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Sampling of Japanese domestic airlines April 2010

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  • Sampling of Japanese domestic airlines April 2010

    Japan Trip Report

    Dear all,
    I have not really written trip reports for a while and decided to write about my recent adventures on the Japanese domestic skies, a topic that is not commonly discussed here. Personally, it is an interesting experience and I made an effort to try three different domestic airlines, and from previous experience, I padded my schedule well and almost all airports regardless of size have observation decks and various retail and restaurant outlets, so it makes the travel experience even better. However, there are also certain difficulties in doing trip reports on Japanese domestic flights because of different policies. Photography is not permitted during boarding and deplaning, which makes taking cabin pictures very difficult unless the flight goes out empty, which is not a common occurrence here. Language also poses big issues and there is a lack of flight details as the pilots only did Japanese announcements, but on the other hand, the Japanese are used to photography taking once taken off and nobody blinks when I take various pictures mid-flight. In general, it is a very interesting experience. I am always impressed on how the Japanese airlines handle the check-in experience! It is truly seamless and well planned. First, you went through checked baggage x-ray and the staffs despite limited English are polite at all times. Nothing like the TSA! Then the agent checked you in by scanning your barcode on your printout or mobile phone or PDA or boarding pass issued from one of the many self-serve kiosks. Bag tags then came out and you were on your way, and if your ticket needs further assistance, a supervisor or second staff stepped in and asked you to go to another counter, so the staff can help other passengers with no ticketing issues. People are polite and the process is just seamless. In-flight service is limited to a few types of beverages, but F/As are generally kind and polite. It is interesting that English announcements are not made on most of my flights, except on Skynet Asia Airways, which is a small airline and the F/As make the important announcements in English, while JAL, an international airline, does not even bother. I hope you will enjoy this little report! Instead of sending out multiple photo link, I will just select all the pictures and place them under one link! Please be patient going through the big album!

    Photo link:
    http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...8QbNHDNy5bqRPY

    April 1, 2010
    7G 87 HND-KKY Lv1840 Arr2030 Airbus A320-200 JA03MC
    So what is 7G? Star Flyer Airlines is a Japanese boutique airline based in a new airport called Kitakyushu (Northern part of Kyushu), and currently has four Airbus A320s and two routes: Haneda to Kitakyushu and Osaka Kansai to Haneda, and both flights are code-shared with ANA, and yes, you will get priority boarding with your Star Alliance Gold card. It is a very stylish airline and is on top of my “to fly” list. The Airbus is equipped with only 144 seats, all in black leather and with Personal TV and universal outlets. However, it has always been difficult to book because it does not have a English website, and thank goodness to the ANA code-share and I book it through ANA domestic website, which is easy to use except the inability to input any mileage number for bmi. Regardless, the day started off rough, as the weather in Haneda was clear and sunny, but extremely windy. I took a step out to the observation deck and immediately headed back. It was rough out there at the Bay. Delays are expected on most flights. Check-in counters for the Haneda to Kitakyushu are located on the far end of Terminal One and are well equipped with self-check-in kiosks, as well as baggage drop and service desks. The counters are well staffed and I got a boarding pass from the kiosk and then check-in my single piece of bag. Efficiency is just remarkable here and no one is screaming and everyone are so well mannered. As all domestic flights go, your checked bags have to be X-rayed first before being tagged. I had a bit of time and found a nice soba restaurant in the wonderful Terminal One shopping mall complex. The flight was running ten minutes late, so no hurry here.

    Security line was not crowded and everyone had to scan the bar code before going through the checks. You get a little receipt with the latest gate information and here in Japan, you can bring bottled water or drinks, as they have a machine to detect whether they are really drinks or something else. The staffers are all friendly and professional and TSA can really take a lesson here. It is so pleasant and good to have a drama-free day. The inbound flight was a bit late, but boarding began at 6:34pm, and the F/As were greeting each passengers and passing out headsets (of course nothing fancy here). The cabin looked really smart and was spotless. The seats came with cup holder, magazine pockets well placed, coat hooks, personal TV and power outlets. This flight was unsurprisingly filled with businessmen returning home after day of business in Tokyo. The flight was about 2/3 full as most middle seats remained empty. Star Flyer has this smart design regarding middle seats. You can pull down a cocktail table and allow more rooms for everyone and Star Flyer definitely made an effort to block middle seats. Legrest is also installed and comfort is definitely emphasized.

    Whole boarding took seven minutes and door was closed at 6:41pm. Watching the boarding process in Japan is just a delight and everyone are considerate and travel light. Just found their seats, moved out of the aisle and sat down! We pushed back at 6:44pm and began our rather slow taxing to R/W16L. The takeoff was one of the roughest I had experienced ever, and as we gained speed, you can feel the winds blowing hard and the plane was struggling to keep a straight line. As we lifted off at 6:56pm, the aft section can definitely experience severe swinging. You can hear some surprising reactionary voices.

    Star Flyer has a personal entertainment unit for each seats, it plays a number of short features on various channels. There is a movie and they smartly divided into two, so people can watch the last half of the movie on a later flight. There is only one English language channel, which is BBC News, which I watch mostly and of course the flight map. The routing took us over Yokohama, Mount Fjui, Nagoya, Komatsu, Otsu, Aka, Kurashiki, Fukayama, Kure, Iwakuni and Shuan, and we cruised at 30,000fee before staying at 28,000feet due to weather. Flying time is an hour and twenty minutes. In the seat pockets, there is a shopping magazine, a small in house magazine and a good mini QG magazine.

    Seat belt sign turned off at 7:13pm and beverages were served, and the choices are coffee, tea, Orange Iced tea, apple juice and Iced Green tea. Due to the on and off turbulence, the F/A provided a cup cover and straws when they serve drinks. These little things make the travel experience even more special. Dsark chocolate squares are passed out with hot drinks but you can request them. I asked for them and the F/As filled a cup with those squares. The catering service is okay and given the short duration of flights, they are more than sufficient. The F/As were all professional and polite and my request for the chocolate thins was met with a smile and a cup filled of these delicious sweets. The F/As were constantly walking up and down the aisles and provided a highend service.

    Descent began at 7:54pm and it was another windy night at Kitakyushu. With no traffic, we touched down on R/W18 of this man-made island at 8:16pm, fourteen minutes ahead of schedule. We parked at gate 2 two minutes late with almost no taxiing. Kitakyushu airport is really small with only three jet bridges. There was one other plane at the tarmac – a Japan Express’ Boeing 737-800 winglet JA306J heading back to Haneda, and our aircraft will return to Haneda one more time. Bags came out quickly and to my surprise, each check-in bag was wrapped in plastic bag – not environmentally friendly but very customer friendly. There were rain in both ends and I am just so amazed that this little airline will go through all these efforts to ensure a safe and pleasant journey. Honestly I can’t see any airline in the world that can accomplish this kind of service – a true boutique airline at its best.

  • #2
    Part II

    April 2, 2010; Friday
    NU 161 KKY-OKA Lv0800 Arr0950 Boeing 737-400 JA8939
    After an interesting evening at an airport inn located in the island, I headed back to the airport for my next flight on a new airline, Japan Transocean Air, aka JTA. JTA has a long history of serving the Okinawa Islands and evolved from a number of domestic airlines serving that area. It has involved into a Japan Airlines group nowadays. The aircraft is all painted in Japan Airlines modern sunrise livery and the only different is the name in the fuselage and a modified strip design. It uses mostly Boeing 737-400s and -800s on flights among the Okinawa Islands and limited direct service to smaller Japanese cities and additional frequency supplementing on the heavy travel routes between major cities and Okinawa Naha airport.

    Kitakyushu airport was quite busy this morning, as there are number of early flights to Tokyo and our holiday flight to Okinawa. Our flight was 100% full this morning and I used the JAL kiosk to print out my boarding pass and proceeded to the check-in line. The agent was having problems entering my AA number but at the end, the supervisor worked it out, and the miles were posted correctly. Security was a breeze even though it was pretty busy. The key here was sufficient checkpoints opened and a capable staff force, and TSA can learn much from these professional agents. The airport was small, so most eateries are located in the public area, but I had a little bit of breakfast in the hotel, so I felt fine. Another JAL/JAL Express Boeing 737-800 JA314J was getting ready for another flight to Tokyo Haneda, and Sky Flyer’s JA04MC was also getting ready to head to Tokyo.

    Boarding began at 7:43am and priority boarding was enforced on every single flight and as an Oneworld Emerald, I was able to pre-board. At the door, a smiling F/A was greeting each passenger and once I looked at the cabin, I was pleasantly surprised to see a Boeing 737-400 with Class J (JAL domestic version of business class) being instealled. My 4K turns into a Class J seat and I am more than happy. Class J is JAL’s business class/premium economy class cabin, and is pretty nice. The service is nothing special and the seats are five abreast (real five abreast and no convertible seats like Europe). The legroom is around 36 inches and it is comfortable. Headsets are already pre-placed at each seat.

    Despite a full flight, door was closed at 8:01am, and we took off from R/W36 at 8:14am. Flying time was an hour and thirty-nine minutes and I have no idea on other information. Beverage service was offered and there was a choice of iced green tea, apple juice, Skytime (Yuzu drink), hot coffee and consommé soup. JAL plastic cups were used and the aircraft looked no different from a normal domestic JAL flight. Descent began at 9:28am and we landed on R/W36 at 9:53am and parked at gate 25 three minutes later. The plane would continue to Miyako, another city at Okinawa Islands.

    Okinawa airport is definitely an interesting domestic airline with mostly JAL, JTA, ANA, Air Next (ANA subsidiary), and a few airlines from smaller LCCs, like Skynet Asia or Skymark. There is also a heavy presence of Americans because of the air force base and being a Friday, there are plenty of them heading home for Easter.

    April 2, 2010; Friday
    6J 86/NH 3786 OKA-KOJ Lv1220 Arr1340 Boeing 737-400 JA737E
    Okinawa airport was definitely very busy this morning with multiple widebody flights going to various major cities, and with the weekends, there are plenty of them arriving Okinawa. Check-in was actually quite confusing and I have problems locating check-in counters for Skynet Asia Airways. I soon discovered that ANA actually handles all its ground handling and just checked in like a normal ANA flight. I can even use my bmi/ Star Gold card to access the priority counters, which are definitely useful today. The agent entered my bmi number after some struggles but maintained her demeanor and even apologized for taking too long.

    My second stop was to visit the observation deck, and once again, the weather was quite poor. It was windy but was tolerable. International traffic wise – it was limited to some Asian airlines – Hong Kong Express’s Boeing 737-800 B-KBP, China Airlines’ Boeing 737-800 B-18601, and the surprise of the way – an Asiana Airlines’ Boeing 767-300 HL7515. With a mixture of civil and military aviation, it is interesting. I went to grab a bite in a restaurant then and proceeded to the gate.

    As I observed, most outbound flights were not busy, but all the inbound flights were filled with thousands of Japanese tourists seeking a nice weekend in Okinawa. It amazes me to see so many Boeing 747-400Ds and Boeing 777-200s/300s arriving in the early afternoon rush. Our aircraft arrived a bit late at 11:35am, but boarding began on time at 12:05pm. Skynet Asia Airlines, despite known as a low cost airline, is really like a normal domestic carrier. ANA just handles all the ground operation, and only at the door, I felt that I finally flew a new airline. Another surprise of the day was a male F/A and the Japanese airlines don’t really hire male F/As. He was very polite and spoke some English. The cabin itself was a bit on the dated side and the color scheme was interesting. But the legroom looks alright throughout the aircraft, and I got an exit row seat this time. The aircraft was at best 30% full and boarding was completed in five minutes. Door closed at 12:15pm and we pushed back on time. We took off from R/W36 at 12:34pm, and flight time was an hour with a cruising attitude of 32,000feet.

    Being a low cost airline, the difference is minor like a generic disposal bag and there is no inflight magazine. Beverage service was free and similar to other Japanese carriers, there was a choice of iced green tea, apple juice or hot coffee, which was better than nothing. With a few foreigners onboard, the male F/A made an effort to make English announcements, which was much appreciated. Another thing that I notice when I fly Japanese carriers is how the purser/head flight attendant made their announcements. They are always very soft spoken and they definitely are trained in how to make their voice soothing but yet conveying the messages. It is of course very formal and structured, but in some way, it makes flying more pleasant. After a beverage round, I was able to shoot some pictures so I hope you will enjoy them.

    Descent soon began at 1:20pm and we landed on Kagoshima airport’s R/W34 at 1:34pm and parked at gate three minutes later. The aircraft was heading to Tokyo Haneda airport next.

    Comment


    • #3
      Part III

      April 2, 2010; Friday
      NH 628 KOJ –HND Lv1645 Arr1825 Boeing 777-200 JA705A
      Kagoshima airport is mostly a domestic airport, but the observation deck is pretty nicely designed and I enjoyed a couple of good hours there spotting many interesting regional planes – JAL definitely sends a bunch of Dash 8-Q400s here, and you can see a number of narrowbodies used by JAL and ANA here. JAL also uses mainly Airbus A300-600R (from Japan Air System) on the KOJ to Haneda routes. To me, I am grateful to be able to see a Fuji Dream Airlines’ Embraer EMB-170 here at KOJ. Fuji Dream Airline is a new Japanese domestic airline based in Shizuoka, a new airport closed to Mount Fuji. It used a fleet of four EMB-170s on routes from Shizuoka to major Japanese cities. I definitely want to give it a try in the future.

      I flew ANA’s newly improved Premium class service on the flight back to Haneda, and due to the light load, I was able to have two seats to myself and take some pictures. The new seats definitely have better legroom than previous versions, but other features are similar. Compared to the JAL’s First Class flight that I took a day earlier from Osaka Itami to Tokyo Haneda, ANA’s Premium Class definitely is not as good as JL this time. JAL First Class offers a proper printed menu with more choices of meals and snacks, and JL uses proper china and glassware to serve drinks, while ANA uses plastic and paper cups. Our flight took off at 4:50pm, which was not dinnertime yet here in Asia, so we got a “all day deli” box, which contained sandwiches, fresh fruits and a nice green tea mousse cake. It is very nice but the whole presentation was really cheap with all plastic boxes, utensils and cups. The meal was good for a eighty-two minutes flight, but could be better and ANA needs to step up the service a bit. The paper cups have a “premium class” label, but just the fact of using a paper cup makes it nothing like “Premium.” Nevertheless it is a decent flight.

      I arrived back at Haneda at 6:36pm and ANA delivered a decent domestic flight experience, but just not as goods as JAL first class.

      I hope you will enjoy this series of short reports! I really highly recommend Star Flyer for all aviation lovers and it is a “must do” airline, but to warn you, their websites are Japanese only, and for non-English speakers, you have to book your flight through ANA website, which is easy to use anyway.

      I hope to do another series on airlines serving the Hokkaido/Northern area on my next visit to Japan!

      Carfield

      Comment


      • #4
        Thanks for a very interesting TR.

        I first heard about Star Flyer reading Tyler Brûlé's article in FT.

        He gave them a good review.

        I've been curious to see their planes since..

        Comment


        • #5
          Great Report of the domestic airlines in Japan
          JAL still uses the A300 to HND from KOJ???
          !@#$%^&^%$#@! Ive always wanted to fly on that but i somehow dont see it in the schedule!

          Comment


          • #6
            Yes

            Yes, Japan Air Lines still operates a small fleet of Airbus A300-600Rs for its domestic flights. JAL is still using these AB6 on most of its Tokyo Haneda to Kagoshima and back flights. I spotted many of them at KOJ/Kagoshima!

            Carfield

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Carfield View Post
              Yes, Japan Air Lines still operates a small fleet of Airbus A300-600Rs for its domestic flights. JAL is still using these AB6 on most of its Tokyo Haneda to Kagoshima and back flights. I spotted many of them at KOJ/Kagoshima!

              Carfield
              Arghhh!!! (
              I do love the 777s that im always stucked on but i would srsly appreciate some "old" metal

              Comment


              • #8
                Looks interesting - I wanna build one of those multi city passes, and this helps heaps thanks.

                Comment

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