JAL re-opens "JAL Welcome! New Sky Cafe" for a limited time. Image from Japan Airlines

If you want to try out Japan Airlines' (JAL) brand new seats on SKY SUITE 777 which JAL will roll out on the Tokyo Narita - London Heathrow route from January 9 2013 but cannot afford to fly in their premium cabin and has missed the limited demo at JAL Welcome! New Sky Cafe at Aoyama, here's your second chance! For a limited time, JAL has cooperated with Hills Cafe/Space and opened the "JAL Welcome! New Sky Cafe" at Roppongi Hills. Just like last time, there are demo units of the new seats. However there's no mention of the sample business class menu this time.

Japan Airlines (JAL) has expanded its tie-up with Shiseido to give away some free goods to female passengers on select Okinawa flights for a limited time. Female passengers traveling on Domestic First Class and Class J on flights between Okinawa and Tokyo Haneda, Tokyo Narita, Osaka Itami, and Osaka Kansai will receive personal care products from Shiseido and a special pamphlet during the campaign period.

JTA ties up with Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium to launch Jinbei Jet. Image from JTA

Japan Transocean Air (JTA), a subsidiary of Japan Airlines (JAL), has tied up with Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium to launch a special Jinbei Jet to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the aquarium and the 45th anniversary of JTA.

JAL SS7 W83 configuration. Image from Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines (JAL) has finally uploaded the revised version of the new Sky Suite 777 seat map. As pointed out before, 8 of the seats will not be sold because they have less than the advertised 33-34 inches seat pitch. The only changes in this revised seat map is that it clearly indicates which these 8 seats are.

JAL Doraemon Jet 2013. Image from Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines (JAL) announced the JAL Doraemon Jet 2013 couple of days ago but has kept the actual livery a "secret". But thanks to spy shots on Japanese aviation site FlyTeam and the inflatable JAL Doraemon Jet toy, we were able to get a sneak peak of the livery. But today the JAL Doraemon Jet finally took off and JAL has finally officially unveiled the special livery with a Japanese press release.

Japan Airlines (JAL) is running a campaign to encourage its Japan region JAL Mileage Bank (JMB) members to travel internationally on JAL and connect onto one of the oneworld carriers. Japan region members who have registered for the campaign prior to the trip and travel on eligible routes with eligible fares will have a chance to be one of the 1,000 lucky winners to receive 2,500 JMB miles!

You know this is coming! Japan Airlines (JAL) is celebrating the launch of the new Tokyo Narita (NRT) - Helsinki (HEL) route with a double mileage campaign! JAL Mileage Bank members who have registered for this campaign and fly on this route between February 25 and May 31 2013 are eligible. Below are the details of this campaign.

Japan Airlines (JAL) has just announced it will be flying a Boeing 767-300ER painted with special Doraemon livery domestically in the coming months. This is to promote the 2013 Doraemon movie: Nobita's Secret Gadget Museum scheduled to be released on March 9 2013.

Yesterday, Japan Airlines (JAL) has successfully launched their first new route after it re-listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange earlier this year. This 4 weekly 787-8 service to San Diego is the first ever non-stop scheduled flight linking Asia and San Diego, the 2nd largest city in California behind Los Angeles.

JAL First Class Lounge at the Satellite Build of Tokyo Narita Airport

Starting on December 2 2012, Japan Airlines (JAL) will extend the operation hours of the JAL First Class Lounge at the Satellite Building at Tokyo Narita Airport. The satellite First Class Lounge will open from 7:30 till 19:00 while the First Class Lounge at the Main Building will remain open until the last flight of the day.

The JAL cabin attendant band for Christmas concerts 2012 at rehearsal. Image from Japan Airlines official Facebook page

Japan Airlines (JAL) will continue its tradition to organize a handful of Christmas concerts to play and sing us some Christmas Carols. Every year JAL staffs volunteer for this event to share the joy to visitors of Japan. There will be a cabin attendant band called JAL Bell Star which usually consist of 9 to 10 cabin attendants and they will be playing some Christmas music with bells. The other team is the JAL Group Choir, JAL Freude, which will be singing Christmas carols at the concerts.

JAL Global Club Entrance at Tokyo Haneda

Back in September 2010, Japan Airlines (JAL) announced a new JAL Global Club (JGC) Entrance at Tokyo Haneda Airport, which is basically a separate express security lane for JGC, JMB Sapphire and oneworld Sapphire members. It was then expanded to Osaka Itami and Fukuoka earlier this year in March. And now it is finally Sapporo New Chitose Airport's turn! With this latest addition, JAL will provide express security lanes for its domestic First Class passengers and the mid and top tier elites at 4 major airports in Japan.

JAL to introduce Air Kentucky Fried Chicken on select flights. Image from Japan Airlines

Say hello to Colonel Sanders when you board Japan Airlines (JAL) flight next time. JAL announced today it is going to collaborate with Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) Japan to serve Air KFC on select international flights departing from Japan between December 2012 and February 2013. Air KFC is the 7th dish in the popular JAL Air Series which JAL cooperates with popular restaurants and food chains in Japan to bring familiar tastes onboard for its customers.

JAL to serve Jean-Paul Hévin macarons in First and Business Classes for a limited time. Image from Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines (JAL) and award-winning master chocolatier Mr. Jean-Paul Hévin have decided to collaborate once again (for the 3rd time) to create some special treats for passengers flying on JAL international premium classes. During December and January, JAL will be serving macarons from Jean-Paul Hévin in First Class and Business Class on select flights departing from Japan.

Commemorative discount offer on the new San Diego - Tokyo Narita route. Image from Japan Airlines

I have just received an e-mail from Japan Airlines (JAL) about the commemorative discount offer on the new San Diego - Tokyo Narita route which is scheduled to launch on December 2 2012. For a limited time, American region JAL Mileage Bank (JMB) members who purchased their economy class tickets that has JL065 and JL066 as part of their eligible itinerary to Japan and Asia will receive 10% off the base fares.

As expected, Japan Airlines (JAL) will once again extend the two bonus FLY ON Point (FOP) campaigns they have been running in past years. Under these campaigns, JAL Card holders will earn 10-20% extra FOPs and passengers flying eligible fares will earn 200 - 400 extra FOPs.

JAL special Tokyo 2020 livery. Image from Japan Airlines

[Updated to include extra info from the official press release]

On November 9 2012, Japan Airlines (JAL) announced that they have signed up to be one of the official partners to support Tokyo's bid for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics. One of the ways JAL shows its support is to fly an airplane with special livery. Today JAL has officially unveiled the Tokyo 2020 special livery at Tokyo Haneda.

JAL to organize retirement tour for the MD-90. Image from Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines (JAL) announced couple weeks ago that it will be organizing a 2-day retirement tour for the MD-90 on January 12 2013 and promised to release more details on November 20 2012, which is today! So here are the details of the retirement tours. JAL has scheduled JA8070 to be used on this tour. It is the only MD-90 painted with the new livery because it was due for a paint job as part of the maintenance. But of course this could change due to aircraft maintenance and routing. There will be a total of 3 flights: Tokyo Haneda (HND) to Kushiro (KUH) and Kushiro to Oita (OIT) on Day 1 and Oita to Tokyo Haneda on Day 2. Below is the details of the itinerary.

JAL to collaborate with Shiseido Parlour to celebrate the 5th anniversary of domestic first class service. Image from Japan Airlines

Ever since Japan Airlines (JAL) first introduced Domestic First Class on its Tokyo Haneda - Osaka Itami route on December 1 2007, it has been launching campaigns to celebrate the anniversary of Domestic First Class in every December. This year, JAL will be collaborating with Shiseido Parlour (a subsidiary of Shiseido), who happens to be celebrating its 110th anniversary right now, to develop some special inflight menus to celebrate the 5th anniversary of JAL Domestic First Class in December.

Special business class menu on JL066 from Tokyo Narita to San Diego. Image from Japan Airlines.

Japan Airlines (JAL) will launch the first ever non-stop service between San Diego and Asia on December 2 2012 with its state-of-art Boeing 787-8. Initially the service will only be 4 daily roundtrips with flights operating on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. To celebrate the launch of this route, JAL has prepared some special menus exclusive for this route between December 2 2012 and February 28 2013. Also JAL announces today that it will be expanding the Tokyo Narita (NRT) - San Diego (SAN) flights into daily service from March 1 2013. Reservations on the extra flights will begin on November 14 2012.

JAL will organize 2 New Year sunrise tours this year. Image from Japan Airlines

Every year Japan Airlines (JAL) will organize a special sunrise tour on the New Year day so passengers can watch the New Year sunrise near the Fuji Mountain up in the air. And this year is no difference. JAL announces today it will be organizing two New Year sunrise tours this year, one from Tokyo Haneda and one from Tokyo Narita.

JAL supports Tokyo's bid for the 2020 Olympics & Paralympics. Image from Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines (JAL) has long been a supporter of the Japan Olympics. Of course JAL will sign up as the official partner to support Tokyo's bid for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics. From now till the host city is announced on September 7 2013, JAL will be promoting Tokyo as the 2020 games candidate city in various ways.

JAL will be serving 2012 Beaujolais Villages Nouveau on Beaujolais Nouveau Day. Image from JALUX

Japan Airlines (JAL) announces they will be serving a special wine and bread on the Beaujolais Nouveau Day, which falls on November 15 this year. Beaujolais Nouveau is a French red wine made from gamay grapes from the Beaujolais region and has a very short fermentation time. The wine is supposed to consume as soon as possible when it is fresh and fruity. This wine is released to the public on the third Thursday of November every year and this day is called the Beaujolais Nouveau Day.

To celebrate this year's Beaujolais Nouveau Day, JAL will be serving the 2012 Beaujolais Villages Nouveau from Pierre Ferraud & Fils and a JAL Original bread, PAIN AU BEAUJOLAIS, from Maison Kayser created just for this occasion on select international flights and at the lounges on November 15 2012.

JAL opens "JAL Welcome! New Sky Cafe" for a limited time. Image from Japan Airlines

[Updated with menu info and its pricing]

If you want to try out Japan Airlines' (JAL) brand new seats on SKY SUITE 777 which JAL will roll out on the Tokyo Narita - London Heathrow route from January 9 2013 and cannot afford to fly in their premium cabin, here's your chance! For a limited time, JAL has cooperated with Royal Garden Cafe and opened the "JAL Welcome! New Sky Cafe" at Aoyama. Inside the cafe, there are demo units of the new seats and sample the new Business Class menu.

JAL and Bangkok Airways codeshare flight network. Image from Japan Airlines

[Update: JAL and PG have issued a press release regarding this new JMB partnership and codeshare agreement] 

Japan Airlines (JAL) announces the new partnership with Bangkok Airways (PG). JAL Mileage Bank (JMB) members can now redeem miles on PG operated flights. But there are no words on mileage accumulation rate yet you will NOT be able to accrue mileage on PG flights. To celebrate the commemoration of the new partnership, JAL is launching a discount mileage campaign which JMB members can redeem a economy class roundtrip ticket on PG with as little as 5,000 miles!

JAL Sakura Lounge at New York JFK Terminal 1

[Note: JAL has permanently closed the JFK lounges on October 31 2014. Eligible passengers are now invited to use the Air France lounge instead]

Even though I know Japan Airlines (JAL) does not offer much at the New York JFK lounges, I still went there early so I can check out the Sakura Lounge too. The Sakura Lounge is located on the right hand side and has quite an interesting layout. Most of the seats are facing the window overlooking the apron and it looks almost like a movie theatre or lecture hall :o As you can see form the picture above, the front row seats get a desk too. I would have definitely picked one of those seats if I had to stay on the Sakura side but luckily I have access to a slightly better First Class Lounge this time :)

JAL SS7 W83 configuration with the new long-haul products which has more economy seats than advertised. Image from Japan Airlines

[Update 3: JAL has published an updated version of the seat map which you can find in this post]
[Update2: Added explanation from JAL regarding why there are more seats than advertised on the W83 seat map]
[Update: JAL has removed the W83 configuration from their website but the picture is still available. And the booking engine still shows a seat map that matches the one announced earlier today. Did they take it down because of a mistake in the Economy cabin?]

Finally, Japan Airlines (JAL) has set the launch date for the new long-haul Boeing 777-300ER cabins, SKY SUITE 777 (SS7). JAL will first roll out the new SS7 on Tokyo Narita (NRT) - London Heathrow (LHR) route from January 9 2013. But initially it will only be available on odd numbered days in January and even number days in February as JAL will only have one retrofitted SS7 in January. By late February, JAL will have retrofitted 2 SS7s and it will be available on the LHR route on a daily basis.

We all know Japan Airlines (JAL) loves to organize special tours especially when they launch a new route or when they retire an aircraft type from their fleet (they recently announced a 2-day domestic tour for the MD-90 retirement and more details will be released on November 20 2012). So it shouldn't be a surprise that JAL will be organizing a special tour for the new Tokyo Narita (NRT) - San Diego (SAN) 787 route launch this December. It will be a 5 day tour and you will be able to fly on the inaugural flight JL066 from NRT to SAN on December 2 2012. Below are the details of the itinerary.

Entrance for JAL First Class Lounge and Sakura Lounge at New York JFK Terminal 1

[Note: JAL has permanently closed the JFK lounges on October 31 2014. Eligible passengers are now invited to use the Air France lounge instead]

Finally, it's time to enjoy the Japan Airlines (JAL) First Class Lounges at New York JFK Terminal 1. JAL only operates First Class Lounges at 4 airports, Tokyo Narita, Tokyo Haneda, Frankfurt and New York JFK, so I was really excited to visit this lounge. However, I also didn't expect too much out of the JFK lounges, it is built long time ago and a renovation is long overdue. But then will JAL spend money on this lounge or will they just move to AA's terminal like they did at Chicago? So far nothing has been announced just speculations on some people's parts. Also Terminal 1 has a lot of state of arts technologies that helps airlines minimize delays and save on fuel.

Let's Take Monorail from Haneda! Monorail Ticket Present Campaign for overseas JAL Mileage Bank members. Image from Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines (JAL) has launched yet another Thanks to 25 million JAL Mileage Bank (JMB) members campaign targeting just the overseas members called "Let's Take Monorail from Haneda! Monorail Ticket Present Campaign". The first 2,500 qualifying overseas JMB members who present the voucher at the designated counter can get a free one-way Tokyo Monorail ticket and a lottery ticket to win some original prizes.

JAL and BA codeshare routes from London. Image from Japan Airlines

Thanks to 25 Million JMB Members Promotion. Image from Japan Airlines

As promised, Japan Airlines (JAL) has released the 2nd round of campaigns for the Thanks to 25 Million JAL Mileage Bank (JMB) Members! Promotion. Most of them are targeted towards the Japan region members. Only two hotel related campaigns are for overseas members. And even for the ones targeting the Japan region members are a bit disappointing to be honest. Below are the list of new campaigns announced today.

American Airlines (AA) has just announced the new Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) - Seoul Icheon (ICN) service together with a couple of new flights to Lima, Dusseldorf and Dublin. The new ICN service will be AA's first service to South Korea. The new DFW-ICN flight will commence on May 9 2013 and will be part of AA and JAL's joint business agreement. This means they will be sharing profits and costs on this route.

Staff from JAL cabin product design department tried out the new SKY WIDER seat. Image from Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines (JAL) official Facebook page has posted some stories of the design process for the new business class and economy class seats which will first roll out to the Tokyo Narita - London Heathrow route in early January 2013. You can see how much attention to details that the design team paid even when they are designing for the Economy Class seats!

JAL Arashi Jet 2012. Image from Japan Airlines

[Update: JAL has announced the JAL Arashi Jet 2012 and the commencement flight has already took off]

Is a new Japan Airlines (JAL) Arashi Jet coming soon? Someone snapped a couple of pictures of what looks like will be a new JAL Arashi Jet at Tokyo Haneda (HND) and uploaded to Japanese website Fly Team. In the past 2 years, JAL has been painting some of their planes with the special Arashi liveries. But so far nothing has been announced yet for this year.

JAL uses Terminal 1 at New York JFK Airport

Finally it's the day I have been waiting for! My first Japan Airlines (JAL) First Class flight :) I picked New York JFK because it is the longest flight in JAL's network and JFK is one of the few outports that JAL still operates its own First Class lounge (and the only one in North America). JAL uses Terminal 1 at JFK. Currently it is the only oneworld carrier that at Terminal 1. So no lounge hopping unless you qualify for other lounges with means other than your class of service and oneworld status.

JAL First Class Award is wide open for the next 11 months!

GaryD on FlyerTalk pointed out that the First Class award inventory on Japan Airlines (JAL) flights are extremely generous today. In fact, you can find a First Class award seats on JAL flights to the US on a lot of the dates in the next 11 months!

JAL celebrated 50th anniversary of the Tokyo - Frankfurt route. But something is seriously wrong with the cake they received as a gift from FRAPORT. Image from Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines (JAL) celebrated the 50th anniversary of its Tokyo - Frankfurt route on October 4 2012. A JAL mini Oktoberfest was held at the departure gate of JL408 to celebrate the occasion and the lucky passengers also received some special gifts from JAL too!

ex-JAS 777 (JA007D) at Tokyo Haneda

When you look at Japan Airlines' (JAL) domestic timetable for October 28 2012 - January 7 2013, one of the things you might notice is the ex-Japan Air System (JAS) 777-200 configuration, 7J2, is missing. This probably means JAL will be pulling the last 7J2 configured 777 off the fleet to retrofit it with the standard JAL domestic 777 configuration.

Special upgrade discount campaign on Europe and North America routes. Image from Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines (JAL) has just announced a rather amazing upgrade campaign for JAL Mileage Bank (JMB) members in the American and Europe/Middle East/Africa regions as part of the Thanks to 25 million JMB members! celebration. For a limited time, you can save up to 20,000 miles when upgrading from Economy to Business class on JAL flights between Japan and North America and Europe! However JAL is only running this campaign for a very limited time! Below are the details

Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign. Image from Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines (JAL) has been supporting the Pink Ribbon Campaign to raise the awareness of breast cancer early detection and treatment since 2004. Every year during the breast cancer awareness month in October, JAL operates something called the "Pink Scarf Flight" domestically to help launch the campaign appeal in Japan and this year is no different.

Japan Airlines (JAL) has announced they will be raising the fuel surcharge on international tickets from December 1 2012. The two month Singapore kerosene-type jet fuel price average between August and September 2012 was USD130.89. It has barely crossed the USD130 mark and therefore Zone H of the fuel surcharge will apply :( The new one-way surcharge will range from USD31 on flights between Japan and Korea to USD327 on the long-haul flights. The new surcharge hasn't reached the record high yet, but is getting close. So issue your tickets now if you can. If you wait till December 1 to do so, you will have to pay more.  For more details, you can refer to JAL Press Release (Japanese, English)

According to Japan Times, Japan Airlines (JAL) President Yoshiharu Ueki was visiting India on Monday. During the visit, he has reveals some information on JAL's current Asia expansion plans including a few of possible new routes. According to Ueki, JAL is looking into expanding flights to emerging countries to meet the robust demand in the Asia-Pacific region.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal (Japanese, English), Japan Airlines (JAL) President Yoshiharu Ueki discussed about the effects of the recent dispute between China and Japan on the airline. Although he expects the demand on the China routes to remain affected in the next 6 months, JAL full-year target will not be affected at all thanks to robust demand on the US and European routes.

JAL 787 was greeted with water canon salute at SIN. Image from Changi Airport Group

[Update: Added link to the SIN commencement flight album on Strait Times]

There were two special Japan Airlines (JAL) 787 flight that took off yesterday. The first one is commencement flight of the recently unveiled JAL x Ghibli special decal JET (JA828J) for the SORA wo TOBU (Fly the Skies) project. And the second one is the launch of 787 service to Singapore. Below are the video and links to pictures of these two commencement flights.

Special JAL x Ghibli 787 livery for the SORA wo TOBU project. Image from Japan Airlines

[Updated with link to photo album of today's official reveal event from Mainichi Daily]
[Update 2: Include YouTube video of the plane posted by Yiuchan in the comment]

Japan Airlines (JAL) finally reveals the long awaited special JAL x Ghibli special decal JET 787 livery for the SORA wo TOBU project (it means Fly the Skies project) today. The SORA wo TOBU project is a collaboration between JAL and Studio Ghibli aiming to bring you the "Dreams, Joy and Delight of Flying the Skies". JAL has been showing some special inflight programs created by Studio Ghibli is the past couple of months, including an exclusive short animate created by director Hayao Miyazaki. Another part of the collaboration was to hold a drawing competitions for kids and use the winning entries to decorate a special 787 plane.

jiji.com (Japanese only) and Sankei (Japanese only) report that the Japanese police had to release an alleged cabin voyeur because they failed to identify the crime location. This is after witnesses have identified the crime occurred at the Hyogo Prefecture airspace, pictures were found on the suspect's computer and the guy admitted to the charge! Sound ridiculous right?

Great news for the JAL Mileage Bank (JMB) America region members! Japan Airlines (JAL) is bringing back the double mileage promotion they had earlier in the year on their Boston flights. The campaign will run from November 1 2012 till February 28 2013 and registration prior to travel is required. This means both of San Diego and Boston 787 routes will be having double mileage campaign this winter :D Below are the details.

Today Japan Airlines (JAL) announces February 25 2013 as the launch date of its Tokyo Narita (NRT) - Helsinki (HEL) 787 service. Previously, JAL planned to start this service in March instead. Given its location is much closer to Japan compared to other European gateway and the 35 minutes minimum connection time (MCT) for transit passenger in their compact terminal, the new NRT-HEL flight will offer JAL passengers a stress free and shortest transit experience to many Northern, Central and Eastern European cities.

Thanks to 25 Million JMB Members Promotion. Image from Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines (JAL) has announced that their frequent flyer program, JAL Mileage Bank (JMB), has reached the 25 million members milestone. To celebrate this amazing achievement, JAL has launched a series of campaign. The first 3 campaigns were announced today and more will be announced on October 25 2012 (JST).

June business class menu on AA32

I have never had any meals served by American Airlines (AA) before. Not even in economy as I would usually bought my food at the airport instead of paying $10 for a cold sandwich. So I am "excited" to try out their meals to see how they compared to other carriers. Oh of course, I am also excited to get my first pre-departure drink too! As you might know, Japan Airlines (JAL) still chooses not to serve pre-departure drinks in premium cabins even after a change in Japan aviation law.

Japan Airlines (JAL) announced that they will be extending the previously announced flight cut on select China routes till November 17 2012. Originally JAL planned to resume those flights on October 28 when winter schedule starts but demand is still severely affected by the current political conflicts between the two countries and therefore JAL has no choice but to extend the temporary suspensions.

Last year, Japan Airlines (JAL) ran a Cathay Pacific Airways (CX) bonus miles campaign target specifically for the Japan region JAL Mileage Bank (JMB) members. And this campaign is back once again for the Japan region members only! For those Japan region members who registered for the campaign and travel on select CX flights with eligible fares between October 1 and December 15 2012 are eligible.

JAL SKY SUITE 777 social media campaign. Image from Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines (JAL) has just launched a social media campaign to promote their new cabins and services to be launched on the Tokyo Narita - London Heathrow route in January 2013. All you have to do is to post some messages with your Facebook, Twitter, or Mixi account and you will be entered into the lucky draw for one of the three great prizes.

As we know, Japan Airlines (JAL) and British Airways (BA) have received approval from authorities and will start their joint business from October 1 2012. JAL has just announced the details of the joint business and more importantly the enhanced JAL Mileage Bank (JMB) benefits that comes with the new joint business. Basically, the agreement is very similar to the one we saw with American Airlines (AA) with comes with elite flight bonus and enhanced accumulation rates. Below are the details.

When JAL announced their 2nd half route, fleet and frequency plan, they only mentioned the existing flights on the Tokyo-Sinapore routes will be switching from 763 to 787 in mid October. Now JAL has finally released the full 787 rollout schedule on this route. The rollout will be on October 14 2012 with 3 weekly flights operated with 787-8 on both of the Tokyo Narita (NRT) and Tokyo Haneda (HND) flights. It will turn into a daily 787-8 service from October 28 2012

AA32 on June 2 2012

AA32 flight path (Source: FlghtAware)

Flight: AA32
Date: June 2 2012
Aircraft: Boeing 767-200
Seat: 7A (Business Class)
Scheduled Departure Time: 13:45
Actual Departure Time: 13:40
Scheduled Arrival Time: 22:07
Actual Arrival Time: 21:58

The boarding time listed on my boarding pass is 13:15, 30 minutes before the scheduled departure time. So I walked over to gate 46A at around 13:15 and was expecting a line and chaos around the gate. To my surprise, AA had finished boarding everyone who waited at the gate already!? There was again no line at the gate. I guess they must have started boarding much earlier. And the flight ended up departing right on time and arrived JFK a bit early! (Somehow FlightAware's departure and arrival times are different than the ones listed on AA website)

Due to the recent political conflicts between China and Japan, there's an irregular change in travel demand between the two countries. As part of the restructuring effort, Japan Airlines (JAL) has adapted a system such that they can act fast to respond to sudden change in travel demand like this. As a result, JAL has decided to temporarily reduce the frequency on 3 of its routes between China and Japan.

American Airlines Premium and Elite Check-In Counters at LAX

I felt a bit weird going to LAX and not to fly on Japan Airlines (JAL) as I don't travel domestically that much. American Airlines (AA) uses terminal 4 at LAX. The premium check-in counters for First and Business class passengers and Priority AAccess check-in counters for elite members are located on the left hand side of the terminal. Counters for the main cabin and self check-in kiosks are on the right hand side of the terminal. AA partitioned off the premium/elite check-in area and there was an agent there checking for your eligibility which I don't see the point as there are main doors from the curb side that anyone can use to access that check-in area LOL.

JMB JQ SUGOCA Card (Source: JAL Press Release)

Japan Airlines (JAL) and JR Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) have decided to form partnership and issue a co-braned credit card called "JMB JQ SUGOCA". It combines the JAL Mileage Bank, JAL IC, JQ Card, and SUGOCA functions into a single card.

JAL Group has decided to roll out new uniforms for all employees in the air transportation organizations in the first half of 2013. By doing so, all employees will have a consistent designs of uniforms because right now some employees still have uniforms with the old logos! Details of the design will be announced in a later date but JAL has reveals the concepts and goals behind the design.

The new JAL First Class Lounge at Tokyo Narita (Source: JAL Press Release)

According to Japan Airlines' (JAL) mid term management plan, JAL is planning to refurbish some of its lounges in Japan and overseas. They have just announced the list of lounges they plan to refurbish during the current fiscal year. Also due to lounge congestion at Tokyo Narita (NRT) during the busy morning departure hours, JAL will also be opening a brand new JAL First Class Lounge and Sakura Lounge at terminal 2 for international passengers.

JAL introduces new cabins on SKY SUITE 777 (Source: JAL website)

[Update 3: JAL has announced the launch date and released the official seat map of the SS7. You can refer to this post for more details.]
[Update 2: Japanese version of the official press release is now up on JAL website and the special page on JAL website is now LIVE!]
[Update: JAL has removed the linked press release from their website as the press release is dated Sep 13 2012 (tomorrow). So expect an official reveal and website updates tomorrow]

Finally Japan Airlines (JAL) has released the details, including pictures of the brand new cabins and services to be rolled out in January 2013. The theme of the new cabins and services is "Welcome! New Sky". With this, JAL aims to provide its customers fresh new impressions and therefore started this JAL NEW SKY PROJECT to renew their international services which includes brand new cabins to provide highest quality products in all classes on the entire Boeing 777-300ER. Other than that, JAL will renew its inflight catering services under the concept of "Restaurant in the Sky" and provide new menus on flights to Europe, North America, Australia and South East Asia. They have selected a dream team of 4 chefs to create exclusive menus just for JAL passengers.

Japan Airlines (JAL) plans to change some of their international flight numbers to help customers better remember and recognize the flights. But compared to the complete overhaul JAL made back in May 2 2009, the changes this time are very minor. They are trying to assign 1-2 digit codes to international flights to international flights to and from Tokyo Haneda (HND), and mainly 3 digit ones on those to and from Tokyo Narita (NRT), Osaka Kansai (KIX) and Nagoya Chubu (NGO). Note that some of the continental US flights and as well as Canada ones to and from NRT will maintain their current 2 digit codes for now. Below are the changes effective March 31 2013.

As expected, Japan Airlines (JAL) is celebrating the launch of the new Tokyo Narita (NRT) - San Diego (SAN) route with a double mileage campaign! JAL Mileage Bank members who have registered for this campaign and fly on this route between December 2 2012 and February 28 2013 are eligible. Below are the details of this campaign.

Japan Airlines (JAL) and British Airways (BA) have reached an agreement to finally expand their existing codesharing agreement to cover the flights between Tokyo and London. Starting from October 1 2012, JAL and BA will be placing their codes on each other's flights and offer joint fares between the two cities. This probably brings them one step closer to their intended joint business venture.

JAL NORIBEN or Seaweed Ben (Source: JAL Press Release)

Yes another inflight catering announcement from Japan Airlines (JAL) today (that's one more coming about the domestic cheese but I will wait for the English PR to be released so I don't have to translate all the cheese names which is a challenge :P)! This time it is something new, a bento box called "NORIBEN" or "Seaweed Ben". It is a collaboration between JAL and Soup Stock Tokyo, a famous fast food chain in Japan. JAL will be serving this special bento box on flights departing from Tokyo Haneda (HND) to San Francisco (SFO), Bangkok (BKK) and Singapore (SIN) between September 1 2012 and February 28 2013.