particularly useful or comfortable and would have preferred a normal-shaped pillow instead!

Also at the seat was a pair of very good quality slippers – better than you see in most business class cabins – and an amenity kit. In fact, these ARE the business class slippers as I found out on my return flight:

Whilst the bag itself is nothing to write home about (it’s just a thin plastic drawstring bag) the contents were surprisingly good for premium economy, with a dental kit, ear plugs, eye mask and moisture mask.

In-flight entertainment and wifi

JAL’s premium economy seats are kitted out with 16″ 4K screens – pretty good when you consider BA’s business class Club Suite screen is only 18″.

I was pleased to see genuinely high-resolution content loaded. More often than not 4K screens are wasted with films and TV shows that are compressed to within an inch of their life and therefore very blocky and pixelated, especially during fast-moving scenes.

The supplied headphones were impressive for premium economy with active noise cancellation. Better yet, you can use your very own pair thanks to Bluetooth pairing.

The content library wasn’t huge, at least when it came to English language / Hollywood productions; I counted around 120 or so films. A few new releases stood including Conclave and Gladiator 2 and I thoroughly enjoyed the former.

Wifi is available on board although the cabin crew advised that due to geopolitical restrictions (including overflying China) it would only be available for the first and last 2.5 hours.

Premium economy and economy passengers get one hour free or you can pay for the following packages:

• 3 hours for $14.40
• Flight plan for $18.80

I had trouble connecting but I think this was down to my DNS settings. The massive dead spot during the middle of the flight means it’s not particularly useful.

JAL premium economy food and service

So far, we’ve seen JAL surpass expectations with a comfortable seat, excellent legroom, impressive amenity kit and even priority services such as business class check-in.

Unfortunately the food service is less differentiated. Whilst most airlines now offer a dedicated PE meal service, JAL serves its economy meal to premium economy passengers. That may have been industry standard a decade ago but these days it’s behind the curve.

Let’s start from the beginning. Initial service begins after take-off when a plastic-wrapped wet towel is offered, as well as a drink and snack. I opted for the sparkling wine which the in-flight menu indicated was exclusive to premium economy, together with Japanese Shochu. You get a mini bottle of Bottega prosecco and a bag of rice crackers:

The in-flight menu says that they aim to serve the first meal about an hour after take-off, and by my reckoning this was broadly right. You had a choice of two different options:

• Stir-fried pork with citrus soy sauce, steamed rice
• Chicken piccata with sauce mornay, pilaf and bread & butter

Both come with a veritable cornucopia of side dishes. I counted four:

• Hot smoked salmon & spiced chickpea salad
• Fried tofu ball, sesame seasoned green beans & braised “Hijiki” seaweed
• Fresh salad
• Fresh fruit

To order, crew show you a print-out with a photo of both options; I suspect this helps with any language barriers. I went for the stir-fried pork:

Credit where credit is due: although this was an economy meal, it was full of varied flavours which helped keep things interesting. In addition to the above, crew also offered a cup of miso soup and a second drink, whilst a mini tub of chocolate ice cream was served after. Numerous rounds of tea and coffee were also on offer.

Almost immediately after the first meal a plastic-wrapped tomato and cheese spread roll was handed out, I assume as a snack in case you get hungry and not for immediate consumption! I wasn’t impressed, though: it was flavourless and greasy.

After the meal I settled down and tried to get some sleep, which I managed to do until about four hours before landing. If the crew came through during the night offering water or snacks I didn’t notice as I slept quite well.

At one point I did get up and go to the galley at the back of the cabin where a small self-service station had been set up with water (still and sparkling), juice and some rice snacks.

About three hours before landing the crew came round offering an instant noodle cup ‘Udon de Sky’ which I declined.

A second meal service then followed before landing. This was:

• Rigatoni & spinach gnocchi carbonara with lemon flavour
• Bread
• Yogurt
• Fresh cut fruit

Whilst it was good that this was a ‘proper’ hot meal rather than the pizza-in-a-box service you get on some airlines, it was once again the economy meal.

Warming eye masks were also handed out, which is not something you get on other airlines!

Conclusion

JAL takes an interesting approach to its premium economy experience.

On the one hand, it features an impressive and comfortable seat with all the functionality you would expect as well as above-average legroom, a large in-flight entertainment screen and comfortable winged headrests. You also get extensive amenities such as high-quality slippers – something many airlines don’t even offer in business class – as well as lounge access. So far, so premium.

On the other hand, the food and service is far more economy than premium: in fact, JAL serves you exactly the same meal as you would get in economy. The only point of difference is a sparkling wine and Japanese shochu on the drinks menu; otherwise what you get is exactly the same as someone down the back, down to the plastic serveware.

Most airlines now offer a differentiated meal service in premium. It would be a shame for JAL to fall behind here given the strength of the rest of the experience.

You can find out more on JAL’s website here.

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