WOW…the first class “train compartments” on the Japan Airlines (JAL) A350-1000 are simply superlative. My 14-hour flight from New York to Tokyo was easily one of the best flights of my life and the first class suite is over-the-top fabulous.
In This Post:
JAL A350-1000 First Class: My First Impressions
You’re going to have to wait a bit for the full review, but I do want to share my first impressions of my remarkable journey on JL5 from JFK-HND.
Massive Suite
Let’s start with the suite, which feels like you are stepping into your own train compartment (designed for three people, but all for yourself).
Not only is it spacious, but it is thoughtfully laid out with ample personal storage and a massive 43-inch HD screen. Yes, the tailcam was on for most of the flight. Part of the seat flips down to create a side conosle and there’s even an armrest.
Window controls are even cooler than those on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and can be slid back and forth to lighten and darken the transition glass, much like you would raise or lower the sound volume on a touchscreen device.
I slept very well.
Great Service
Let’s talk about service. This was not my first flight in JAL First Class and I have also enjoyed excellent service on my previous flights, but the crew was simply perfect here (Oba san and Kashima san). So gracious, kind, attentive, friendly, and polite…a perfect combination of professionalism, charm, and warmness.
Delicious Food
I decided that I was not in the mood for caviar and Champagne on this flight, which were both available but I skipped. If I’m being honest, I find those first class staples more about bragging rights than anything I actually enjoy. Sure, a crisp glass of pricey Champagne (Cuvée Louis Salmon 2009 was on offer) can be refreshing, but I quite enjoyed my “Japanese Old Fashioned” co*cktail instead…and later had a Negroni. I just prefer those drinks to Champagne and haven’t we’ve seen enough of those smug pictures with the Champagne bottles?
Yes, I ordered the Western meal for lunch after takeoff, because no Western carrier does Western food better than JAL. Expect a massive feast onboard.
First, a burrata cheese amuse bouche with marinated navel orange. Delicious.
Then roasted veal tenderloin with shaved parmesan and black olive and tonnato sauce (not tomato sauce, but an Italian cold sauce made by blitzing a can of oil-preserved tuna with garlic, capers, anchovy, egg yolk).
A pasta course followed, with gemelli pasta and swordfish. So good.
Then came the main courses, yes with an s. In JAL First, you don’t simply receive fish or beef, but both.
And both were cooked to perfection. The Chilean sea bass was served with zucchini noodles and sweet corn truffle Bagna Càuda sauce (a combination of garlic and anchovies).
I would have been happy to stop there, but then came beef tenderloin, served with a delicious leek bread pudding and asparagus. Even better? It was cooked a perfect medium and was clearly a high-end cut that melted in your mouth.
Then cheese…
Finally, New York cheesecake with strawberry ice cream for dessert with a cappuccino.
You can mock me for not eating the Japanese food, but you won’t find better Western food in Air France, Lufthansa, or SWISS First Class…another testament to the amazing quality of every aspect of the JAL experience.
After a lovely nine-hour rest, I did order the Japanese meal prior to landing…and (Honestly, it surprises even me), I loved it.
The “Washoku” tray included:
Dainomono
Sea Bream with Sesame Sauce & WatercressKobachi
Steamed Savory Egg Custard with LobsterSteamed Rice
Japanese Koshihikari riceMiso Soup
Japanese Pickles
I’m not sure what the steamed savory egg custard with lobster is called in Japanese, but it was a very delicious dish full of flavorful lobster.
The flight was not perfect…one of the cabinets was broken (taped shut), which was unfortunate for a brand-new plane. I was on JA03WJ, which is less than a month old. It seems that these new Safran suites are experiencing a few growing pains.
Those Headrest Speakers…
The cabin has six seats and five of the six seats were occupied: four Japanese men and me.
How about those speakers built into the headrest? I did use them…and they worked quite well. In fact, they seemed very LOUD to me to the point that I thought sure the gentleman in the suite in front of me could hear it. But no, I stepped out of the suite and could not hear it at all. It’s some rather great engineering, though I ended up using the Bang & Olufsen noise-canceling headphones anyway because I still feel self-conscious about playing anything “out loud” on a plane.
CONCLUSION
I have so much more to say about this flight, but for now the main takeaway is that the first class experience on the JAL A350-1000 is about as close to perfect as a flight can be. I’ve long said that JAL has the best first class service in the world and now I’d say that it has the best hard product as well. This plane is a game-changer.
Next: onto Seoul on a 787-9…
