alphaod

Alright thanks. Looks like I got my card, so I'll have it if they ask for it.

CPH-Flyer

Meant lounge, not gate :-)

The times I have brought my card, they have always said the did not need it at the lounge desk.

alphaod

Actually I think this would be the first time I'm flying on an OW partner where I am eligible for lounge access based on status, so forgive the lack of experience. Last time [and only time] was flying AA F on a transcon, so I had lounge access based on ticket.

For *A, I always get asked for my *G card when accessing a partner lounge. They always want to swipe it for some reason. Perhaps I'm just used to that.

JALPak

You will need to present your card if your booking hasn't been refreshed with your new status. Otherwise boarding pass is more than enough.

CPH-Flyer

For *A it depends a bit on the carrier. Lufthansa used be very insistent on seeing the card, bit stopped at least in Frankfurt and Berlin a couple of years back. SK normally does it on boarding pass alone, UA needs the card.

alphaod

My booking was definitely not refreshed since I didn't book on the JAL website and the option to manually edit FFP number doesn't seem to exist.

Yeah I've found NH sometimes wants to see the card. The last time I was in Frankfurt, LH wanted the card to swipe since it didn't let me in when they scanned my boarding pass.


Thanks for all your help. I'll avoid going further off-topic.

Flanker2

A few questions, pardon if already answered. The search function didn't offer what I was looking for at first glance.

-First of all, how does the whole JGC joining process work nowadays? I know that it's on invitation, but how is it sent and when? I read JALPAK's initial thread about this (dated 2008), which said we received an invitation by postal mail about the same time as we receive our Sapphire card. We have to mail it back, etc...
So supposedly I won't get JGC membership before March/April, if I qualified for Sapphire this month?
Supposing that I don't, are there things that JGC offers but Sapphire doesn't?

-Given Sapphire status, how many pieces of luggage of what weight can I take on my connecting codeshare flights with AY/BE between HEL and BRU? (all trips with JL code).
What's the surcharge if I want to take 2 pieces of 30kg with contour size of 200cm and where do I pay this? What with 3 pieces of 30kg? At NRT to JL or to AY? Can I pay it with miles?
On this page I see +1 x 23kg for AY codeshare flights: http://www.jal.co.jp/en/codeshare/jgc_list.html
Does it mean
A. 1 x 23kg 158cm (AY's standard intra-Europe allowance) + 1 x 23kg or
B. 2 x 23kg 158cm (AY's standard longhaul allowance) + 1 x 23kg or
C. 2 x 32kg 203 cm (JL's standard longhaul allowance) + 1 x 23kg
-Is there a difference if I'm JGC Sapphire? The JGC website says 3 pieces of 32kg's and doesn't have the little star to say that it's not valid on codeshare flights. http://www.world.jal.com/world/en/jalmile/jgc/

-Does JL have a service wherein they help me fill in commercial customs forms for entry in Europe?

-Does JL offer a special (paying) fragile items service for pax luggage? I recently saw a special JL fragile items wood box on the luggage belt at CDG, but can't seem to find anything about it on their website.
-If it exists, does it extend to AY's codeshare connecting flight to BRU? How much does it cost and can I get insurance?

-Regarding JAL ABC. Is it possible to pay for this service with miles?

As JL have released some promotions for departure out of BRU through the newsletter I got today, I want to start planning my 2015 trips.
I'm already booked on TK flights BRU-IST-NRT in February and March unfortunately, as their fare was too good to pass on (66.000 JPY return). I wanted to try TK as I'm not bringing significant luggage back on those flights and I wanted to compare with JL (I know JL's going to win anyway because it's hard to do better in Y). I will post a trip report comparison of both airlines.
Fortunately, the period seems to coincide with the period that JL doesn't give discount on with this promo, otherwise I would've regretted it.
However, for the rest of my trips, I think that I'm going to stick with JL for their superior service, superior product, on-time reliability, great industry reputation for safety (not just the marketing talk) and more generous luggage allowance, which is important for me.

More background information regarding my above questions (could be useful):
I'm starting to import highly fragile large items from Japan, which if sent by post or Express most of the time arrive broken in such small pieces that you could make soup out of it.
The only reliable way to bring them back is to minimise handling by brining them as checked luggage with special, strong boxing using huge amount of shock-absorbing material. Even that results in damage in 15% of cases, but 15% is acceptable compared to 80% of damages through EMS or DHL.
The units aren't expensive or numerous enough for shipping as special air freight (art etc...), but expensive enough that it hurts if they're damaged (300 up to 2000 euro's per unit).

Thanks in advance for your help.

JALPak

Just call JAL and have them refresh it. It should show the new status on your boarding after the refresh.

alphaod

I called them, but they didn't understand what I was asking for.

So I asked a friend to speak Japanese for me. My friend also did not understand my concern. I had her reiterate to the agent that I wanted to remove my FF number and reinput the same number into the system. Hopefully that's what the agent did, but I have no way to verify.

EDIT: Okay, I just did OLCI and it shows Emerald on my boarding pass now

nycnyc

Hey guys, hope you can help. I'm thinking of booking JAL business class in March 2015 from JFK to NRT but I'm not sure if the new Sky Suite will be available on both their 787 and 777 flights. I looked at the pres release on the JAL site but it only mentions Janaury so I'm not sure which flight to book. I'd prefer the 787 flight that arrives in Tokyo around 12:30 PM but I don't want to book it if it's their older business class. Any advice?

JALPak

Both flights will have SKY SUITE in March 2015

xxpert

I need to cancel a JAL award to re-book on a different flight and was told by the agent that I first need to cancel and wait for the miles to be redeposited into my account but he couldn't tell me how long it would take for the points to repost. What is the typical length of time that this takes?

JALPak

Last time I did this it took 2 days but I remember the agent told me it could take longer. But this was 5-6 years ago.Why didn't you ask the agent who probably could provide you a more up-to-date time frame.

xxpert

Thanks, I did ask the agent and he was unsure of the exact time but told me a couple of days or so.

hakzai

Looking to book a NRT-YVR flight in early to mid Sept 2015.
Wondering it JL would be upgrading the 787 on this route from the Shell Flat Neo to the Sky Suite.

Thanks