Japan Jaunt to Sapporo in Autumn (TG Economy, JL Class J, SQ Business)

[ycp81]

Printed boarding pass. I would be flying Class J on this sector. JAL offers First Class (selected routes only), Class J and Economy on its domestic flights. On my flight to Kansai, First would not be offered. Class J is basically a larger seat with economy service and benefits (equivalent to premium economy) and only costs 1000yen more than regular economy. A pretty good deal on a 2hr flight.




Doing some plane spotting, with lots of ANA aircraft at the northern wing.




JAL operated from the southern wing, but there was only a single B772 bound for Haneda at the gates.




AirDO, being an ANA partner, also operates from the northern wing.




Departue lounge seating area. There is a food court as well as a few shops after security checks as well.




Gate being prepared. Departure was rescheduled by 5min due to the late arrival of aircraft.




Our baby Boeing B737-800 arrived.








KE A330 from Seoul taxiing to the international terminal.




Boarding commenced, and with no english announcements made, we just followed the queue. There are no priority boarding for Class J passengers. Priority boarding is only available for JAL and OneWorld elites, and those requiring assistance.

[ycp81]

17 October 2017
Japan Airlines
JL 2504
Sapporo New Chitose (CTS) - Osaka Kansai (KIX)
B737-800
JA318J
Class J (Premium Economy)
Flight Time: 1H55M


Boarding the 8yrs old B737-800 aircraft.






Yes, this aircraft is equipped with wifi internet access. JAL offers complimentary wifi internet access on its domestic routes on wifi equipped aircraft. Surfing the internet from 30,000ft, checked!




There is a counter at the entrance, offering brochures, sweets and earphones for economy class passengers.




Details of aircraft, pilots and crew-in-charge.




Class J is fitted in a 2-3 configuration on the domestic B737-800s. A photo of the seats at the first row 2-seater. The seats are leather-cladded with headrest, legrest and decent recline.




Seat pitch is about 38", similar to international premium economy standards.




Sweets from the entrance counter. IFE channel and volume controls at the side of the armrest.




Mechanical recline and legrest adjustment buttons.




Boarding in progress. Due to the full flight, we were seated at the 3-seater side of the Class J cabin. There are no curtains or dividers between Class J and Economy.




Out the window.




Other than the bigger seat, Class J passengers were provided with a better quality headphone and a Class J blanket. Economy passengers were offered a different coloured blanket upon request. Other than these, inflight service is similar to Economy.

[ycp81]

Inflight magazines and sales, wifi access instructions and safety card.




Radio channels are available.




Other the the free wifi internet access, videos can also be streamed via wifi to your devices.




Tarmac action.




Safety video was played via dropdown monitors. All 20 seats in Class J are filled up. The 145 seats in Economy seemed totally full as well.




Taxi to the runway. T'Way arrived from Korea while EVA Air is departing for Taipei.






Takeoff from Rwy19R.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddGQyISSnvs










Beverage service started soon after. On JAL domestic flights, only beverages are served in both Class J and Economy. Meals are served only in First Class. A wide range of non-alcoholic beverages are available. There is no dedicated crew serving Class J and service was totally similar to Economy.

[SQfanatic]

Great TR ycp81. And awesome pictures of Japan. I hope to visit Japan one time in my life.

[SQ218]

wow love the autumn colours. thanks for the trip report ycp81

[ycp81]

Got a cup of JAL Original Sky Time kiwi juice. It tasted alright though my friend commented that it is a bit too artificial tasting.




We were cruising only at a low 26k feet, I suspect due to strong headwinds at higher altitudes.




When the crew passed by with the drinks cart again, I requested for a cup of coffee. It was served with sugar and creamer pack, and a wet towel.




Visit to the lavatory, which only had the necessary amenities.




JAL postcards were available at the magazine rack at the bulkhead.




Drop-down monitors showed some short features, followed by the flight map.




Spent the rest of the flight surfing internet on my mobile devices. Soon we were descending into Osaka Kansai.










Landing in Osaka Kansai Rwy06L slightly behind schedule.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXFGqqte-rM




Quite a lengthy taxi to the terminal.

[ycp81]

Turning into the gate at the domestic section of the terminal.




A look at the Class J seat.




Disembarked.






Baggage delivery was pretty swift.




A comfortable domestic flight on JAL though inflight service was minimal. Ticket prices were very good compared to ANA and the 1000yen extra for Class J was worth it for the additional comfort level. Crew were generally pleasant and courteous, as expected of Japanese carriers, and interestingly, other then the obligatory beverage service, they made some efforts in selling the inflight sales products, "modelling" items down the aisles every 15min, something which is not expected on a full-service carrier. In conclusion, JAL's Class J is just a domestic premium economy product with economy service, and any expectations of true premium service would have to be adjusted accordingly.


As we only had less than 24hrs stay in Osaka, we overnighted at Star Gate Hotel Kansai Airport, which is a train stop away at Rinku Town. The hotel offers rather big rooms by Japan's standards, and spectacular views from the rooms.






After checking in, we went to the nearby Rinku Premium Outlets for some shopping.








Had a sumptious dinner at Ootoya in Rinku town.




Night view from the hotel room.

[ycp81]

The next morning, we took the 9am complimentary hotel shuttle to the airport. It was only a 10min ride to Kansai airport.




SQ's check-in counters are located at the far end of the terminal.




Other than the boarding pass, a Fast Lane pass and a Lounge/Restaurant voucher were issued to Business Class passengers.




Fast Lans entrance for security. The normal queues were not long as well.




As we were given the options to use either the JAL Sakura Lounge, which as a fairly far trek away and nothing too spectacular from reviews I read, or a 2000yen credit per pax to be used at selected restaurants/cafes, we decided to head to the Japanese eatery instead where we had our last dose of Japanese food.






Heaing to the gate after the meal and some Japanese tidbits shopping.




We had to board a shuttle train to the gate. Our A330 can be seed.




VN B789




A couple of GA A330s




The gate was rather crowded and flight was almost full in economy.




SQ's 2nd oldest A330, 9V-STB, will be performing the duty today.

[ycp81]

18 October 2017
Singapore Airlines
SQ 619
Osaka Kansai (KIX) - Singapore (SIN)
A330-300
9V-STB
Business Class
Flight Time: 5H52M


KLM pushed back to departure.




Boarding commenced and Business Class/PPS were invited to board.








Welcomed by the crew. The Business Class seats were re-upholstered in dark brown leather. Pillow, blanket, socks and slippers were already pre-set on the eats. Guess we will see this 8yrs old aircraft spend more time in the SQ fleet.








Out the window.




Had a glass of bubbly for the welcome drink.




Noise-cancellation headphones.




Inflight magazines and menu.

[ycp81]

Safety video played. We had a bit of delay awaiting pushback due to traffic congestion. However flight time was only a short 6hrs today.




Pushed back.




Taxi to the runway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvS2z1WaOAY




Takeoff from Rwy06R.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzpljh7CJEQ






Kobe airport could be seen.






Started with "The Mummy".




My post takeoff beverage of TWG Silver Moon Tea was delivered, while my friend had a Colombian brew.






Menu selection for this flight.

[ycp81]

Shortly after takeoff, canape service commenced with the famed SQ satays and warmed nuts. Lunch would be served about 1.5hrs later.




Great weather out there.




Visit to the well-stocked lavatory.








View of cabin and seats. It was 22/30 in Business today. We were served by a female Inflight Manager, 2 Leading Stewardesses and a steward.






Flying along the eastern coast of Taiwan.




Lunch service commenced. Our meal orders were taken and unfortunately our original choice of Hankoreiki were already not available. Apparently it was a very popular choice which quickly ran out after the first few meal orders were taken at the front cabin, adding that vey limited quantities were catered onboard,leaving the rest of the passengers disappointed. Crew can be observed apologising to many passengers for the lack of the Hanakoreiki choice. This is something which I don't understand, why promote a popular option in the menu with expected high orders, yet only load very limited quantities (around only a quarter of total meals I was told by the crew) and disappoint many passengers. Wrote a feedback to SQ, since it was the 3rd time I was not offered the Hanakoreiki this year on my Japan sectors, proposing that it could be a Book-the-cook option instead, and SQ responded that they are reviewing the option of having it in Book-the-cook.

Meal commenced with the starter and breads. Starter of parma ham was ok, but the breads were delicious!






I chose the Grilled Beef Fillet from the remaining 3 options. When the IFM delivered the main to me, it was presented very beautifully, but looked very dry. The IFM requested for me to take a bite and assess it it was too well-done as this particular cut was thinner than the rest and could be cooked quicker than usual. Expected, it was too tough and chewy, and the IFM apologised and promised to prepare another serving.

The very nicely presented but too well-done steak.




10min later, the IFM came back with another serving, which is time round, was a thicker cut of beef and prepared perfectly medium and some pink still in the middle! Now this was restaurant quality! The IFM also ensured that I was satisfied with the steak. Great service recovery here, especially when I knew how difficult it is to prepare a good steak at above 30,000ft.

[ycp81]

Rum and raisin ice cream was excellent!




Cheeses and fruits




Ending with pralines and iced mocha.




Another view of the coast of Taiwan.




3hrs into the flight.




Bottled water was distributed. Watched "Baywatch" for the next film, which surprisingly was quite entertaining.






Less than an hour to arrival.




Another round of warm nuts was offered just before descend.




Descending into Singapre. During the descent, the IFM also came round to offer sweets and pralines.

[ycp81]

Landing on Rwy20R 35min ahead of scheduled.









https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNTatokpNzk


Rather lengthy taxi to Terminal 2.














Last look at my messy seat.




Disembarked.




It was a very comfortable flight again on SQ Business Class. Even though my desired meal choice was unavailable, the crew were very apologetic and made up for it by their wonderful service. The sloping flat seats are perfectly adequate for this mid-haul. Cabin was refreshed with new seat covers and hence did not feel aged on this 8 years old aircraft. I am definitely looking forward to the brand new seats, both long-haul and regional, which SQ would be launching in a few days' time!

[yflyer]

Thanks for the TR, ycp81!

10min later, the IFM came back with another serving, which is time round, was a thicker cut of beef and prepared perfectly medium and some pink still in the middle! Now this was restaurant quality! The IFM also ensured that I was satisfied with the steak. Great service recovery here, especially when I knew how difficult it is to prepare a good steak at above 30,000ft.

A very nice looking onboard steak!

As we were given the options to use either the JAL Sakura Lounge, which as a fairly far trek away and nothing too spectacular from reviews I read, or a 2000yen credit per pax to be used at selected restaurants/cafes, we decided to head to the Japanese eatery instead where we had our last dose of Japanese food.

Regarding the Kansai JAL Sakura Lounge, it is actually quite good...I have always liked the catering in JAL lounges. For my previous trip to Osaka, I flew SQ Y back to SIN, and SQ gave me lounge invites to the JAL Sakura Lounge (Covered here). At the time, I thought they did it because it was close to the gate where the SQ plane was.

[SQfanatic]

Great TR ycp81. Autumn is my favorite season but never got to venture abroad during the beginning of autumn. I hope to visit Japan as I've heard from a friend the weather is not as hot as Summer.