Whether you want to travel domestically or internationally on Japan Airlines (JAL), one thing that interests you most of the time is the impressions of its cabin classes. If traveling for the first time, you may naturally want to know how cabin classes look, and would it matter if you upgrade to a higher cabin by paying more. 

No doubt, premium cabins do have their unmistakable charms, but they also carry higher costs which not every passenger can afford. So, do economy cabins matter? Lets find that out in this blog. 

It is very important to understand that JAL’s economy class in international flights differs from the one in domestic flights. That’s because long-haul international flights are provided by larger aircraft equipped with upgraded facilities. On the other hand, short-haul domestic economy flights feature smaller planes and limited buy onboard options. 

Key Difference:

In this blog, we talk about Economy Class in international flights of Japan Airlines (JAL). 

How does Japan Airlines (JAL) maintain its cabins?

Japan Airlines (JAL) is not a new name in today’s global aviation industry that requires endorsement. In fact, it has become a massive outlier in the industry because of superlative inflight and friendly customer support services. While there are so many renowned legacy airlines who continue to reduce seat dimensions to maximize capacity, JAL is making an exception by doubling down on passenger comfort. 

Highly-rated economy cabins of JAL are maintained through advanced materials, cabin geometry and proper space utilization ensuring comfort of passengers. Therefore, traveling on JAL Economy Class is affordably comfortable for the budget travelers.

Japan Airlines (JAL) Economy Class: Explaining Benefits

When traveling in Economy Class of Japan Airlines (JAL), the experience is quite pleasant because of the refinement done to beautify every aspect of cabin experience by the airline. From award-winning seats to carefully designed menus, JAL’s economy class offers an experience that is unforgettable even to the discerning travelers. In this section, we discuss key benefits of JAL’s Economy Class.

Wider and comfortable Seats

Japan Airlines has been recognised as the Best Economy Class Airline Seat at the Skytrax Awards. This accolade extends the airline's reputation for providing the most comfortable economy class experience through Sky Wider seats featuring better pitch and a slimmed seatback. These seats allow passengers to enjoy more legroom with wider space between the armrests ranging from 45cm to 48cm. 

Seats with such dimensions provide greater room for guests to spread out than the industry average. Besides, the airline provides functional amenities to maximize their leisure, including a water bottle holder, convenient accessories pouch, and AC power outlets for all seats on Boeing 787-9/787-8 aircraft.

Key highlights:

• 1 Seat pitch: Approx. 86 cm in JAL SKY SUITE 777 and JAL SKY SUITE 767, approx. 84 cm in JAL SKY SUITE 787.
• 1 Seat width: Approx. 47 cm in JAL SKY SUITE 777, approx. 45 cm in JAL SKY SUITE 767, approx. 48 cm in JAL SKY SUITE 787
• Net seat pocket for holding drink bottles and personal items
• Expansive leg space
• 10.6-inch touch panel personal screens.
• Mobile phone holders and small pockets for personal items.

Laptop power ports

• Power ports installed in all seats (787-9, 787-8)


• Shared power ports installed between seats (767-300ER, 777-300ER)

Chef-curated meals and special dietary requests

Japan Airlines has teamed up with Japan’s largest cooking competition for young chefs, and the collaboration has resulted in creating new menus blending traditional, iconic Japanese foods with modern cooking practices. The airline has also partnered with Tanita Cafe, a well-known concept eatery focusing on mental wellbeing to serve customers the Sky Wellness Kitchen menu. 

Key highlights:

• Nutrient-rich Teriyaki Chicken Hamburg Bowl to please mind, body and soul.
• TANITA Gymnastics leaflet for helpful stretching exercise for relaxation.
• An inflight meal called Beef Ribs & Chestnut Lasagna (on routes to Honolulu and Kona)
• A self-service snack corner for travelers on long-haul flights from and to Europe and North America
• An alcoholic beverage called Cuvée.
• Beverages, like orange juice, apple juice, tomato juice, JAL original drink: "SKY TIME Peach and Grape", sparkling water, mineral water, Coca-Cola, Sprite, Ayataka cold green tea.
• Alcoholic drinks: beer, Gin, wine, Japanese sake, Japanese plum liqueur, and highball (Whisky & Soda)


Inflight entertainment

Inflight entertainment is another area where Japan Airlines tries to make a distinction by offering superior service. In this context, provision of 10.6-inch touch-panel monitors is made with every JAL Sky Wider seat. These monitors are built-in personal screens equipped with a pre-loaded, video on demand library of movies, TV shows, music, ebooks and games. Besides, enjoy free Wi-Fi for the first hour of service. 

Key highlights:

• 13-inch 4K personal screens for streaming movies, tv shows etc.
• Customizable audio environment
• Inflight Wi-Fi service (free for first hour of service).

Amenities and other services

Japan Airlines offers a range of services for international Economy Class aiming to enhance the traveling experience of passengers. 

Key highlights:

• Amenity items: Earplugs and eye masks.
• Medical supplies: Pain relievers, motion sickness relievers, nasal spray, disinfectant spray, bandages, thermometers, etc.
• Health care: Bamboo foot massagers and other items to help you have a more comfortable flight.
• Inflight exercise to prevent Traveler’s thrombosis, also known as "economy class syndrome"

How much would I save by traveling on JAL’s Economy Class?

While giving the exact projection of how much you would save out of flying JAL’s Economy Class is not possible, as it depends on a host of various data metrics, it will likely reduce your ticket cost by 30% to 60% depending on the route network and season of traveling. On the other hand, choosing the lowest Economy tier (Basic E) is likely to save you an additional 8% to 15% compared to Standard Economy. 

In addition, if you want to save big on booking of JAL’s Economy Class for domestic traveling, you may consider taking advantage of the airline's specific discount rates, like special saver fare. 

For passengers giving much thought on bottom-dollar pricing over traditional full-service flights, Zipair (JAL's low-cost subsidiary) is an ideal recommendation for them to cut costs while allowing them to pay a-la-carte for checked bags, seat selection, and meals.

Final words: Is Traveling JAL’s Economy Class Beneficial?

With all said and done, any doubt related to flying Economy with Japan Airlines is solved based on what we have discussed so far. The above-mentioned guide takes you a descriptive walkthrough, revealing how you can experience benefits in JAL’s Economy Class. 

However, these benefits don't at all mean that the cabin class is an efficient replacement for better upgrades that the airline has in its store for passengers looking for a rather more expensive yet premium flying experience in luxurious cabins. Highlighted benefits of Economy Class of JAL serve you as a guide helping you match your budget with specific comfort and travel needs when booking Economy cabin. 

Dont forget that JAL’s Economy Class is frequently rated as one of the best in the world due to reasons associated with generous seating selection and great inflight services. Therefore, booking a seat in this cabin will cost-effectively serve your traveling needs, such as freeing up funds for better accommodations, local tours, while still getting safely to your final destination.