So, I tried the new longhaul J meal service this weekend, routing BKK-HEL-JFK.

The biggest change was the menus themselves, which now feature a photo of a food item (similar to the CX menus).

The meals are still served on trays, from the cart, with the same Economy-Class style square/rectangular plates.

Biggest change I noticed was on the HEL-JFK flight, were the appetizer and salad was replaced with a chicken ceasar salad (not bad, actually). There was still a soup option.

Main courses were still pre-plated (served in rectangular dishes) and didn't appear in look or taste to be any better quality than the old meals (i.e. still very mediocre).

Pre-arrival snack on the HEL-JFK flight was listed as a club sandwich, which was served warm, in its foil wrapping, and accompanied by some stale potato chips and a lettuce/tomato slice. The only dessert was fruit.

The worst part is that it takes them nearly 3 hours to serve the meal when there is very little for them to do other than serve the trays, replace the appetizers with mains and clean-up. It should take no more than 90 minutes and I'm not sure where all the time goes.

Overall, one doesn't fly AY for the meals.