JAL 787 Dreamliner Flight JL001 SFO-HND, and a Run across the Golden Gate Bridge

[yflyer]

Back onboard my flight, pax were settling in for a long flight across the Pacific.



I started with an Asahi Beer...



Having experienced JAL's Y catering on the late night outbound flights, which I would characterize as being a subsistence diet as far as quantity was concerned, I was not going to take any chances, and decided to supplement any onboard catering with a take-out mediterranean platter which I bought at one of the airside F&B outlets in SFO.





But my concerns were unfounded. JAL's full Y dinner service on this flight was among the most satisfying Y meals I had ever eaten...

[yflyer]

As usual on JAL, there were no printed menus distributed to pax, however the cabin crew had on their trolley a printed colour menu card with the two choices of main course available, which they would show to pax before inviting them to make their selection.



Although I was seated close to the rear of the Y cabin, both choices of main course was still available when the cart reached me.

You had a choice of Western style beef stroganoff with mashed potatoes, or Asian-style teriyaki chicken with rice.

There was an absolutely delightful array of food on offer on the Y tray.



In addition to a fresh green salad, and a separate ham and tuna starter, you had a small bowl of noodles in dipping sauce.



There was also piping hot miso soup, served in a paper cup, that also hit the spot.



For my main course, I chose the beef selection, which had large, tender chunks of beef in a creamy sauce.



To accompany my meal, I asked for a red wine, which came in a small bottle.



My fellow passenger, seated to my right, ordered the teriyaki chicken, and was kind enough to let me snap a picture of his main before he started eating.

The chicken looked delicious as well.



Apart from the fresh cut fruit which came on the tray, a tub of vanilla Haagen Daaz ice cream was also offered. These were not the half-size portions you sometimes got, but full individual tubs.

Hot beverages, including green tea, were served...in the picture below you also get a nice view of some of the detail in the JAL uniform, which is so retro that it looks trendy again.



Overall a superb dinner, one of the most satisfying Y meals I have had on any airline, and much more substantial that what was served on JL002 HND-SFO.

So I've learnt something here about JAL: If you are flying outside of normal meal times, don't expect too much to eat if you are flying Y. It is better off for you to eat at the airport or in the lounge (and there is GREAT food in the lounge) rather than onboard.

On the other hand, if your flight time includes a full meal such as dinner, be prepared for a scrumptious treat!

[yflyer]

We then settled in for a long hop across the Pacific.



The IFE on this flight was the Magic-V system, similar but one generation older than the version on the updated 767 product.



While the movie, video and audio selections were similar to the newest product, this older product also had an ebook feature, which seems to have been dropped from the latest version, which is a pity.



There was a good selection of mainly Japanese manga, with a few English language manga thrown in as well.



In particular, there was one food-related manga series Oishinbo, which is quite a good read.



I actually learned a lot of interesting facts about Japanese cuisine reading this manga.


A short excerpt...



Hardcopy editions of this manga are also on sale in Singapore.

[yflyer]

Towards the end of this 10+ hour flight across the Pacific, a light meal was served.



I began with a cup of "Skytime" citrus juice...specially created by JAL. This is a wonderfully refreshing drink....


The light meal was a vegetable pasta, which tasted very refined, with good texture and flavour.



After meal service, I took a stroll around the cabin.

This was a completely full flight, and yet it felt spacious and serene.



Row 45 emergency row...



Last row, row 55.



Seatguru warns that this row of seats may have limited recline. The operative word is "may" and as is so often the case, Seatguru is being unnecessarily alarmist. This row of seats reclines just fine.

[yflyer]

Here is a view of the forward Y cabin.



Looking beyond the curtain, you will notice that although the lights were on in Y, and the 2nd meal service was complete, in the J cabin, the mood lighting was still on and it is likely that pax were still asleep...ahhh the privileges of flying in the forward cabin.

I used to think mood lighting was a bit of a gimmick, but having experienced it on JAL and other airlines such as Emirates, I think the varied lighting does improve the experience.

Here are some of the settings available to the crew...

[yflyer]

We landed smoothly at Haneda after a long flight, which really didn't feel long at all.

Both hard product and soft product were great. This flight, and indeed all my JAL flights on this trip operated on time.

This was at least a 9 out of 10 in terms of flying in Y, and well worthy of carrying the flight number JL 001.

[yflyer]

And just to round out this TR, a few pictures of my brief transit stop in HND before flying HND-SIN on JL035, which departs at 12.05am, making it an ideal connection to Singapore for those starting from SFO on JL001, with a scheduled arrival time of 10.20pm into HND. This connection gives you an hour or so to enjoy the lounge and airside shopping, before boarding JL035 to Singapore at around 11.40pm.

After landing on JL001, I cleared security in the transit area, and headed up an escalator straight into the airside shopping, close to the lounge entrance.



I headed back to the JAL Sakura Lounge...







...and ate more of that fabulous Japanese beef curry...

[yflyer]

My flight JL 035 to SIN boarded on time just before midnight. This flight is operated by a 767 with the latest cabin product, similar to my SIN-HND outbound flight. Not a lot to add on this sector that hasn't already been covered on the SIN-HND leg.

I would just like to highlight Y emergency row 45 on this aircraft, which offers a space of almost suite-like proportions...





I was served my choice of beverage (I picked sake again), and a savoury bun after departure...





Then lights went off, until breakfast prior to landing, where it was once again clam chowder...

[yflyer]

Having experienced both, here are a few A-B comparisons between the JAL 767 and 787.

In all of the following, the 767 picture is on the left, and the 787 equivalent is on the right.

The J seat...





The Y seat...







The Y IFE...

[yflyer]

More A-B comparisons...767 on the left, 787 on the right.

Cabin ambience - rear cabin...



Cabin ambience - forward cabin...

[yflyer]

My flight JL35 from Haneda landed on time in Singapore in the early morning, just as dawn was breaking. The lighting was perfect for one final photo of our beloved Changi Airport control tower, framed by the porch at T1 arrivals...



After such a long time away from home, I headed straight with Mrs yflyer for a local breakfast of pork congee at a hawker centre in Bedok, a nice change after all that clam chowder .

Thanks for reading!

[yflyer]

I think it's easier to get that done in Y where people are a tad more relaxed about having a conversation with the guy on the next seat. In J and F, many are totally fixated about their own privacy.

On a separate note, I like the configuration of their J class, where the seats in the centre aisle always have some space between them.

Yes, I would be careful about that kind of interaction in J as it would (rightly) be seen as bursting that invisible bubble around another pax's personal space...

Whereas in Y there isn't any concept of personal space anyway and there is much more of a "we're all in this together" atmosphere...

[yflyer]

Thoroughly enjoyable read & great pictures as usual

I was in SF last October but flew SQ SIN-ICN-SFO-HKG-SIN.

Had a great time, especially our side trip in Napa

SF is my favourite US city

Thanks, 9V-SIA!

Yes, SF is great, and I really like Napa as well. Great food and wine up there. What I haven't figured out is how to get around the wineries in Napa and environs, tasting the wine, without having to drive as well, which seriously limits how much wine you can taste...

[mr_botak]

Thanks for the report - very enjoyable read - and a lovely part of the world.

[yflyer]

Thanks for the report - very enjoyable read - and a lovely part of the world.

Thanks, mr_botak! I enjoy visiting San Francisco and the Bay Area as well. A lot to see and do, and the weather is usually great too.