Review: Japan Airlines 777 Business Class from JFK - NRT

‘Japan Airlines is a great Business Class option to explore flying if given the opportunity. It’s an excellent seat, especially if you’re sitting by the window, and you can expect very efficient and attentive service.’

Welcome to Suite Life Traveler where we review airlines, hotels, restaurants, and more. Today we review Japan Airlines’ 777-300ER Long Haul Business Class from JFK to Tokyo’s Narita. Each airline review on Suite Life Traveler will be evaluated based on the following metrics: Check-in Experience, Lounge, Seat, Service, and Food & Drink. This will come out to a total score of 50.

Check out the video review on our TikTok.

CHECK-IN EXPERIENCE: 7/10

At the time of taking this flight, Japan Airlines was departing out of Terminal 1 at JFK but has now moved to Terminal 8. This is a great move and you can read more about my Terminal 8 experience in my Qatar Airways review.

As this is not a home airport departure, you can expect it not to be as smooth, especially in the US so there were no surprises there.

LOUNGE: 5/10

At the time, my JAL Business Class ticket granted me access to the Air France lounge. This lounge has a nice entrance and a lot of natural light but lacks good seating, privacy and the food left a lot to be desired. For a morning flight, it didn’t help that all the food options were heavy lunch options and they did not serve any breakfast items. I did move to another lounge with my priority pass card where I was able to avail of some breakfast.

SEAT: 7.5/10

The JAL Business Class seat is very interesting and one of the more unique seats and configurations I’ve flown on in Business Class. The difference between the window and aisle seat is quite drastic in terms of privacy. The window seat (once the privacy divider is up) feels more like your common closed-off Business Class seat whereas the aisle seat is very exposed. I used a points redemption for this flight, so unfortunately I was assigned the aisle seat.

Other than the privacy issue, it’s a fantastic seat and one of the better Business Class products out there. You have a very large and spacious footwell which is aided by the seat’s orientation being completely straight and not at an angle. This is a rare occurrence as most Business Class seats are angled to accommodate for a 1-2-1 configuration but Japan Airlines pull this off with an interesting 2-2-2 configuration with each seat still having direct aisle access. The seat has a lot of storage, and very nice premium materials with suede lining around the headboard and storage area.

The only negative other than the privacy issue for aisle seats is the entertainment system, this is one of the worst systems I’ve ever used in the sky, and one of the worst selections of content.

Service: 8/10

The service on my flight was great, as you would expect with the Japanese being known for their attentiveness, organization, efficiency, and excellent manners. The one thing I did find surprising and ultimately hampered my experience was the inability to communicate easily with the cabin crew. Many had difficulty speaking english, or understanding me when I spoke english to them. As english is the universal language in international aviation, I found this very odd and not something I’ve experienced on an airline from a country whose primary language is not english.

Food & Drink: 6/10

JAL has a unique menu with the ability to choose from a Japanese menu or a Western menu. That being said, you only get one option for the Japanese and two options for the Western with no choice of appetizer for either. This is quite a limited set of options compared to other airlines. In addition to the mains, you could opt for smaller meals anytime during the flight and that menu featured a lot more variety and choices.

I went with the Japanese menu and was underwhelmed. I did try an item from the ‘Anytime You Want’ menu, and while it was a bit better than the main, it was nothing to write home about.

The drink menu is decent, but not comparable to airlines like Qatar and Emirates. You have 6 wine options on this flight (1 champagne, 1 white, 3 red, 1 Japanese) and 2 sake options. The showstopper was their whiskey on this flight which was a special edition and rare Yamazaki, which may have been the highlight of the flight.

OVERALL: 33.5/50

Despite the low score, Japan Airlines is a great Business Class option to explore flying if given the opportunity. It’s an excellent seat, especially if you’re sitting by the window, and you can expect very efficient and attentive service. Where JAL loses the most points is from my departure and lounge experience at Terminal 1, but now that JAL is departing from Terminal 8, this will be far superior. While my dining experience wasn’t the best, it is still better than many other airlines and worth a try, especially if you like Japanese food.