How I Purchased My Ticket

I left my job at the end of March 2023 and immediately did something crazy…booked a flight to Japan for the next day. With my head all over the place and just needing to relax and treat myself after a difficult couple of days, I worked out a way to book Japan Airlines first class for a fraction of the cost. Now Japan Airlines does have an excellent business class that I would have loved to fly again, but there was no availability this close in – only first class. Since JAL is a One World Partner, you can book reward flights on them through airlines like American and Alaska. But I don’t have any points with those airlines, and my travel credit card (Chase Sapphire Reserve) doesn’t transfer to those airlines. It does transfer to British Airways, but their rate for the first class ticket (140K Avios) was much higher than the rates with American (80K miles) or Alaska (100K) miles and I didn’t have enough.

However when I was browsing availability on Alaska’s website, I noticed a blurb about a mileage sale. Airlines do allow you to buy miles (you must have an account first) but it’s only going to be worth it for a redemption like this where the cash value is really high, like $16,000 one way. And to make it really worth it, only buy miles during a sale like this, where Alaska was offering me up to 50% bonus miles based on how many I purchase. In this case, if I purchased 70,000 miles for $2,000 I would receive 35,000 bonus miles which would bring my total to 105,000 miles which would cover the cost of the ticket. Luckily I was able to purchase the miles and wait for them to show up into my account and book the first class reward ticket before anyone else could grab it! I was excited to get a chance to try this bucket list flight for way less than you could ever buy it using cash and not miles.

Pre-Flight Experience

The seat I found was from O’hare, so I took a last minute Southwest flight from DAL to ORD the night before and stayed at the Airport Aloft hotel thanks to Rapid Reward Points and Booking.com (which I use for all of my hotel bookings). The flight boarded at 10:50am so I took an 8am shuttle to the airport and found the check-in counters for JAL, all the way at the end of the row home to American Airlines in T3. I was surprised to see a long line for check-in, but luckily there was a first class only line with no one in it. I walked right up to the kind agent, who checked my documents and presented me with a physical boarding pass. She also gave me two first class tags for my bags as a souvenir which was nice, and let me know where to find the lounge.

Security at T3 was quick thanks to TSA PreCheck and I made my way to the lounge. JAL does not operate its own lounge at ORD, so first class passengers are invited to use the American Airlines Flagship Lounge near the K gates (where my JAL flight would later depart). Once again the super friendly agents welcomed me in and I enjoyed a nice breakfast in the lounge before the flight. It’s a nice lounge, but fell short of the Flagship Lounge American has at DFW and even the United Polaris Lounge that I previously visited at ORD. Either way it was comfortable enough and before I knew it it was time to head to the gate for boarding.

Boarding was a bit chaotic, as passengers began to form lines and ignore the airlines boarding procedures. Sure enough they called first class passengers to board first (after pre-boarding) but me and my fellow first class passengers had to butt our way in past the massive lines of economy passengers blocking the way. Nevertheless we were able to board first, and were escorted to our seats by the friendly crew of Japan Airlines.

JAL First Class Cabin and Seat

Today’s aircraft was a Boeing 777-300ER (77W) and is JAL’s only long haul aircraft with first class. The cabin has a total of 8 seats with there being 4 window seats and 4 seats in the middle. The middle seats are great for couples with a divider that can be lowered, or in this case for me, remain in the upright position to maintain my privacy. The only downside to booking this late in the game is no window seats were available. But once you are seats, you can’t can’t really see anyone. The seat is older, but a super comfortable leather recliner that was plenty large even for someone of my build. The legroom was massive, as I couldn’t even reach the front of the seat with my legs. The design is meant to feel like you are comfortable at home, with the brown leather seat and wood finishes and subtle colors.

The seat was loaded with goodies. In the seat there was a pillow and blanket, which I would put away for later. Along the side consoles was plenty of storage, a remote for the IFE screen, headphones, an amenity kit, Shiseido cosmetic kit, and slippers. On the desk I found a large binder with the drink menu, food menu, and a code for free WiFi! That was a nice surprise since most airlines still make you pay for it even with a first class or business class seat. I got settled in for the long flight and the amazing, friendly crew offered a pre-departure mimosa which I gladly accepted. I read over the menu and thanks to JAL’s efficient operations, we were pushing back and heading to Tokyo. It will take 13 hours to cross the Pacific from Chicago to Japan on this all day-time flight.

JAL First Class Meal Service

After take off we are served the main meal service for lunch and it consisted of an insane amount of courses. You do have to pick between Japanese and Western Cuisine, although the flight attendants will mix and match *if* they have extras. The Japanese menu for this flight was very heavy towards seafood which I don’t really care for, so I just stuck to the Western menu for this flight. In past flights with JAL and ANA I stuck with the Japanese menu but this time I was glad I picked Western and you will see why. Service started with drinks and as usual I opted for champagne, which was a super nice selection from Billecart-Salmon. I also ordered SkyTime, JAL’s signature non-alcoholic drink which is absolutely fantastic. It’s a mix of grape and peach juice that is perfectly balanced and delightful – I would order tons of these over the 13 hours. Thanks to the small cabin, service quickly continued and I was served the following courses.

Starter – slice of bread with raspberry and cream plus prosciutto wrapped asparagus
Amuse Bouche – chilled English pea soup truffle, prosciutto di Parma, and apricot mostarda
Hors d’Oeuvre – white asparagus salad and sweet corn potato gnocchi
Main Course – Prime Beef Tenderloin
Assorted Breads
Dessert – Chocolate Pillow Cake

The starters were very unique and interesting, although I can’t say any of them were so amazing I would want to try them again. The star of the show was actually the delicious garlic bread. But nothing else mattered once the steak was served – it was perfectly cooked to a nice medium temperature, gooey warm and pink in the middle. It tasted wonderful and was easily the best thing I have ever had in the sky. The meal was wrapped up with the chocolate éclair-like cake, which was soft with a large amount of delicious cream inside.

Remainder of Flight to Tokyo

For the rest of the flight, dining would be on demand. Up until 90 minutes before landing, you can order any item from the first class menu with the flight attendants. Completely stuffed from the meal and wanting to get some rest, I asked the flight attendant to make my seat into a bed. While it is easy to recline the seat yourself, they provided a mattress topper and additional pillows once you are ready to sleep. All passengers behave with window shades shut mid flight, so the cabin got nice and dark for some of the best airplane sleep I’ve ever had – all thanks to the super comfortable and large seat, mattress pad, and multiple pillows. They also offer pajamas, but there was no way they had any sizes that would fit me!

I woke up half way through the flight eager to try more items from the menu. I started with caviar – i’ve never had it before! Unfortunately this course was only served with some small waffles and salmon, so I didn’t get a chance to try caviar properly with all the fixings. It was pretty strong and fishy, so I wasn’t able to finish it. But what an interesting experience! I’ll have to try it again on another airline. However, the waffles were great and inspired me to order a meal of chicken and waffles! The lightly fried chicken strips and maple served with the waffles were fantastic. No clue how they make those tenders on an airplane! To finish off my mid-flight meal, I had a small serving of lychee panna cotta which was pretty strongly flavored! Not my favorite but unique to Japanese cuisine for sure.

Back to sleep we go, and before I know it we are approaching Japan and the flight attendants called for the final service. It was early afternoon in Tokyo, so I opted for a small lunch before landing. I had a pork cutlet rice bowl which was a nice small portion. Wanting something sweet to finish off my pallet, I ordered my final item – a fruit plate with a side of vanilla ice cream. It was a bit weird sitting through descent without being able to immediately look out the window to see where we were in Japan, but in a seat like this everything flies by and we were touching down at Tokyo Haneda’s Airport. It’s actually weird being the first one off an airplane this size, as I felt like I was rushed to gather all of my things. But nevertheless I made my way to immigration to enter Japan. I read about insane waits during cherry blossom season with the mass influx of tourists for the first Sakura season in 3 years, but luckily the wait today was a pedestrian 30 minutes. Longer than usual, but not the 2-3 hour lines I was seeing on Facebook.

Once through, I wanted to pick up my Japan Rail Pass, but the line at the JR Travel Center was insane and I didn’t need it for 2 days so I will just get it in Tokyo later. I bought a ticket for the Tokyo Monorail and in 20 minutes I was walking around central Tokyo. Haneda is super convenient and I highly recommend it for a trip to Japan! Stay tuned as I spend the next 2 days exploring cherry blossom sights in Tokyo.

Have you ever flown or want to try flying Japan Airlines First Class? Let me know in the comments!