Originally Posted by Tseta

This post could probably as well have been posted on the JAL side of FlyerTalk but here we are...

I took the black card out for a spin with JAL and they sure do treat "foreign" OWEs better than AY does their own platinums.

JAL has true, dedicated and enforced OWE/First check-in areas (even at outstations) as well as dedicated and enforced group 1 boarding for OWEs. I also got both a welcome greeting after boarding and a thank you for flying with us talk a bit before the landing from the purser on three out of three of my JAL flights. Through checking of luggage from JAL to AY on separate tickets was no problem either.

The soft product in general (F/B, amenities, service) were miles ahead of AY (however in all fairness, JAL's domestic class J is abit of a letdown). However, the grass is not always greener on the other side. As nice and private as the window seats are on the Apex suites, they are just too small for me. The biggest limitation is the length. The SkySuite III on the other hand is too narrow in general. Also, JAL47's timing is just brutal (but maybe it was better this way since I couldn't have slept in the SSIII anyway if it would have been a night flight.

With Finnair having flights from HEL to NRT, HND, NGO and KIX, I will not be going out of my way to fly JAL again from EU to Japan since AYs timings work out better and especially since the AirLounge hard product will enable me to get at least some sleep on the 12+ hour flights to the Far East.

Cheers,

Tseta