Well, JAL's network is far better than ANA's, with more flights and more routes. And their service is superb. Some people like ANA's service better, but the differences between the two seem quite minor: for example, in business class ANA carries your meal plate to your seat instead of serving from a cart. For some Flyertalkers who are horrified at JAL's use of a cart this seems to be a make-or-break factor in their decision, but I personally do not care how my meal gets to me if the quality is good.

ANA compensates for their inferior network with the Star Alliance, but then you have to fly various partner airlines with differing standards of service, and I personally don't like the inconsistency. I also abhor ANA's main US partner, United Airlines.

And with JAL joining Oneworld soon, their network will improve significantly.