Never flown ORD-NRT but have flown out of JFK and SFO so I don't imagine leaving out of Chicago would make big difference.

Never flown on NWA but coach class on JAL can be cramped, just like on any other airline I've ever been on, which is quite a few. But there are certain strategies that I use that more often than not get me more than average room.

Check in as early as possible. I've never been able to reserve a seat ahead of time , I think someone on this forum once posted that only people paying full fare economy tickets can reserve in advance. The travel agent I use gets the tickets from a cosolidator in LA. The ticket counters usually open 3 hours before scheduled departure and I'm one of the first in line.

Delicate question. How large are you? If you're not too wide in the butt, you might want to consider an exit row so you have a lot of legroom. These seats are narrower than normal because they have the built in meal trays, the folding video screen and the remote control so seat width is lessened by a couple of inches.


If you dont like sitting beside anyone (who does?), consider asking for seats 67D or 67G. These are the aisle seats in the last row at the back of the plane on these 747's which I think is the only plane that JAL uses for transpacific flights. I was told by a flight attendant that they try to keep these seats free for people who might become sick during the flight as they are right by the bathrooms. Some people avoid those seats for that reason but the flow of people back and forth never bothers me. Everytime except for one, I've had an empty seat beside me.


If the flight is full, seats 64A, 65A and 65K have extra legroom . If you check out this website and select configuration L-17 for example, you'll see why:

http://www.japanair.com/e/aboutjal/seating.php

I've no idea what configuration your flight will have, you can email JAL to find that out.


Well, I hope that helped. Have a nice flight.