Originally Posted by
pesos
Unless they've changed in the last month I doubt that's the case - and never have paid cash for intl F, probably never will XD
Doesn't surprise me a ton about the Hibiki confusion - up until COVID route craft were fairly static and the new refinished Suite and Room interiors aligned pretty much with Hibiki 21 routes - now it's all over the place and changing each season (SFO's turn with the Suite/Room just kicked in recently so there may be initial adjustment happening there).
It is a bit random whether I end up interacting with the FAs in Japanese or English, though if they have looked at their ipad on JAL they will start in Japanese. I can't say I get better or worse service in one or the other language. Though the interactions are definitely different, there are a lot more polite phrases in Japanese, meaning it probably takes longer time, which could be perceived as more attention. It is not really though.
Also, particularly in F on JAL, the descriptions of the dishes when served are probably more detailed in Japanese, but the English language is not the best for Japanese cuisine, and for some things, if you don't know the Japanese word you probably don't get much meaning from the English translation either.