Introduction

As an addendum to my recent ANA/JAL International First Class comparison trip report (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip...vid-times.html) – I thought it might be fun to do a comparison of ANA and JAL domestic first class, flown on the exact same route (Tokyo to Sapporo) in the same month (October 2021).

Naturally, as the domestic first class catering/product is significantly less involved than their longhaul siblings, this trip report will be much shorter than my last one. That being said, hopefully it whets the appetite for a time in the not-too-distant future when Japan will be open again for enriching travel experiences.

Here are both airlines’ websites describing their domestic premium product: https://www.ana.co.jp/en/jp/servicei.../premiumclass/ and https://www.jal.co.jp/en/dom/service/f/outline/. Keep in mind, that many domestic routes within Japan are under an hour - the same length of time when you'll be lucky to get a single drink service on a domestic U.S. flight of similar distance.

Both flights were booked using miles and then upgraded day-of-departure at Tokyo Haneda. In my opinion, award bookings are a great bargain for domestic Japan flights. My ANA routing (which was actually included overnight stopover in Sapporo and then continued onto Memanbetsu in Northern Hokkaido on an ANA Wings DHC8-Q400 the following day), was booked all for just 6k United miles (the cheapest fares are around $500 each way on this route). United’s award routing rules for domestic Japan itineraries are very generous, allowing up a 24hr connection along the way. Similarly, my JAL flight was booked using BA Avios for just 7.5k Avios (JAL fares in economy are typically around $350 on this route - and the lowest <650mi band of Avios awards is able to cover most domestic flights within Japan).

Both ANA and JAL offer relatively inexpensive day-of-departure first class (and Class J, for JAL) upgrades if there are any seats available. The ANA upgrade cost was 15,000 JPY ($130) as they consider the Haneda-Sapporo route to be a premium domestic route (other/shorter routes are less expensive to upgrade), while all Y to F upgrades on JL domestic flights cost just 8,000 JPY ($70) regardless of the route. Of note, JAL only offers the F cabin on only four domestic routes (Tokyo to Sapporo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Okinawa) while ANA offers it’s Premium Class cabin on most mainline domestic routes. There is some luck involved, as both carriers tend to sell out their domestic first class product well ahead of time and it’s typically a very small sized cabin to begin with (although sometimes longhaul equipment will be used with a much larger cabin).

Well, enough with the mundane mileage booking and upgrade details. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this quick trip report from Tokyo to Sapporo (twice!).

-FlyerBeek