godsquare

I am spoiled by the fact that AA let Oneworld Emerald to get their Main Cabin Extra for free

JALPak

You get what you paid for on JL. If you are on a fare that doesn't allow advanced seat selection, then you won't be able to pick a seat before OLCI opens no matter what status you have.

CPH-Flyer

JAL does not have any seat selection that they charge for, so there is nothing to get for free in that area with JAL

Premium Economy on JAL is a seperate cabin class, so that is an upgrade. which is an entirely different thing.

zerokei

Thinking of booking ARN-HEL-NRT with JL in Dec-Jan in PE for me and another person (who will have a different return date) and we would like to sit together.

In step 3 of the booking process it is possible to preselect a seat and I used it to check the availability. On some dates however, there is no seat map, instead the message "Waiting for seatmap availability". Anyone who knows what this mean?

Also, I guess that not all seats are available for preselect, is it an correct assumption? Would more seats be available at OLCI?

CPH-Flyer

There wil be more seats available eiter at OLCI or at the airport. Some of the blocked seats on JAL are fully on airport control.

zerokei

Thanks! Now it seems that the message is gone and the seat chart can be displayed.

If I call JAL will they be able to assign other seats than those available on the homepage when buying a ticket?

JALPak

In general, no.

jix

Hi

I'm planning to switch to JL next year and fly towards JGC Premier or Diamond, starting from scratch. While I'll have a non-status JL boarding pass, can I still use my AA EXP card to gain access to lounge and priority check-in/boarding?

Additionally, if I plan on flying quick turnarounds as MR on JL metal, is there a strategy towards timing by flying in the beginning of 2017 or spreading throughout 2017 in terms of getting bonus miles? I mean should I aim for the Crystal first and wait a few weeks and then fly again for Sapphire and then Premier so that the system recognizes status for bonus miles or does it not matter much if I fly it all in a week?

Based on the http://www.ar.jal.com/world/en/jalmile/flight/ page, am I correct in assuming that only OW carriers count for FOP and I need at least 40k on JL metal or JL marketed flights for JGC Premier?

Lastly, where is the best place to book JL tickets? I find their online site pretty limiting (ex-USA) as many of the destinations are not listed bookable. NYC-NRT-SYD for example is not available, or attempting to book NYC-NRT/KIX-HKG with a stopover or openjaw at higher booking class Y/PE/J.

Thanks

CPH-Flyer

You can still use your status from AA to gain lounge access. Just be very careful certain airlines (most notably BA) will sometimes change your accrual program to the one you use for the lounge. Even if you ask them not to.

The status is updated fairly quickly in the system, and normally at the same time as the FOP post. I have never had a flight in between the qualifying flight and the posting. But I would expect that like other airlines manages this to your correct number. Note that there are no status bonus on FOP, so for qualifying it does not matter.

Correct, 50% of the required FOP for any level has to come from JL metal, or JL marketed flights.

I don't have advice for a good TA.

lcpteck

So if I purchased a ticket from MH to fly on JL (MH flight number), this is counted towards FOP?

lcpteck

I plan to bring my MH Gold card to access the lounge with my boarding pass mileage accrual credited to JL. I assume it would be safe since I'm visiting the JL lounge?

CPH-Flyer

It counts for FOP, but not as JAL group FOP. The JL metal does also need have a JL flight code as well.

CPH-Flyer

I would still keep my eyes and ears open for unintentional changes.

jix

How often does JAL change its FOP/mile accumulation rate and tier rules? Is it safe to assume 2017 qualification is same as today?

helvetic

I'm flying JL metal with a JL marketing code on an AA ticket in full-fare Y.

Will I be able to do an at-the-airport mileage upgrade for 24k JL miles? What are the chances that it clears?