JL J and RJ J comparo question
 

Not having flown either of these airlines, how does long haul JL J compare to long haul RJ J? Have an opportunity of using either of these for an award.

From some reports I've seen, it appears that there are 2 versions of RJ J, with no certain way of knowing which you might get (new or old).

Secondly, are RJ's medium haul J seats on the 313s comparable to AA's old 763 dom F seats?

Which aircraft? Which route(s)?

JAL also has two different business class seats for international longhaul. The "shell flat" seat is the newer/better of the two.

Routes and equipment:
ORD-(744)-NRT-(777)-DEL on JL
ORD-(342)-AMM-(313)-DEL on RJ

No comparison, you would have to be insane to pick RJ via AMM for this routing -- for lots of reasons, the J seat comfort and service are the least of the considerations. For example, AMM is a pit of an airport (that makes ORD seem like a palace). And it gets worse from there.

Are we talking about the same airlines? I don't think RJ sounds that bad.

Firstly RJ has a fully flat seat in J on their A342 with 83" pitch in J whilst JL only has lie flat seats @ 60". Yes the RJ cabins are rather 'interesting' from if your not a fan of red, but at the same time, a fully flat J seat at 83" does sound very tempting, especially if the service is good as some reports suggest.

http://www.rja.com.jo/AboutRJ/OurFle...4/Default.aspx

Yes, AMM is meant to be the pits, but if I were flying in J, I would definitely consider RJ if the connection times are decent.

Smirnoff recently posted about RJ on the BA forum and it is definitely worth a read: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=685621

The quality of AMM is a small consideration in my case because the connection on the o/b is 2 hours and on the i/b is 3:30 hours.

OTOH, not that I care that much, but the connections in NRT would be 20hours on the o/b and 5:30 hours on the i/b.Your post makes it seem like there's other issues to RJ. What are these and how does the in air experience compare.

Smirnoff's post linked by Traveloguy made me think of RJ in some seriousness, although JonNYC's post in the same thread gives some caution.

I had old RJ J, JFK-AMM and it was O.K.-- but JL's new J (which I'm under the impression all JL long-haul routes now have?) is better. New RJ J may well be equal to JL shellflat-- or even better-- I'd listen to someone who's actually flown both.

Additionally, I didn't find AMM airport to be bad at all, although th RJ lounge is quite crappy.

Also, stories of excessive/inconvenient security on RJ:
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthrea...light=security
are unfounded IME.

Thanks all.

I never noticed the above in my first read. Am I alone in feeling that the connection times (2 hours + 3.5 hours vs. 20 hours + 5.5 hours) is a pretty big difference? For me, that would weigh very heavily in my decision-making. Plus, IMHO, a 20 hour layover in, say, HKG or LON or ZRH is one thing-- but NRT? I don't enjoy NRT enough to even bother, personally.

By the same token, if by -some- chance you might consider a stopover in Jordan-- that would be a -very- compelling reason to fly RJ via AMM!

And the seat specs given for RJ Crown are misleading if you get the old (red) seats-- JL shellflat J is better, pitch notwithstanding.

I flew RJ Crown Class on 28 Mar (LHR-AMM) and 2 April (AMM-BKK).

Overlooking the IFE situation (portable tape players), everything else about the flights were superb. The catering and service on board is second to none - the food was served from a small cart with all the elements on top. You could pick a meal off the menu, or look at what was in the cart and pick from there. I asked for a bit of everything and that is what I got - I made a joke that I was a pig and the F/A told me she'd make sure I didn't leave hungry :) Very pleasant and friendly flight attendants who can't do enough for you.

Seating wise, we had the red seats and they do indeed lie flat. My travelling companion slept the entire flight and marvelled at the fact that she had as she's a light sleeper.

Yes, the Amman lounge is lacking (3 computers, a large television in one corner, very small drinks selection and small food selection) but the onboard RJ service makes up for it.

Once they have PTVs and AVOD they'll be well up there in quality. I found RJs international J to be head and shoulders ahead of AYs in every aspect except IFE.

AMM is not a great experience (especially the lounge) however there are plenty worse experiences to be had (every airport in India and TBIT at LAX spring to mind). It has the advantage of being nice and compact and if in J you get to be at the head of the queue (unless you are especially unlucky and arrive at the same time as 2/3 other flights).

I would echo the suggestion that if you opt for RJ, you make the time for a stopover in one of the nicest and most accessible countries in the Middle East. Petra is just a 4 hour drive away....

Just got my RJ tickets. Looking forward to the experience.

Unfortunately do not have the time to stop over in AMM, so will have to leave that to another time.

As to the 20 hour NRT stopover I was contemplating, I was planning to go into the city for the day so the long stopover was not a negative.

I think we can safely add LHR to that list! ;)

In fact, CDG and FRA would be close runners up.

I agree that AMM, LAX, and CDG are not great. LHR is worst in the world. I like FRA though compared to other big airports.

Does anyone know what kind of powerports (if any) are available on the 340s?