Review: Japan Airlines B787-9 Business Class (NRT-SFO)

The final leg of my baby supply run took me from Tokyo to San Francisco on another Japan Airlines Boeing 787.

However, unlike the B787-8 that I flew from Hong Kong to Tokyo which featured Shell Flat Neo Business Class seats, this was a larger -9 variant with the long-haul Apex Suite installed. And  even if this product is getting on in years, it makes a world of difference when it comes to comfort and privacy.

Japan Airlines B787-9 Business Class

Japan Airlines has three different configurations for its Boeing 787-9 aircraft:

• Type E71: 44 Business Class, 35 Premium Economy Class and 116 Economy Class seats
• Type E91: 52 Business Class, 35 Premium Economy Class and 116 Economy Class seats
• Type E92: 28 Business Class, 21 Premium Economy Class and 190 Economy Class seats

This flight was operated by the E71 version, which features 44 Business Class seats split into a forward cabin of 24 seats and a rear cabin of 20 seats.

Although the seats are in a 2-2-2 configuration, every passenger still enjoys direct aisle access.  How does that work? Nanotechnology Apex Suites (referred to by JAL as the Sky Suite). These offer a great balance between density and privacy, with their high walls and partitions helping you forget there’s another passenger just inches beside you.

Apex Suites manage to give all passengers aisle access by staggering the two seats at the side and creating a small passageway. It’s snug, and passengers of size will definitely want to take the aisle seats, but very innovative nonetheless.

This means the A/K window seats should be the choice for solo travellers wanting extra privacy (and who aren’t claustrophobic). With the privacy partition raised, you’re practically invisible to your seat mate, and anyone walking down the aisle. Together with the private walkway, it’s the closest thing you’ll get to an enclosed Business Class suite sans door.

If you’re a couple travelling together, you might think the D/G seats in the middle make more sense. Unfortunately, there’s a poor design choice by JAL here. The movable privacy divider is situated towards the leg area of the seat, meaning you need to lean forward significantly to interact.

Compare this to the Apex Suite on Gulf Air, where the privacy divider is located towards the head area, facilitating conversation and interaction when it’s lowered. Granted, that makes it weirder if you don’t know your seatmate during the taxi, takeoff and landing portion of the flight, where the privacy dividers must be lowered, but that’s a minority of the overall flight duration. 

JAL’s seats are 20.5″ wide at their narrowest, but once the armrests come down in bed mode it opens up to a more reasonable 25.5″. You’ll also be glad to know there’s no issues with a cramped footwell either, because the seat doesn’t narrow towards the front. You’ll enjoy the same amount of space for your legs as you do your shoulders.

There is stowage space for a backpack or small-sized carry-on below the ottoman.

The seat’s 23-inch LDC monitor was controlled by a touch-sensitive IFE remote, stowed in the wall of the seat. This wasn’t the most responsive of touchscreens, which made browsing the already-cumbersome IFE system even more frustrating (more about that in the IFE section)

Also mounted by the side wall was a reading light as well as the headphone jack.

Seat controls were found by the side, with presets for full upright, relaxing and full flat. You could control individual sections of the seat, activate a (rather weak) massage function, and raise and lower the privacy divider from here too. There was a fair amount of wear on these buttons, a reminder that these aircraft aren’t exactly factory-fresh. 

The tray table was a good size, sturdy and allowed for typing with minimal bounce. I also appreciated that it could be rotated 90 degrees to allow you to squeeze out from your seat without having to stow it entirely.

A universal Empower outlet and USB Type-A charging outlet were easily within reach. This being an older aircraft, no Type-C or wireless charging options were available. 

If there’s one thing this seat lacks, it’s storage space. Without the tray table deployed, you don’t actually have a lot of areas to place your personal items.

But what’s easy to miss is that window (A/K) or centre (D/G) seat passengers have a mesh-covered storage area just behind their heads, which can be used to store loose items like charging bricks, books and amenities kits.

Passengers in the aisle (C/H) seats don’t have that, but instead get a storage nook, built into the rear of the A/K seats next to them. 

Waiting at each seat upon arrival was a 500ml bottle of water.

Amenities

Amenities kits were waiting at each seat when we boarded in Narita. This kit is designed by an “experimental welfare company” called HERBALBONY, and comes in six different colours. Inside you’ll find a toothbrush kit, earplugs, eye mask, pocket tissue, smart phone cradle, and a USB charging cable (which per the airline’s website is no longer available).

Do note that JAL only distributes amenities kits on flights between Japan and Europe, America (except Hawaii and Guam), Canada and Australia. You won’t get one of these on a Singapore to Tokyo flight.

JAL does not offer sleepwear except on its A350-1000 flights to New York. However, you can borrow a cardigan from the crew if you wish. 

Also waiting at the seat were slippers with a plastic shoehorn, and a thick, padded comforter. 

The crew came around before takeoff to pass out intriguingly-named “gentle steam eye masks”.

Food & Beverage

Pre-departure beverages were served after boarding in Narita, though JAL chooses to save on taxes by not pouring champagne on the ground in Business Class. Instead, they serve a cheaper Vallformosa Cava as an alternative. I opted for orange juice instead to save my weekly units for the skies. 

Dinner was served about 90 minutes after take-off. JAL has excellent catering out of Tokyo, and while some people believe it’s almost mandatory to go for Washoku (the Japanese selection), I really think you can’t go wrong either way.  Even the international menu has Japanese touches to it, like yuzu chilli and matcha tiramisu. 

JAL also offers an extensive selection of sake, spirits and wines, including a couple from Japanese vineyards (my verdict: not going to be dethroning the French anytime soon). 

Moreover, JAL is one of very few airlines to offer a choice of two champagnes in Business Class: Drappier and Charles Heidsieck.

Prior to the meal, drinks were served together with olives and a mix of walnuts and almonds. 

This was followed by a starter called Irodori Gozen, a selection of seasonal colourful delicacies including grilled black cod, roasted sakura shrimp, simmered abalone and sliced wagyu beef. 

Next was the main course, which on this flight featured braised wagyu beef cheek, grilled salmon, and curry sauce. Pickles, steamed rice and miso soup were also served. 

Finishing proceedings was a matcha pudding. I do miss the days when JAL served ice cream from Dean and Deluca- that was heavenly. 

JAL also offers an extensive snack menu that puts many other airlines to shame (hint hint, Singapore Airlines). It features soups, salads, sandwiches, rice or noodle dishes, as well as ice cream and desserts. 

In fact, I liked what I saw so much that I chose to have items from the snack menu as my pre-arrival meal: the braised pork belly rice bowl and pork cutlet sandwich. I was particularly impressed that the rice bowl came with an onsen egg (since I was under the impression that serving anything partially cooked was anathema to airlines).

Here’s what the pre-arrival meal would have offered, had I chosen it.

The crew also set up a snack basket in the galley, with rice crackers and some deliciously-addictive chocolate thins, individually wrapped.

Inflight Entertainment

Business Class passengers have a 23-inch LCD screen, an older model that doesn’t offer the best picture quality or contrast. When the cabin lights are on, you can expect a fair bit of reflection.

But the bigger problem is the MAGIC-VI inflight entertainment system. For starters, you can only browse titles on the handset, which severely limits how many titles you can view at one go, and needlessly pads the time required to find something to watch. Only when you’ve chosen your title does the main screen become active.

Moreover, the IFE system does not feature nested options. What this means is that a given title can appear multiple times, depending on the language tracks available (versus a nested system which would show the title once, then let the passenger select the language on the next screen).

For example, notice how Meg 2: The Trench is listed three times. Multiply that by the number of titles in the library, and you’re looking at a lot of scrolling. It’s frustratingly inefficient, and appallingly-designed UX.

Compounding this issue is the fact that the controller is not very responsive, so sometimes your inputs aren’t recognised at all. All in all, it all makes for an extremely frustrating experience.

The movie selection itself was adequate. JAL publishes its schedule for a three-month period on its website, and there were a few first-run movie titles plus older classics. Weaker was the selection of TV series.

JAL’s noise-cancelling headphones are on the small side, but they get the job done. My preference is for a model with bigger ear cups that go around the ears (for passive noise cancellation), rather than just sit on them. 

Wi-Fi

Japan Airlines offers inflight connectivity on the vast majority of its international flights, including the B787-9.

Unfortunately, unlike Singapore Airlines, JAL only offers complimentary Wi-Fi for First Class passengers. Everyone else will need to buy a package. 

Do note that Japan Airlines does not offer mobile network connectivity in its cabin. This matters in case you’re trying to receive an SMS OTP for online banking or shopping.

On this flight, Wi-Fi connectivity was extremely spotty. The service just refused to work for the first half of the flight, despite numerous resets by the crew. 

It was only after I woke from a nap that I found a sticky note on my screen informing me the Wi-Fi system was working again, and after that everything ran smoothly.

Sleep Experience

When the time comes to rest, the seat converts into a 74″ (1.88m) flat bed. Unlike the flip-over design of Singapore Airlines’ A350-900 and B777-300ER long-haul Business Class, the JAL seat reclines to flat, allowing you to choose precisely the angle at which you wish to rest (which may not always be 180 degrees, since the aircraft itself flies slightly nose up).

JAL Business Class passengers on flights to Europe, the USA (except Hawaii & Guam) and Australia receive Airweave mattresses and pillows. These are designed to alleviate fatigue better, and I had a great sleep. I wish Singapore Airlines would consider providing mattress toppers as I find their seats consistently too firm. 

JAL unfortunately does not provide sleeper suits for its Business Class passengers, except on the new flagship A350-1000 route. 

Toilet

The 44 Business Class passengers on this JAL B787-9 had access to two lavatories, which I felt was insufficient. Had we been flying the regional-configured (and smaller) B787-8, there would have been three lavatories for 30 Business Class passengers! 

Lavatories were kept clean throughout the duration of the flight, and all were equipped with bidets.

An amenities tray offered toothbrush kits, individually-packaged mouthwash, as well as Miller Harris amenities. 

Conclusion

For all the raving publicity that JAL has enjoyed from its new A350-1000 Business Class seats, the fact of the matter is that the Apex Suite will continue to be its main long haul product for years to come. 

While I enjoyed the privacy afforded by the Apex Suite design, the seats did feel tired and old, with the clunky IFE system continuing to be a key bugbear of the overall experience. On the plus side, JAL’s catering out of Tokyo remains excellent, and their snack menu gives me the “I want to try everything” vibe. Service is always impeccable, even if the language barrier does prove an issue sometimes. 

If nothing else I certainly like this seat a lot more than the Sky Suite III that you find on the B787-9s!

How do you find the JAL Sky Suite?