Originally Posted by
rosensfole
A very good and informative review/comparison sushimaru. Thank you.
I haven't flown with either of these airlines yet, I must do one day. I must say I do like the look of the ANA offering over JAL. I've used the JAL first class lounge at Haneda and wasn't particularly blown away by it. I too don't like being too hot when sleeping - totally with you there.
Thanks for the feedback. When you have the chance, make sure to fly ex-Japan because that's where both airlines serve the best meals (but not the flight that departs at midnight from HND because they just seem to have simple breakfast service and some anytime dining light meal options).
Originally Posted by
5DMarkIIguy
I think it depends on the crew, but JAL crew can be quite chatty. They were asking about where and what I do in Japan, what´s the plan, etc... About 5 out of 10 times.
The newly hired crew will not chit chat much. They also tend to make sure everything is perfect when they set your plates. One girl was spending a minute rotating the cup to make sure the lip mark orientation is directly in front of me. It is surreal.
I agree JAL food is on another level compare to ANA.
Good to know that. May be it was just by luck. I'll see if I can find a chatty crew next time. I can understand about how everything is extremely detailed in JAL case. It's good when the cabin is empty, but when it's full, it may slow down the service speed. In this regard I find ANA balanced, not over-detailed but just about the right pace.
Originally Posted by
Duke787
Great TR. I've been fortunate to fly both on TPAC flights (NH x1, JL x2) and I agree with your assessment basically on everything.
The one area of difference you didn't note is on the whisky front. NH offers Hibiki 21 in F (and 17 in J) whereas JL is 17 in F and NAS in J. I actually prefer the 17 so it's not an issue but for a whisky person, NH gets the slight advantage.
I probably have a slight preference for NH (I like the blue color scheme, the FAs seem a bit friendlier towards me as a white American vs. the JL FAs who were very professional but seemed a bit more reserved towards me,) but at the end of the day would happily fly either in J or F (actually really like JL J well with the APEX suites - though NH with the Hibiki 17 as noted above gets a big win in the alcohol category for J).
Good point! Yes, I agree with you about Hibiki 21 - JAL don't have in F, but ANA do. I did try out this on ANA and this is one factor where ANA should be given credit to.
JAL J is great. Again, the food is also top-notch in their J and the suite is very comfortable. Currently their latest 787-9s are fitted with reverse Herringbone with crossed leg space in the middle two seats (= more seats), so hopefully they'll maintain the current APEX suites as long as possible.
Originally Posted by
DetailsIM
My wife and I are super excited to be flying ANA first in January.
It will be a nice long flight: Roundtrip IAH - NRT.
Longer sleeping time on an amazing mattress
Enjoy.