Review: Japan Airlines Premium Economy (787-9)

Japan Airlines Premium Economy class is a relatively available product to book through various frequent flyer programs. Considering Japan has been such a hot tourist destination since reopening after the pandemic, you may consider settling for these more obtainable seats rather than an elusive lie-flat business class seat for your next miles or points redemption.

The biggest question is, is Japan Airlines Premium Economy worth the splurge over a regular economy seat? Below, I will detail the experience of flying on JAL’s Premium Economy class to see if it is worth booking for your next vacation.

Booking Japan Airlines Premium Economy Class

I booked this itinerary for my wife to fly after our plans for an extended trip through Asia changed. It meant she would need a flight home from Japan to NYC, and I only had about eight weeks to find something reasonable. 

Flying between Japan and North America in premium cabins is difficult because Japan’s two largest airlines are notoriously difficult to book with points. ANA has essentially stopped releasing business-class space to Aeroplan, and Avianca LifeMiles has limited access to ANA premium cabins. 

It doesn’t help that all North American airlines operating routes to Japan, like Air Canada, Delta, AA, and United, use dynamic pricing, making those itineraries exorbitantly priced.

These days, your best bet is to book a business class ticket directly with ANA Mileage Club for a round-trip price of about 100,000 miles. The biggest problem is that you must book a round trip via ANA, which won’t work for everyone. You can transfer American Express (US) Membership Rewards points to ANA at a 1:1 ratio, but the transfer takes about 72 hours.

Japan Airlines releases much more business class availability than ANA, but you’ll need to book far in advance as soon as the schedule opens or get extremely lucky. 

Because I didn’t have the luxury of booking far in advance, I was forced to scrounge around all of the oneworld frequent flyer programs to see if I could get lucky. As the title of this article is Premium Economy, I couldn’t find an elusive lie-flat bed, but I did see some magic in the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. 

British Airways Avios is known for its egregious taxes and fees on award flights, and while some of that is seen with Japan Airlines, it’s not awful. If you make a Japan Airlines Premium Economy redemption from Tokyo Narita (NRT) to Seattle (SEA) via British Airways Executive Club, you can expect to pay 51,500 Avios plus around ~$300 CAD per passenger in taxes and fees.

If you’ve been earning Avios through spending on the RBC British Airways Visa Infinite card or transferring RBC Avion Rewards earned on the RBC Avion Visa Infinite card to the British Airways Avios program, this can represent a solid redemption to get to or from Japan.

RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card

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RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card

The RBC Avion Visa Infinite card earns Avion Elite points and gives cardholders the opportunity to earn 1.25x Avion Elite points on all travel purchases.

In 2024, we awarded this card as the Best Flexible Points Travel Credit Card.

Check out our RBC Avion Visa Infinite card review for more details.

BONUS
35,000 Avion

MINSPEND
$0

NET VALUE
$545+

ANNUAL FEE
$120

FOREX FEES
Yes

EXPIRY
–

However, the pricing for this same redemption within the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is 11,500 fewer miles and $250 CAD less in taxes and fees! This means that if you have access to Alaska Miles, you can fly on Japan Airlines Premium Economy class for only 40,000 Alaska Miles plus $58 USD which is an even better value.

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles can be very hard to earn for Canadians, but Alaska Airlines is a temporary American Express (US) transfer partner through Hawaiian Airlines. I quickly sent some American Express Membership Rewards points to Hawaiian Airlines and instantly transferred them to Alaska Miles to book this redemption.

Ground Experience

The ground experience started well at Tokyo Narita (NRT) with dedicated check-in lines for each premium cabin, including premium economy. 

My wife was able to use the First Class check-in lane thanks to her American Airlines Platinum Pro status, which she acquired via a status match from her Hyatt Globalist status. Platinum Pro is equal to oneworld Emerald status, the highest tier in that ecosystem.

After a seamless check-in, you’ll pass by this wonderful aviation-themed Pikachu art.

Emerald status grants access to the Fast Track security lane, while a Premium Economy ticket will allow you to access Priority Lane security.

After security, passengers flying in Japan Airlines Premium Economy cabins are granted lounge access to the Sakura Lounge, but thanks again to her oneworld Emerald status, my wife was able to access the First Lounge within the Sakura Lounge.

The lounge was excellent and had plenty of seating, dine-on-demand food, higher-tier champagne, beautiful decor, and wet towel dispensers.

Cabin Arrangement

The Japan Airlines Premium Economy cabin on the Boeing 787-9 is arranged in a 2-3-2 configuration, slightly more spacious than the 2-4-2 design in the economy cabin.

As we booked this relatively last minute, almost all Premium Economy seats had been selected and only one seat option was left in the outside rows, 17H. Unfortunately, the bulkhead rows are inferior to the rest of the cabin due to the table tray. It’s tiny, making meal service more challenging than non-bulkhead seats with a traditional table tray folding down from the seat in front.

I still think the increase in legroom in the bulkhead row is a benefit, but the premium economy seats already have a generous 38 inches of pitch compared to the 33 inches in economy. The only seats to truly avoid would be E seats, which are a true middle seat.

Seat

The Premium Economy seat is a bit dated on Japan Airlines 787s compared to their new offering on the A350-1000.

The seat is fairly simple in its design, but offers an in-flight entertainment control, USB A charging, and a universal power plug.

The seats have tons of space and feel quite open, similar to Air Canada Premium Economy, where most rows have a view of two windows.

The legroom in the bulkhead row is also exceptional.

The seat also features a small leg extension for some extra comfort. This was nice to have, but it didn’t make a huge impact on comfort when trying to get some sleep as it didn’t move very much.

The tray table and entertainment screen for the bulkhead row seats are enclosed in the extra large armrest. One benefit of the H seats is that there are two large armrests, whereas the rest of the cabin has one large and one smaller.

Amenity Kit

The amenity kit provided to premium economy passengers was almost the same as what Japan Airlines business class passengers receive except for a leather case.

The satchel, rather than a leather case, contained a facemask, eye mask, ear plugs, and a toothbrush. Also on the seat were slippers, a blanket, and a special self-heating eye mask, which was a very nice surprise.

Also distributed were these chocolate medallions declaring Japan Airlines’ success in being voted the #1 Premium Economy. I imagine this is related to their new product on the A350-1000, but it was still a unique part of the experience.

Bathroom

The premium economy cabin has to share lavatories with economy class, but there are four, so it was never too crowded.

Dining

Meal service started with a small snack and a beverage.

The meal service consisted of 2 services, as you can see in the menu below.

The first thing served was the beef and egg with various accompaniments. It was served hastily but looked better once properly organized and unpackaged.

A few hours before landing, a special MUJI meal was served, which was probably the highlight of the flight. It was delicious.

Entertainment

Entertainment Console

Being in a bulkhead seat, the entertainment console is slightly different than what you’d find in the seatback for the rest of the cabin. The screen folds out from the same armrest as the tray table, and the remote is next to the forward part of the armrest.

The remote also includes some controls on the reverse side for any games available through the in-flight-entertainment console.

There is a solid variety of programs to watch, including Disney+ content. And of course, there is an in-flight map.

The headset for the entertainment console was very high quality as well.

WiFi

WiFi was free to access for 1 hour during the flight. It was fast enough to send some images through WhatsApp, which was impressive!

There was a 3-hour plan available for $15 USD or a full flight plan available for $19 USD.

Conclusion

Considering the cost of only 40,000 Alaska Miles and $58 USD, Japan Airlines Premium Economy is a great way to cross the Pacific. While the new Premium Economy on the A350-1000 will undoubtedly be a better experience, if the 787 is available, you will have a pleasant experience!