Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Miles&Points > Airlines and Mileage Programs > Japan Airlines | JAL Mileage Bank
Reload this Page >

JAL poor entertainment selection

Register
Community
Wiki Posts
Today's Posts
Search

JAL poor entertainment selection

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Oct 8, 2023, 3:09 pm
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 37
JAL poor entertainment selection
The JAL inflight entertainment selection looks really horrble. Any hope of them expanding. It's a deal breaker for me to be on an all day flight with such a truly horrendous selection.
Why have a great new screen on the new A350 with nothing to watch.
DDurm is offline  
Reply
Old Oct 8, 2023, 5:09 pm
  #2  
Ambassador: Japan Airlines
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: LAX
Programs: JAL Mileage Bank, JMB Diamond, oneworld Emerald, Bonvoy Platinum
Posts: 16,398
Originally Posted by DDurm
The JAL inflight entertainment selection looks really horrble. Any hope of them expanding. It's a deal breaker for me to be on an all day flight with such a truly horrendous selection.
Why have a great new screen on the new A350 with nothing to watch.
The system on the A350-1000 is different from the rest of the fleet. It is using Panasonic vs Thales on the rest of the fleet. The Panasonic system will have expanded collection including live TV.
JALPak is offline  
Reply
Old Oct 9, 2023, 9:23 am
  #3  
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: NRT / HND
Programs: AA EXP, NH Plat, Former UA 1K
Posts: 5,667
Originally Posted by DDurm
The JAL inflight entertainment selection looks really horrble. Any hope of them expanding. It's a deal breaker for me to be on an all day flight with such a truly horrendous selection.
Why have a great new screen on the new A350 with nothing to watch.
This isn't unique to JL, a lot of airlines in Asia have pretty horrible selections on the IFE. Highly suggest a VPN and make friends with ThePirateBay before your flight. Not all smartphones still have external SD card slots but it's worth investing in a cheapish one that still does have it if you fly in this region very often. Also highly recommend tossing one of these in your carry on bag, regardless of Business or Economy:
Perilogics Phone Holder Perilogics Phone Holder
, it's available on Amazon in most countries, and probably AliExpress too if you're not in an Amazon country.
dvs7310 is online now  
Reply
Old Oct 9, 2023, 5:19 pm
  #4  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Boston, Jo'burg, HK
Programs: AA EXP, Hyatt Lifetime Diamond, CX Gold, Mrs. Pickles travels for free
Posts: 13,162
JL has always had notably crappy IFE selections. I can live with that in exchange for the comfortable seat, the good food, and the nice service.
Pickles is offline  
Reply
Old Oct 9, 2023, 6:25 pm
  #5  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Tokyo
Programs: JAL Metal Card (OWE), SAS Eurobonus Gold (*G), Marriott Titanium (LTP), Tokyu Hotels Platinum
Posts: 21,171
Originally Posted by Pickles
JL has always had notably crappy IFE selections. I can live with that in exchange for the comfortable seat, the good food, and the nice service.
In an interview many years ago, Sir Tim Clark remarked on media comments that the 3-4-3 on Emirates' 77W was awfully tight, something to the extent of "If we give them great entertainment and good food, they'll not have time to worry about the seat". I guess JAL has less reason to remove focus from the seats.... lol
​​
dvs7310 and Marschel like this.
CPH-Flyer is online now  
Reply
Old Oct 11, 2023, 4:31 am
  #6  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 37
Originally Posted by JALPak
The system on the A350-1000 is different from the rest of the fleet. It is using Panasonic vs Thales on the rest of the fleet. The Panasonic system will have expanded collection including live TV.
Too bad the A-350 isn't on most routes
DDurm is offline  
Reply
Old Oct 11, 2023, 9:52 am
  #7  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 37
Originally Posted by Pickles
JL has always had notably crappy IFE selections. I can live with that in exchange for the comfortable seat, the good food, and the nice service.
Do you just twidle your fingers for 14 hours?
DDurm is offline  
Reply
Old Oct 11, 2023, 1:58 pm
  #8  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Boston, Jo'burg, HK
Programs: AA EXP, Hyatt Lifetime Diamond, CX Gold, Mrs. Pickles travels for free
Posts: 13,162
Originally Posted by DDurm
Do you just twidle your fingers for 14 hours?
Don't know about you, but when I was a wee lad, me mum taught me a useful skill: reading. You know, newspapers, books, magazines, Kindles. Sleeping is also a skill, and in the JAL lie-flats, it's not too bad. And worst case, there's always the laptop to do some work.
Daytona, dvs7310, benjahman and 3 others like this.
Pickles is offline  
Reply
Old Oct 11, 2023, 4:24 pm
  #9  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Tokyo
Programs: JAL Metal Card (OWE), SAS Eurobonus Gold (*G), Marriott Titanium (LTP), Tokyu Hotels Platinum
Posts: 21,171
Originally Posted by DDurm
Do you just twidle your fingers for 14 hours?
No we just look at the in flight map for 14 hours, watching the time count down, see if we can guess how many miles we have moved by the next time the map cycles to show flight distance....

While JAL's selection is not that wide, there are usually some worthwhile movies that I have not watched before or something that can be repeated. Even on Qatar Airways I am usually forced to re-watch movies, they may have hundreds of movies, but the change from month to month is actually fairly limited. Though I probably should be better at selecting some of the movies that I never heard of.
dvs7310, CreoUCLA and Aurelian like this.
Last edited by CPH-Flyer; Oct 11, 2023 at 4:33 pm
CPH-Flyer is online now  
Reply
Old Oct 11, 2023, 4:46 pm
  #10  
Ambassador: Japan Airlines
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: LAX
Programs: JAL Mileage Bank, JMB Diamond, oneworld Emerald, Bonvoy Platinum
Posts: 16,398
Originally Posted by CPH-Flyer
No we just look at the in flight map for 14 hours, watching the time count down
That's exactly what I did lol
dvs7310, CPH-Flyer and Aurelian like this.
JALPak is offline  
Reply
Old Oct 11, 2023, 5:28 pm
  #11  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Boston, Jo'burg, HK
Programs: AA EXP, Hyatt Lifetime Diamond, CX Gold, Mrs. Pickles travels for free
Posts: 13,162
Originally Posted by CPH-Flyer
No we just look at the in flight map for 14 hours, watching the time count down, see if we can guess how many miles we have moved by the next time the map cycles to show flight distance....
Har! I am guilty of staring at the flight map, fixating on a geographic marker tag at the edge of the screen, and watching it like a hawk until it disappears as we advance. Or watch new ones show up as we get closer to the destination.
Aurelian likes this.
Pickles is offline  
Reply
Old Oct 11, 2023, 5:42 pm
  #12  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Tokyo
Programs: JAL Metal Card (OWE), SAS Eurobonus Gold (*G), Marriott Titanium (LTP), Tokyu Hotels Platinum
Posts: 21,171
Originally Posted by Pickles
Har! I am guilty of staring at the flight map, fixating on a geographic marker tag at the edge of the screen, and watching it like a hawk until it disappears as we advance. Or watch new ones show up as we get closer to the destination.
I do actually look a good deal on the map, seeing what we pass. Recently we were close to Midway, but sadly not close enough to actually see the island.

This one gave me a bit of a laugh....

I did see Loch Ness later on the same flight, though no monster....
LapLap, dvs7310, benjahman and 1 others like this.
CPH-Flyer is online now  
Reply
Old Oct 11, 2023, 6:17 pm
  #13  
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
Posts: 152
Originally Posted by DDurm
Do you just twidle your fingers for 14 hours?
If you're opposed to reading, you can always just watch shows/movies on your phone or tablet by utilizing the offline feature from Netflix, Hulu, Max, etc.
freckles123 is offline  
Reply
Old Oct 11, 2023, 6:46 pm
  #14  
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: GRU
Programs: LH HON; UA GS; AF Plat; AA PP
Posts: 240
I always look at the Japanese film offerings and the documentaries. I once saw an onsen in one of the travel documentaries and it ended up being one of my destinations in my following Japan trip. That’s how I discovered Nyuto onsen in Akita!
Aurelian likes this.
burg_rtw is offline  
Reply
Old Oct 11, 2023, 8:36 pm
  #15  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: California
Posts: 463
Originally Posted by Pickles
Don't know about you, but when I was a wee lad, me mum taught me a useful skill: reading. You know, newspapers, books, magazines, Kindles. Sleeping is also a skill, and in the JAL lie-flats, it's not too bad. And worst case, there's always the laptop to do some work.
I quite like JL's curated playlists. Has introduced me to some great artists I had never heard of before. Combined with a good book (physical or digital) and the endless snack menu...<3
Agneisse is offline  
Reply



Advanced Search
Reply Closed Thread Share
Forum Jump

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.