Japan Airlines 787 Business Class FLAT NEO to Tokyo Haneda

This was a flight I did not originally plan, but after having to change dates for my flight to Tokyo, this became part of my new itinerary. Japan Airlines 787 Business Class was my first experience of a Japanese airline also! In travel, there is always a positive that comes out of the hassle of having to re-arrange and re-book travel plans. 

Flight details

Route: Shanghai PVG – Tokyo Haneda
Flight no: JL086
Departure time: 16:05pm
Aircraft: 787-800
Cabin Layout: 2-2-2

Japan Airlines Business Class Check-in

I stayed overnight in Shanghai, close to PVG that it only took 20 minutes to get to the airport! I had attempted to check-in/pre-select seats online, which was far from a smooth experience since it kept bouncing between different sites/locals.

Pudong International Airport can get very busy. The terminal also appropriately vast and sprawling. Things seem to be well signposted with plenty of displays indicating airlines zones , I headed to zone F to check in.

There were a couple of other business passengers before, still I was checked-in and handed lounge invitation within a few minutes.

I ended up losing my boarding pass as I went through security and noticed while I was waiting in immigration. I reported it to the first airport staff I saw, and they took my name and made a call. 5 minutes later, I had my boarding pass again!

Lounge

I was invited to lounge 39, also used by Air France. Reviewed here separately.

Japan Airlines 787 Business Class Cabin

 Going by the crowd in the lounge, I anticipated this would be a busy flight.  So made a dash for the boarding gates about 15.25. Ok maybe more of a sprint!

I turned left through door 2, and to no surprise, almost all of business class had already boarded. This was a slight blocker to me being able to take pictures as well, not only was it a full cabin, I had a seatmate!

The seat itself was JAL SHELL FLAT NEO, sporting angle flat bed. These can be found on most 787-8s. Its a fairly dated product introduced when the dreamliners were first rolling in.

JAL mostly flies these birds inter-asia now. There were 42 seats in 2 separate business cabin.

The seat itself was a reasonable 22” despite the 2-2-2 layout. I could not help notice the distinct lack of privacy and not much storage either. Just as well, this was not a long haul flight.

Already in the seat was a light blanket, earphones and menu  and essentials such as power sockets, reading lights.

Pre-departure

The flight attendants were busy welcoming everyone. Earphones, eye-shades and slippers were also handed out.

I appreciated slippers, even on day flights. It helps me relax and get more comfortable.

The captain greeted us over the PA and we left the gate just past 4. After about 10 minutes of taxiing were rolling off the runaway at 16.24.

Service

Shortly after take-off, drinks were offered. I chose the charles heidsieck brut reserve, which retails around £40, which was nice.

Meal choices were also taken at that point. This was the menu.

About 20 minutes later, my Japanese meal arrived.

This was a pretty enjoyable meal, though I had not realised it would contained pork, which meant I did not try part of it. Nonetheless, the portion size was more than enough to compensate.

About half hour later, the trays were cleared and the flight attendant enquired if I would like any dessert or tea/coffee. I fancied some ice-cream.

Entertainment

The seat has a 15.4” personal monitor with a slightly dated AVOD remote reminiscent of the mid 00’s. There were a reasonable selections of movies and programmes, but somehow I never settled to watch anything proper.

I would imagine in most situations its more than adequate even on longer flights.

Overall impressions

This felt very much like a commuter flight rather than any luxury experience. On a sub 3 hour flight you don’t need that. It got me to where I needed to be, in relative comfort. The crew were very friendly and efficient.

If you have time to plan your trip and happen to be doing this sector, I would recommend flying to Narita or from Shanghai (Hongqiao) to Haneda, which has a 787-9 with a Sky Suite III, a reverse herringbone product. But other than the novelty of being on a superior product, you really would not have much time to fully experience/make use of a fully flat bed!

JAL currently does fly this FLAT NEO seat to Vancouver, and I honestly cannot recommend this product if you plan on sleeping and or travelling solo for such long flights.