Had a fabulous time flying JL F on NRT-ORD
 

Food was phenomenal. Cabin wasn't too hot (managed to sleep 6 hours). Crew spoke good English and were very attentive. Had a fabulous time.

I'll post the full TR in the Reports forum once I process my photos, but if there's one criticism of the JL flight that I can make it's that the bathroom seemed decidedly average (however the fresh towels there were a nice touch).

My first time flying JL F; I've only flown CX F (777), BA F (A380/777), and QR F (A380) for comparison, but my JL F flight was far superior to those three.

Pic of my petit dessert tray.
http://i58.tinypic.com/v6itfc.jpg

I can't imagine ANA F food topping what I experienced in JL F, but there seem to be many consistent reports that this is the case.

Any thoughts?

Good news
 

Looking forward to report Got ORD- NRT end of Dec Still serving Salon?

Yep! Still serving Salon, as I can confirm.:)

Not sure how catering is ex-ORD, but ex-NRT was amazing.

Glad to hear about your experience. I am flying ORD-NRT round trip F in October and am very excited for the food, Salon, and service.

ANA F may have the slightest edge over JL F. But both are really excellent, and few would be disappointed with either (for reference, I have flown JL F ORD-NRT and ANA F NRT-ORD).

You'll enjoy it, catering ex-NRT is generally better with both ANA and JL (more noticeable with ANA due to some small extras catered such as macaroons), but neither really shortchanges much from most outstations when it comes to F. Try the Royal Blue Tea as well, if you like tea you'll thank me later ;).

Wish I had known of your suggestion to drink the Royal Blue tea earlier BOSMan. Argh!

If the amenity kit for men come with the additional Shinseido kit, then what is the female amenity kit's analogue of the Shinseido? Is it also a Shinseido kit but with female product contents?

Clé de Peau Beauté

Not sure which "consistent" reports you are referring to. It's really a toss up depending on the flight, date/time, menu and personal taste. For what it is worth, JL F catering ex-Japan is usually associated with Michelin 3 stars or 2 stars chef whereas ANA is not. Both seemed to have cut back a little since.

You can't compare ex-US catering to ex-Japan catering.



Except on JAL, Salon is served vs. Krug on ANA. Salon costs at least 3 times more than Krug and Salon is very limited quantity whereas Krug is more like a commodity.

It is technically Shiseido as well but a higher end brand of Shiseido for women: Clé de Peau Beauté

I didn't, at least not in that part of my post you selected :confused:.

Price only maintains the slightest correlation with quality when it comes to wine and champagne (and alcohol in general). Quantity limitations have a similarly low correlation with quality. A more expensive, quantity limited alcohol can be better than a cheaper and higher production one, but I would hardly call it a strong correlation. I personally prefer Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill to Krug, and in many places they retail for a similar price. That said, Salon is noticeably better than Krug in my opinion, and I was drinking Krug on CX F 3-4 days after I had Salon on JL so my comparison is pretty direct. Also, saying Krug, a USD 120+ bottle of champagne is anything resembling a commodity...

I've done ORD-NRT-ORD in F in JL, NH, and even on UA (lowest rating).

I dislike the UA lounges that ANA uses at ORD. The AA lounges that JL use are OK.

I like the JL lounge at NRT a bit more than ANA's lounges.

I like the check in at NRT a lot on ANA (private F check in room and security line)

I like the food a bit more on NH.

I like the attention/service a bit more on ANA.

I totally dislike the thick knit PJ's on ANA. JL PJ's are good.

BUT... JL is a very very close second to ANA in my opinion.

(BTW, I like the CX F PJ's best)

3 JL F sectors lately with the most recent two days ago. NH F maybe 5 months ago. I am a long time fan of ANA but cannot help but admit that the JL hard product is significantly superior to NH. The seat, the space, the movement within the space, the window access, the bed configuration, all of it.

The food on JL however is a bit chintzy. The portions are small and are not plated well to highlight the contents. It is an aspect that NH gets very right. I would say that it is a toss up on quality but a nudge to NH on presentation.

As an acquaintance of the wine director on NH I am loathe to admit, but nevertheless must, that JL's wine list beats NH but a not insignificant margin.

English language skills are good on both but as a fluent Japanese speaker I find that takes the already wonderful and classy service on both carriers to a higher level. There is a perceptible relaxation and ease in the faces pf all staff I encounter from check-in to onboard.

I have lived her long enough to have known (pre-restructuring) as a colder more conservative airline and ANA as a partner of the foreigners and more western friendly. That is so very much a thing of the past I am quite pleased to say that JL and NH are both so comparable it is as if one has no nee to make a choice other than when using miles or flying a specific route. Either is No. 1 or No. 2 in my book. And No. 3 is somewhere in the distance.

I agree with that sentiment entirely and have expressed similar sentiment here before. The cultural change at JAL post-restructuring is very refreshing to see. It used to be such a conservative and old style company where the seniority of the FAs were unfortunately suffocating more than just the on-board experience of customers, it was frankly sabotaging JAL as a company. The move towards meritocracy as opposed to strictly seniority based management style means the CSD onboard of JAL flights have become significantly younger but very well qualified and talented. I have not yet met a new CSD onboard JAL who has not at least spent some time in a foreign country. This is beyond just a mere question of English fluency. Many JAL FAs are eager to serve their customers in their native language even if they don't speak it very well. That would have never happened in the past not because they couldn't but rather it would have been seen as lower one self.

If you look at JAL's financial performance this year, it has done significantly better than ANA, which is not surprisingly really and ANA has been struggling to cut cost, at the detriment of many aspects of their products and services.

Re JL vs NH F seats: I can't imagine who at NH thought it would be a good idea to cover up almost all the windows with a wall. Epic fail IMO.

Re JL FAs: Guava's comments are very interesting. While I have always found JL FAs to be fantastic, the FA in J on my most recent LAX-NRT flight was especially so. What made her different from most was that she spoke amazing English and even could communicate with a casual American style (with just the right English phraseology, like an actual American) when appropriate. I usually speak Japanese with the FAs, but this woman's English communication style was so perfect that I just used English on the flight.

While we all agree that Japanese service is outstanding, I think we also recognize that the really good American FAs have their own casual, friendly style that puts customers at ease. Well, this FA on my JAL flight could do both: the polished, formal Japanese style and the casual, friendly American style.

One thing I didn't like was that there wasn't any hand creme/lotion in the basic amenity kit nor in the women's amenity gift. The bathroom didn't have any either. The FA was kind enough to give me a men's amenity gift, which has a small jar of facial creme that I could use on my hands.