JAL to start NRT to SEA
 

Yeay !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And we get the better Lie Flat Sky Suites!

Even better!

Short article in the Seattle Times for those of us who can't read that press release. :)

Japan Airlines to join ANA and Delta in 2019 offering Seattle-Tokyo service

"The new daily service on Boeing 787-8 aircraft will leave Narita airport each day at 6 p.m. and, because of the time shift, arrive at 11 a.m. in Seattle the same day after a 9-hour flight. Flights from Seattle will leave at 2:20 p.m. and arrive in Tokyo at 4:30 p.m. the next day."

Seems like a new config will be deployed to the NRT-SEA as per the press conference.

https://www.aviationwire.jp/archives/156541 (Japanese Only)

PE (total 35 seats) on rows 17-21 will be eliminated and will only be a 2-Class config on SkySuite (APEX) while Y would still stay 8-abreast.
JAL will do reconfig work on some existing 10 SS8 frames according to the report.

It will be interesting to just have Business and Economy (though a good Economy). I'm hoping that with the competition from SEA-NRT (Delta, ANA, JAL), we will see some pricing wars. Maybe even a sub-$400 ticket from time to time.

Also, did I read some place that it will switch to HND sometime in the future?

Japanese Forums are mentioning it will be C38Y156 config
New slots at Haneda will be decided next year for 2020 implementation and JL might apply for it but then it depends if it will be approved by J-Gov or not so we'll see.

156 Y and 38 J does not really leave spaxe for the APEX suite. The original NEO version had 144 Y, so it would need a full row plus two half a row some where, yet the 38 seat APEX cabin takes more space than the NEO cabin. So I would guess it it would be the reverse herringbone sky suites that will come to these routes.

Maybe just less than 38J Remind me, who many seats in the reduced J NEO configuration....

Because the NEO config has no PY cabin so it gives a good indication of what that space that gives in terms of extra Y seats. I know galley and lavatory are located differently as well. But since the can get the same number of rows from 45 and back wards on the SS version and the NEO version, NEO is a good reference point to understand how many Y seats go there.

That added to the DS8 space needed for 38 seats, something has to give way....

That's the problem in the end, there is just not enough space for 38 156. If they take 6 out of SS8 would they get space for 1 full row and a middle block of 4 in Y.?

Anyway, November 5th will show.... A month and a bit of suspense.

JAL's homepage is pretty clear on the seat types. But not on the count of seats.

https://www.jal.co.jp/inter/route/sea/?m=i04#SEAT

Oh boy, within 2 months all of a sudden SEA went from 0 OW TPAC flights to 2 (the other being CX). I have to wonder if CX/JL knew what each other was up to as they were planning their new route.

On another hand, I'm seeing some spark again in my hopes of AS joining OW...

F yeah says the guy flying NRT-LAX-SEA-PDX on Monday.

Apologies all for sharing the wrong info here. Had a bad jetlag when I typed them and now that everything is back to normal, I went back to read comments in 2ch and actually it's not C38Y156, but C30Y156. The latter makes sense and CPH-Flyer had a point all along. Cheers

That makes more sense :)

Is this NEO being converted, or SS8 being converted or some if the new planes coming in?

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The NEOs were just "retrofitted" from E01 to E03 by reducing C and increasing Y for all 15 frames so I don't think they will be converted to SS8.
Some of the 10 x SS8 frames, my guess max 4, are good candidates for the new config and these can be deployed to SAN/YVR sometime next FY as well.

Now the question is what will happen to all these extra seats that were taken out?
When E01 was converted to E03, 12 NEO Seats were taken out per frame, now with the new SS8 config, 8 APEX Suites and 35 PY seats will also be removed.
My guess would be, the APEX/PY seats can be used on the last 4 x 789 orders, and probably we could also see an upgrade from Sky Luxe to NEO for all 9 x International 738s.

Just my wild speculations and should not be taken seriously. Cheers

The mid cabin galley is smaller in the SS 787-8, and yes I also think the seat rows stretch a further back, plus less space taken for lavatories. That plus the slim line seats

I'm wondering what the biz class cost will be.... it'll be nice having a Dreamliner direct from SEA that can be used for redeeming AA or AS miles!

New config is called E12 with C30 (Rows 1-3 / 7-8) and Y156 (Rows 18-26 / 45-55) and will debut on Feb 1st starting with JL745/746. 2nd Frame will be with JL717/718 starting Mar 1st. Subsequently, these 2 frames with the new E12 config will be used on the new NRT-SEA route starting Mar 31st after JL745/746 reverts to E03 while there is no news so far whether JL717/718 will be extended further as these are originally just seasonal/temporary flights. (source: local jp blogs)

Well Oct 2018 C Class Fares on both NH/DL are between U$5K and U$10K so there is quite high demand but with JL launching, the prices might go down for a few months before they start to normalize again. For sure JL/NH will not be cheap.

If JL keeps its existing fare rules for RT I and X fares for YVR-NRT-xxx then the deal will be to drive up to YVR, grab a JL coded AS flight back to SEA and then take the SEA-NRT flight. I routinely fly these ex-YVR fares for US$2.3k (currently via LAX connection). YVR-SEA-NRT-xxx should price similarly, at least if they leave the same routing rules in place for the YVR fares.

The arrival timing at SEA wouldnt be so good for the pax..
It is about the same time where a ton of international flights arrive.
The last time I did that, the immigration queues stretched all the way to the jetbridge!
Fortunately, I had global entry but for those people without, the wait was at least 2-3 hours.

The departure time wouldnt be good too as the lounges would be packed.

The new International Arrivals facility at SEA is under construction, and should alleviate some of the current problems.

https://www.portseattle.org/projects...ivals-facility

With completion targets of the various steps between May and November 2020. So improvement is still a more than a year off by the time the route commences.

I missed those dates inline. That's a bit later than previously, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised. The Port of Seattle has a reputation for dragging things out. But hey, maybe it might be ready for HND-SEA?

Yeah, they burried those dates pretty deep in the materials. Occupational hazard, I always get drawn to information not shown....

E12 seat map (C30Y156) for this route has just been uploaded.

http://www.jal.co.jp/aircraft/conf/787.html

On one hand a new 772ER Y-heavy config (W63/W64 - C26Y286) was also uploaded.
This could be for the remaining frame that remains on the old config.

http://www.jal.co.jp/aircraft/conf/777er.html

And SEA is on the QF "possible" list for when they get more 787s late next year.

Did anyone else catch that in this press release it says:

The carrier will introduce the well-received "JAL SKY SUITE" configured Boeing 787-8 aircraft on routes between Narita and Seattle. The carrier also plans to introduce the "JAL SKY SUITE" equipment on its Narita-Vancouver and Narita-San Diego routes during FY2019.

Yes, it was mentioned.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/japan-airlines-jal-mileage-bank/1932541-nrt-yvr-nrt-san-will-get-sky-suite-upgrade-fy2019.html

New 788 config E12
 

Which someone has already posted 5 days ago

Juicy updates.
JAL now has double FOP (targeted)/ double Miles (all people) campaign on the Seattle route.
Only JAL 67/68 qualify, no codeshares.
As usual, registration before flight required.

Double miles: 3/31-5/31 (Japan based registration link)
Double FOP: 3/31 - 6/30 (Japan based registration link, targed offer, only in Japanese it seems. Cant find the english version page, but registration is easy as per usual method with a single click)

Combined with the RGN fare here and routing via Seattle to LAX/SAN/SFO reaps you close to 40,000+ FOP.
My route for 2200 USD in business class, and NRT-LAX during Japan golden week!!
RGN-BKK-HND-stopover NRT-SEA-LAX and reverse.

RGN-BKK 379 FOP at 100% fare M
BKK-HND 5,379 FOP at 1.5x 125% fare X
NRT-SEA 12,738 FOP at (6369 x 2x), 125% fare X, including the double FOP
SEA-LAX 1,193 FOP at 125% fare I on AA (domestic first class)
One way total = 19,689 FOP.
Return total = 40,178 FOP (including additional 1600 bonus FOP total for the four JAL flights, campaign extended into 2019)