Review: ZIPAIR B787-8 Full Flat (NRT-SIN)

For my return flight to Singapore from Japan, I booked a ticket with ZIPAIR, the low-cost subsidiary of Japan Airlines.

At first glance, ZIPAIR seems like any other low-cost carrier (LCC), with a single-type fleet and a pay-for-everything model. However, it sets itself apart with its premium cabin, known — somewhat unimaginatively — as “Full Flat.” This cabin features reverse herringbone flat-bed seats with all-aisle access, comparable to what you’d find in Business Class on a full-service airline.

I’d previously flown with ZIPAIR back in 2022, when the fledgling carrier was just over two years old, and was keen to see how the experience had evolved since then.

And you know what? For the S$754 that I paid, I think it’s the best LCC experience you could ask for.

Check-in & boarding

ZIPAIR departs from Tokyo-Narita Terminal 1, and uses the ‘C’ check-in counters in the North Wing. 

Unlike other airlines which segregate check-in desks based on cabin of travel, ZIPAIR segregates them based on destination. The Singapore flight departs at the same time as a flight to Bangkok, so make sure you join the right queue. 

It’s also important to understand that ZIPAIR Full-Flat is not Business Class. ZIPAIR offers one class, with two seats (Full-Flat and Standard). Therefore, Full Flat passengers do not enjoy any priority check-in lines or priority baggage handling.

The last time I flew ZIPAIR, the charges for checked bags were based on weight, and ranged from 3,500 to 5,500 JPY for a 14 to 32kg bag on the NRT to SIN route.

ZIPAIR now charges a flat fee of 6,000 JPY per sector for a bag weighing up to 30kg. For the avoidance of doubt, you need to pay one fee per checked bag; you can’t check 2x 15kg bags and pay a single fee. An additional admin fee of 1,000 JPY applies if you pay for checked baggage at the airport counter, so try to do it before arriving at the airport.

Another thing that’s changed about ZIPAIR is its livery. The airline used to have a big Z on its tail, but removed it in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This has now been replaced with a green geometric pattern that’s…visually interesting, if nothing else.

Finally, ZIPAIR now offers priority boarding for Full Flat passengers, instead of the previous first-come-first-serve model. Full Flat passengers board just after passengers with disabilities and infants.

ZIPAIR B787-8 Full-Flat

ZIPAIR’s fleet consists entirely of Boeing 787-8s at the time of writing, though the carrier has announced its intention to acquire Boeing 787-9s as well. 

The B787-8s have a total of 290 seats, split into 18 Full-Flat and 272 Economy. This is a much lower density than what you’ll find on similar aircraft operated by other LCCs like Scoot and Jetstar (355 seats for both).

If you wish to select your seat beforehand, ZIPAIR charges for seat selection in both its Full Flat and Economy cabins. The fee varies by route, and costs 1,500 JPY/S$18 between Singapore and Tokyo Narita (when I flew in 2022, the cost was 1,000 JPY/S$13).

Do note that you can only choose your seat once. If you later change your mind and want to select a different seat, you’ll need to pay another seat selection fee. 

If you have not selected a seat beforehand, ZIPAIR will automatically assign one at the T-24 mark. ZIPAIR does not allow assigned seats to be changed at the airport counter, and you cannot change seats onboard unless you’re willing to pay a fee.

On my flight, the fee to change a Full Flat seat was 1,000 JPY, while the fee to change a Standard seat was 1,300 JPY (or 4,000 JPY if you wanted an exit row).

In the Full Flat cabin, ZIPAIR uses JAMCO Venture reverse herringbone seats, laid out in a 1-2-1 configuration. The leather-upholstered seats measure 20″ wide and have 42″ of pitch, and are also used by Air Europa and KLM.

If you’re travelling with a child under the age of seven, you cannot book a seat in the Full Flat cabin (for safety reasons, says ZIPAIR). However, ZIPAIR offers highly discounted U6 fares for children in this age group in the Economy cabin, and will seat a parent next to their child for free.

The 18 Full Flat seats are split into five rows, with the first row lacking the D/G middle seats due to a storage area. Couples who take the middle seats can slide the privacy divider back to interact with each other, though the side console still partially blocks them unless they lean forward to talk.

The A/K seats are better suited for solo travellers, and I was assigned to seat 5A at the rear of the aircraft on the port side. I was worried that the proximity to the lavatories might be an issue, but in practice it didn’t bother me.

I was very impressed with the ZIPAIR seats back in 2022, and I’m still impressed now. It might not be the most cutting-edge of products when compared to full-service carriers, but it’s unbelievably luxurious for an LCC. In fact, if not for the absence of inflight entertainment screens, the casual observer could easily take this for regular Business Class.

Each window seat has two windows, though one is partially blocked by the shell of the seat.  These are electrically dimmable via a gel between the glass which responds to electric current- when the passenger presses the dim button, the current increases and the gel becomes darker, letting less light through. When the passenger presses the light button, the current decreases and more light comes in.

The footwell narrowed towards the front, but was still adequately wide for me. It’s certainly much better than what you’ll find on parent company Japan Airlines’ B787-9s, where the footwells of the middle seats are staggered one on top of the other.

While these seats don’t have doors (I wonder which LCC will be the first to add that!), they still offer decent privacy because seats are angled away from the aisle and have privacy wings around the head. 

As you’ve probably noticed by now, ZIPAIR has not installed any seatback inflight entertainment screens on its aircraft as a weight-saving measure (entertainment streaming is offered instead; see below). An elastic pouch with the safety card and other informational materials is placed where the screen should be.

Because of the lack of screens, the safety demonstration is done the old fashioned way, in the aisles.

The touch-sensitive seat controls had three preset positions for full flat, full upright and lounging. Unfortunately, it was not possible to control individual sections of the seat like the backrest or legrest. There was also a toggle for lighting adjustments and a do-not-disturb button. 

Beneath the seat controls was a small mesh pocket for holding a phone or other loose items. The elastic band here had loosened over time though, and sagged a bit even without anything inside. 

The storage nook could not be used during take-off and landing, and the crew were very strict about this — not even an empty water bottle was permitted. Otherwise, this was suitable for storing a tablet or smaller laptop. A storage cupboard would probably have been a better solution though.

Each Full Flat seat has a universal power socket and a USB Type-A port for charging. Unlike Scoot, there’s no charge to use it. 

The tray table unfolded in two stages (ZIPAIR has added a warning label, which makes me wonder how many people crimped their fingers when setting this up!), and did not impede you from entering or exiting the seat when fully deployed.

ZIPAIR has individual air nozzles, allowing passengers to adjust the temperature if they please.

Amenities

I did not purchase an amenities kit this time round, but the pre-flight purchase price (2,500 JPY) had not changed from 2022.

The kit contains a very smooth and comfortable fleece blanket, earplugs, a neck pillow, slippers, and a satin eye mask. The contents felt very premium, perhaps even more so than some airlines’ Business Class kits! 

If you want to buy the items onboard, the a la carte pricing is as follows:

• Neck pillow: 800 JPY
• Eye mask, slippers and earplugs: 800 JPY
• Blanket: 1,500 JPY

Truth be told, I ended up regretting the decision to pinch pennies, because the cabin was ice cold. It got to the point that I would have done anything for a blanket (cue Major Marquis a la The Hateful Eight)- except pay 1,500 JPY for it.

Food & Beverage

ZIPAIR customers have the option of booking a package that includes an inflight meal, or adding an a la carte meal to their booking later.

A total of 12 options are available, which is a significant reduction from the 22 that were offered when I last flew in 2022. Prices have also increased. Three years ago, the cheapest meal cost 1,200 JPY, now it starts from 1,500 JPY. 

If your package includes a meal, you can select any option that costs JPY 1,500. 

By default, ZIPAIR serves all meals 1-2 hours after take-off. Interestingly, you can request your meal to be served 2 hours before arrival, for an extra JPY 250. I wonder how many people take that option…

If you didn’t add a meal before the flight, you can still order food onboard, though the selection is much more limited. Food and drink can be ordered through ZIPAIR’s onboard portal, accessible through a set of QR codes pasted to every seat. 

All payment must be made through the ZIPAIR portal via a credit or debit card, as the crew do not have a physical POS terminal.

Protip: Buy a couple of large bottles of water before boarding, because ZIPAIR does not offer complimentary water onboard. The only option once onboard is to pay 250 JPY for a 540ml bottle.

In terms of selection, don’t expect anything too gourmet. This being a budget carrier, the focus is on non-perishable foods with a long shelf-life, like chocolate bars, chips, instant noodles and canned drinks. Some sample prices are given below:

ZIPAIR loads a limited number of hot meals for a la carte ordering, and you’ll want to place your order quickly. On this flight the hot option was a vegetable penne pasta (three sets). There was also the option of a cold appetiser set in a Western (three sets) or Japanese (three sets) style.

I ordered a gyudon beef rice bowl, which won’t win any prizes for presentation, but tasted good and filled me up. All meals come with a small bottle of mineral water. 

ZIPAIR does not sell champagne, but who needs that when you have Lemon-dou, a 5% ABV lemon sour bubbly drink. It’s basically hard lemonade, but that’s like saying the Mona Lisa is basically a painting. Highly recommended. 

Inflight Entertainment

All ZIPAIR passengers can enjoy complimentary streaming entertainment via the aircraft’s Wi-Fi system, featuring movies, videos, eBooks and Spotify.

Unfortunately, the movie selection was very limited, featuring just 10 English language movies, none of them recent.

Don’t expect any riveting TV dramas in the video section either, because the content was mostly advertainment. As for E-books, well, the less said the better.

Wi-Fi

ZIPAIR offers all passengers complimentary unlimited Wi-Fi. That’s a great perk for a full service carrier, let alone an LCC. 

With free access for all, Wi-Fi speeds were naturally not the best, but remained usable throughout. I was able to stay in touch via WhatsApp and Telegram, send emails, and work on blog posts without any issue.

Sleep Experience

The Full-Flat seat converts into a bed nearly 2 metres long. The padding is comfortable for a snooze, though keep in mind that you’ll need to pay if you want a blanket or pillow.

I appreciated the fact that the footwell was large enough to sleep on my back and still move my legs, which can be a challenge with other reverse herringbone seats. 

Toilets

ZIPAIR’s B787-8s have a total of seven lavatories for 290 passengers, which is an excellent ratio for an LCC (for the sake of comparison, Scoot has six lavatories for 335 passenger). Since ZIPAIR does not have any cabin distinctions, passengers can use restrooms in whatever section they please.

These are basic, though the Japanese standard of “basic” still includes bidet seats (in three of the seven washrooms) and touchless taps. 

Conclusion

ZIPAIR Full Flat might be Business Class stripped down to its bare bones, but for those who just need a comfortable seat and nothing else, this product is perfect.

Yes, you don’t get all the frills of Business Class, like celebrity-chef meals, champagne, plush linens, a 4K entertainment screen and amenity kits. But you know what you also don’t get? A hole in your wallet. The S$754 I paid for this flight (before any extras) represents incredible value, and is even cheaper than what Singapore Airlines would charge for Premium Economy on the same route.

Throw in the complimentary Wi-Fi, (somewhat limited) streaming entertainment and personal in-seat charging, and any gripes about the LCC experience should quickly dissipate.