Skift Take

Carrying over the most successful features of its Sky Suite 777 aircraft, and leaving room for passengers in the back is a great move by JAL. Introducing a Premium Economy cabin with more room, premium services and seats that slide forward on a sled--avoiding conflict with the back--is a smart choice.

Japan Airlines has revealed its new 787-8 JAL Sky Suite cabin interiors featuring greater comfort, and more room in all cabins; and introducing a new Premium Economy cabin and a new in-flight entertainment system.

The airline has brought over the successful 777 Sky Suite structures and fitted them into the comfort-rich Dreamliner interior. JAL has reduced the number of Economy passenger seats, from 144 on the existing 787-8, to 88 JAL Sky Wider II seats on the new JAL Sky Suite 787. It introduced 35 new seats on its JAL Sky Premium, and brought the number of JAL Sky Suite Business Class seats to 38 from 42 in order to make room for lay-flat beds.

The new JAL Sky Wider II seats in Economy Class form the “New Spacious Economy,” in a 2-4-2 configuration—which yields passengers approx. 5cm (2 inches) more width on the seat than common configuration Economy Class seats on Boeing 787s. JAL also increased seat pitch on its Economy Class by 5 cm (2 inches). The seat pitch is 84 cm (33 inches), and the seat width is 48 cm (19 inches) between the armrests with a 10.6-inch TV Monitor for the IFE.

The Business Class fully-flat seats will be in a 2-2-2 configuration, giving every passenger unrestricted aisle access. It features a bed length of approx. 188 cm (74 inches), a bed width of 65 cm (25.5 inches), and is equipped with a 23 inch personal TV screen for the IFE. The seat has plenty of storage for personal items, and a large swivel table for meals and work. The bed is complemented by a comfort mattress by an airweave® S-LINE mattress and pillow, which JAL promises will “support the body line to ensure a sound and quality sleep.”

The newly introduced JAL Sky Premium Economy cabin offers passengers 107 cm (42 inches) of pitch, and a seat width of 49 cm (19 inches) between the armrests. It also comes with a 12.1-inch TV Screen on the IFE (10.6-inch on the front-row). There is also a central divider at the headrests between seats to provide passengers more privacy and a fixed-back seat reclines on a slider, ensuring that anyone reclining at the front does not interfere with the space of the person seated at the back.

The airline will debut a new “MAGIC-VI” Inflight entertainment system with a touch-panel monitor and a touch-pad digital controller in Business Class. Business Class passengers can make in-flight purchases and order meals via their IFE, all passengers can enjoy “SKY MANGA,” the airlines’ in-flight on-demand entertainment service which includes selections of Japanese manga with 38 sets and 100 volumes of books in Japanese and 6 sets/30 volumes of books in English, updated every three months.

Passengers flying on JAL’s new Dreamliner will also have access to the new JAL Sky Wi-Fi setvice, powered by Panasonic Avionic’s eXConnect.

The new Boeing 787-8 with JAL Sky Suite 787 (SS8) will serve the Tokyo (Narita) to Frankfurt route (JL407/JL408) from December 2014, and the Tokyo (Narita) to New York route (JL004/JL003) from January 2014.

Japan Airlines also recently announced a new Autumn selection for its inflight meal services on international flights under a “restaurant in the sky” concept, featuring beautifully presented selections of traditional Japanese cuisine and Western menus created by Japanese chefs: Mr. Seiji Yakamoto of Nihonryori RyuGin, Mr. Koji Shimomura of Edition Koji Shimomura, and JAL’s own corporate chef Mr. Naoki Uchiyama.

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Tags: in-flight, japan airlines

Photo credit: Japan Airlines Premium Economy Seat reclines forward, to avoid conflicts in the back. Japan Airlines

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