WOW…the first class “train compartments” on the Japan Airlines (JAL) A350-1000 are simply superlative. My 14-hour flight from New York to Tokyo was easily one of the best flights of my life and the first class suite is over-the-top fabulous.
JAL A350-1000 First Class: My First Impressions
You’re going to have to wait a bit for the full review, but I do want to share my first impressions of my remarkable journey on JL5 from JFK-HND.
Massive Suite
Let’s start with the suite, which feels like you are stepping into your own train compartment (designed for three people, but all for yourself).
Not only is it spacious, but it is thoughtfully laid out with ample personal storage and a massive 43-inch HD screen. Yes, the tailcam was on for most of the flight. Part of the seat flips down to create a side conosle and there’s even an armrest.
Window controls are even cooler than those on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and can be slid back and forth to lighten and darken the transition glass, much like you would raise or lower the sound volume on a touchscreen device.
I slept very well.
Great Service
Let’s talk about service. This was not my first flight in JAL First Class and I have also enjoyed excellent service on my previous flights, but the crew was simply perfect here (Oba san and Kashima san). So gracious, kind, attentive, friendly, and polite…a perfect combination of professionalism, charm, and warmness.
Delicious Food
I decided that I was not in the mood for caviar and Champagne on this flight, which were both available but I skipped. If I’m being honest, I find those first class staples more about bragging rights than anything I actually enjoy. Sure, a crisp glass of pricey Champagne (Cuvée Louis Salmon 2009 was on offer) can be refreshing, but I quite enjoyed my “Japanese Old Fashioned” cocktail instead…and later had a Negroni. I just prefer those drinks to Champagne and haven’t we’ve seen enough of those smug pictures with the Champagne bottles?
Yes, I ordered the Western meal for lunch after takeoff, because no Western carrier does Western food better than JAL. Expect a massive feast onboard.
First, a burrata cheese amuse bouche with marinated navel orange. Delicious.
Then roasted veal tenderloin with shaved parmesan and black olive and tonnato sauce (not tomato sauce, but an Italian cold sauce made by blitzing a can of oil-preserved tuna with garlic, capers, anchovy, egg yolk).
A pasta course followed, with gemelli pasta and swordfish. So good.
Then came the main courses, yes with an s. In JAL First, you don’t simply receive fish or beef, but both.
And both were cooked to perfection. The Chilean sea bass was served with zucchini noodles and sweet corn truffle Bagna Càuda sauce (a combination of garlic and anchovies).
I would have been happy to stop there, but then came beef tenderloin, served with a delicious leek bread pudding and asparagus. Even better? It was cooked a perfect medium and was clearly a high-end cut that melted in your mouth.
Then cheese…
Finally, New York cheesecake with strawberry ice cream for dessert with a cappuccino.
You can mock me for not eating the Japanese food, but you won’t find better Western food in Air France, Lufthansa, or SWISS First Class…another testament to the amazing quality of every aspect of the JAL experience.
After a lovely nine-hour rest, I did order the Japanese meal prior to landing…and (Honestly, it surprises even me), I loved it.
The “Washoku” tray included:
Dainomono
Sea Bream with Sesame Sauce & WatercressKobachi
Steamed Savory Egg Custard with LobsterSteamed Rice
Japanese Koshihikari riceMiso Soup
Japanese Pickles
I’m not sure what the steamed savory egg custard with lobster is called in Japanese, but it was a very delicious dish full of flavorful lobster.
The flight was not perfect…one of the cabinets was broken (taped shut), which was unfortunate for a brand-new plane. I was on JA03WJ, which is less than a month old. It seems that these new Safran suites are experiencing a few growing pains.
Those Headrest Speakers…
The cabin has six seats and five of the six seats were occupied: four Japanese men and me.
How about those speakers built into the headrest? I did use them…and they worked quite well. In fact, they seemed very LOUD to me to the point that I thought sure the gentleman in the suite in front of me could hear it. But no, I stepped out of the suite and could not hear it at all. It’s some rather great engineering, though I ended up using the Bang & Olufsen noise-canceling headphones anyway because I still feel self-conscious about playing anything “out loud” on a plane.
CONCLUSION
I have so much more to say about this flight, but for now the main takeaway is that the first class experience on the JAL A350-1000 is about as close to perfect as a flight can be. I’ve long said that JAL has the best first class service in the world and now I’d say that it has the best hard product as well. This plane is a game-changer.
Next: onto Seoul on a 787-9…
@Matthew … That JAL Safari suite requires a pith helmet , a monocle , and a gin and tonic .
Safran suite
I’m waiting on the story about Crazy Plane Lady. And I’ll say again I was the first to say Only Fans is in her future, she proved me correct this week with her new picture.
Haven’t seen it yet…dare I look?
It’s a bikini post on social media. 0 percent have to do with travel.
But you know a post is coming. She’s clickbait gold.
Griftception.
I’ll have to get one of those 75k bonus AA cards sooner than later… I had my only denial in the last 5 years applying for the Citi one last year. Then just hunt for space, probably once Dallas flights start on that aircraft and preferably ex-HND
“I decided that I was not in the mood for caviar and Champagne on this flight, which were both available but I skipped. If I’m being honest, I find those first class staples more about bragging rights than anything I actually enjoy. “
OMG! That’s so perfect. I find amazing some other travel bloggers that think they understand anything about Champagne and try to review them . What a BS! I can guarantee you that if you do a blind tasting they cannot separate a real Grand Cru Champagne from a cheap Trader Joes sparkling wine but hey… they surely try to show they know it all.
“I decided that I was not in the mood for caviar and Champagne on this flight, which were both available but I skipped. If I’m being honest, I find those first class staples more about bragging rights than anything I actually enjoy.”
Ironically enough, the whole concept of F is about bragging rights – all of it is completely unnecessary compared to a decent lie-flat J seat. Is there an actual company that would pay its non-executive employee for an F seat? It’s tough enough to get reimbursed for J in today’s economy!
That said, cool cabin, probably not something I can ever fly on, just because of my points/allegiance situation, and of course, not willing to pay cash for F.
I wouldn’t go that far. There are some bad business class products (in terms of space, bedding, being able to rest). I don’t think there are any bad first class products in terms of space. Even AA F is a big jump over J.
That’s why I said “decent” lie-flat J seat.
“Even AA F is a big jump over J.”
Yes, but AA J is a reverse herringbone that is so tried and trusted, and ubiquitous throughout the industry, that the vast majority of travelers could have a restful sleep/nap in such a seat. That AA F is bigger is definitely just for bragging rights (and apparently not a profitable one either)
Sometimes it comes down to the price.
Case in point: Avoiding Lufthansa business class has to be worth SOMETHING. I am not prepared to pay a huge premium for first class, but, if my cash flow situation over the next 3-4 months wasn’t somewhat uncertain, I might have been tempted by their current offers from the UK to Brazil (ca. £3k return, 300% earnings on Miles and Bonus).
Quite right.
Just because you have such basic taste buds, don’t project that onto the rest of us now.
wikipedia:
Chawanmushi is an egg custard dish in Japanese cuisine. Unlike many other custards, it is usually eaten as a dish in a meal, as chawanmushi contains savory rather than sweet ingredients. The custard consists of an egg mixture flavored with soy sauce, dashi, and mirin, with numerous ingredients such as shiitake mushrooms, kamaboko, yuri-ne, ginkgo and boiled shrimp placed into a tea-cup-like container. The recipe for the dish is similar to that of Chinese steamed eggs, but the toppings often differ. Since egg custards cannot be picked up by chopsticks, it is one of the few Japanese dishes that are eaten with a spoon.
Hey, a caviar service is not about bragging rights. Done correctly, it is a delightful mini meal. Yum.
The suite is beautiful and deserves bragging rights.
I say good for the other pax that you didn’t put a dent on the expensive bottle of champagne! I may not be qualified to speak to the subtleties of expensive champagne, but when offered a product so rare and expensive… I’m definitely going to try it!
Looks like you had a great flight nonetheless. I’d love to try this one day.
Hey, at least you tried *some* Japanese food on that flight lol
So would you rank this as your best/favorite First Class product?
I’m still thinking about it, but I think the answer is yes…I think…
I found the service on Emirates to be good, but not great. I found the service in Singapore Suites to be flawless, but the bed was not all that comfortable. Etihad Apartments and Qatar First very solid, but I also have a huge soft spot for Lufthansa First (totally subjective) and there’s also something so wonderful about Air France First. Both LH and AF offer a far superior ground product to JL and EK. I hope to give SWISS and British Airways another try later this year.
So this will be very tough for me.
The first photo shows a lady who looks like she’s giving you a massage. She’s not the FA serving your class because another photo shows it’s the other 2 ladies.
I think this is the maximum amount of room needed. More room has a diminishing return unless 2 people are sharing it.
I’m so living vicariously through you right now! LOL. But seriously, what a lovely experience.
Gotta say that I flew the new J product on this same plane, and I walked away saying the same thing (one of my best flights ever). I’ve not flown a lot of F admittedly, but I thought the food and the seat were better than Lufthansa F. JAL provides absolutely exceptional service in business, too.
The hard product is honestly just fantastic in J. The seat is almost stunningly spacious, particularly the footwell. It’s packed with lots of convenient storage options. The door isn’t just an extra touch but really makes it feel private. The mattress pad is super comfy, and I slept great.
I also like their dining concept, which is you get a meal after takeoff, then there’s a huge dine on demand selection in lieu of a meal served at landing.
Only complaint I have is that their IFE didn’t have that many selections.
JAL has really taken things to the next level with these new products combined with what was always outstanding service.
One thing I haven’t seen any blogs discuss about JL F on JFK-HND route is the superior whiskey on offer. The Ichiro’s single malt Chichibu is superlative and I prefer it to NH’s Hibiki 21. It retails for over 800 USD.
I have the pleasure of flying the 350-1000 in about a week’s time.
I noticed that. I’ll address in trip report. I refuse to over-consume alcohol so I passed on this, but it would have been great after dinner if I had skipped one of the cocktails or the exquisite red wine with my filet.
Matthew, may i ask how tall you are?
6’1″
Looking forward to trying the new F & J suites someday. In the mean time, I’m one of those who don’t think that JAL service is that great. I just came back from a wonderful 3 week trip to Japan and flew on JAL J round trip. Service was good but I wouldn’t rate it exceptional. I flew JAL F once and was frankly not impressed with the service. The crew spoke very little English and were not as polished as other Asian airlines that I have flown in F. They kept walking through the F cabin to see if they could help anyone with anything they needed or wanted, but I actually found it quite annoying that they walked by my seat often.
I have found that the service in J provided by SQ, EVA, and CX have been consistently better. As far as F inflight service goes, I think SQ F is way better than JAL. Maybe it is just a matter of who happens to be working on a particular flight that makes a difference. But so far for me, JAL only gets a B for inflight service compared to their chief rivals in Asia.
While the FA English was not flawless, we had no trouble communicating and just like the LAX-NRT 777 flight I reviewed last year, I found the ladies working in F to be so charming and caring…that was not an exaggeration.
Even in J when I took the 777 from HND-SFO last year, I thought the service was great. For example, the FAs had no idea what a negroni was, but they were happy to look it up and make one for me (thanks to the Campari onboard). I appreciated that. I was also escorted to my seat from the boarding door, even in J.
I’ve even flown JL in Y once on a 767 (CAN-HND) and found the service great there too.
I’m sure you did get excellent service on your various flights with JAL. I don’t question that. I am also sure JAL has some crew members who are outstanding. I’ve never had any special requests so that maybe one reason why my experience may have been more average. May be I am just spoiled by all the great in flight service I have experienced with different airlines.
For context, while I don’t fly as often as you do, I do fly to Asia and Europe several times a year. While the crew aboard JAL are way better than on US carriers, unfortunately for me, I guess I haven’t been served by an exceptional JAL crew yet.
My experience on JAL is very consistent with what I experience on my many trips to Japan where the staff of whatever establishment I am in are exceedingly polite and friendly, but with very limited English (unless it is at a high end hotel or establishment). I am a big fan of Japan and love spending time there every year.
You are one of my favorite travel bloggers. Keep up the great work!
Thanks Jason!
Damn Matthew, someone’s been working out
Re: “Willem; I’ll have to get one of those 75k bonus AA cards …”, try Bask Bank, a 75k bonus (or less or more) on the 2nd or 3rd business day of EVERY month.
Re: “bragging rights”, way more than “caviar and Champagne”, nothing says bragging rights more than a shower on an airplane. As an ER doc and private pilot, all I can think is “what can go wrong?” Clear air turbulence, slip and fall while bending over to pick up the soap or while jumping out of the way when the water temporarily goes scalding hot when someone flushes the toilet 🙂 .
Re: “emercycrite; Damn Matthew, someone’s been working out” go back a few weeks and a few months. Matthew has posted a couple of photos of himself in a bathing suit (swimming or hot tub), he’s got an 8-pack and (my estimate) 15% body fat (if that). He’s much too modest to do it very often but he’s downright buffed. Even at Medicare age I’m insanely envious. Also makes it near impossible to rag on him about his voracious (travel) appetite 🙂 .
(Monger historically is not a bad word. “denoting a dealer or trader in a specified commodity, ‘fishmonger’; a person who promotes a specified activity, situation, or feeling, especially one that is undesirable or discreditable, ‘warmonger’.” The last part of those definitions is relatively recent.)
Must’ve missed those earlier posts.
“…a perfect combination of professionalism, charm, and warmness.”
Is “warmness” a word? Wouldn’t “warmth” be the word you were looking for? 🙂
People say English must not be my first language! 😉
JAL is an awesome airline whatever class you´re flying. Their premium economy stands out among otherwise very generic premium economy offerings in the market. Even their Y is very comfy.
What a fantastic review Matthew. I always enjoy reading your trip reviews. Very helpful. One really minor complaint: but the crew was simply perfect here (Oba san and Kashima san). It sounds course without the honorific.
Added!
I wished I’d liked JAL F on the A350-1000 as much as you did.
I think JAL probably did the best that just about any carrier could do to install first class on this aircraft, but I much prefer the overall first class experience on a larger plane, like at the A380.
Wow the food looks amazing!! Did you do miles or $$$$$???
80K AA miles.
I’ve read dozens of your posts and enjoyed them all. I think you can stop reiterating that JAL does western food better than anyone else. First of all, it sounds like an excuse and secondly, you don’t have to be apologetic about your own palette. That said, it’d be nice for your readers to see different regional cuisines every now and then and not only steaks and fish.
If it’s designed for 3, would they actually allow you to bring guests from other cabins?
Hi, glad to hear that you enjoyed the fright on JAL.
The steamed savory egg custard you ate was CHAWAN-MUSHI.
With love from Japan