gordinio

can anyone tell me if japan airlines have seatback tv's and game consuls on all seats
cheers wendy

WBB

they did'nt in 97 when i used them but things may have changed since then.

good ariline though, polite crew and good flight.

lesleys

Look at the Austravel website. They list things like this along with seat-pitch.

maxpaxx

LOL...

Sorry - used to be a stewy for JAL for a few years! It was like being in the army..oh the tales I could tell..don't do it!

Not much leg room unless you go club! No TV's or games in economy when I was there - but hey may have changed but doubt it! Upside you get a stopover in Narita which is actually quite old world Japan if you venture out of the airport/hotal area. The food was always meat or fish or Japanese - and by Japanese I don't mean anything resembling food it really was foul and I quite like it as a rule. Put it this way I have travelled myself with JAL many times as a passenger even a couple in first class and I won't be using them!

Just my opinion - but I am an expert in this subject if no other!

Max

bondipom

I flew them in November. They are not Singapore airlines but if you fancy a stopover in Japan I highly recommend them and a visit to Japan.

It is the flights via Osaka that do not have to the Seat back TV/games consoles. What was incredible is I actually slept on 3 of the 4 legs which is very good for me. Food was good and you get a Japanese or western option.

Going Lon - Aus you do not get a night in Narita but Aus to Lon you do. They provide you with breakfast but dinner is steep at the hotel.

Anyway the pitch is better than BA Qantas. My cousin is a BA steward and those tales are not exclusive to any one airline.

The consensus here is that Singapore airlines is the best, shortly followed by Cathay. Emirates gets good rating (guaranteed seat back TVs) but some people have had problems with them. Malaysian gets good ratings.

Japan is not cheap but only a bit more expensive than London and is fantastic to visit.

sassie

I have flown JAL 3 times to Australia now, and have always found them to be excellent. On all 3 flights, seat back videos were on thel flights out of Heathrow to Japan. It was the japan to oz routing that didn't have them and vice versa. Other than that, couldn't fault them.

bondipom

Sydney Narita aircraft have the seat back TVs. Osasa - Bris - Syd do not.

WBB

ah that's why i did'nt have them then, i flew into brissy.

slept most of it anyway

maxpaxx

Did you try the kiwi juice Bondi?

Oshibori degozaimus.....oh it's all coming back like a reccurring nightmare..my head is actually still stuffed with useless Japenese phrases after 4 years - but as you can see coversational Japanese only never mastered the alphabets!

My friends are dotted around many other airlines now all over the world so I hear whats going on. I wouldn't rate JAL very highly but then I guess 5 years in a job you pretty much live it especially on airlines. That said you are right it's a great place and there is a lot I miss about Japan - and if anyone has the chance to go they should. I lived there for a while - it's a pretty unusal place to say the least! Especially Osaka where you see the wierd and wonderful!

Max

bondipom

Ohai Gozaimas (I think that was how it went)

That was quite refreshing although I drank loads of the green tea.

Unusual is one word. Food is always an adventure as the meat in the picture is not always quite what you expect. My facourite was raw pork and egg yolk sushi. The Mrs thought I was mad eating it. Then there are the deserts and sweets. Just when you think you have found something great that texture of red bean paste hits your tongue.

I only went to Tokyo for 3 days and Kyoto for 4 days and I am itching for more. Next time it might be Osaka and the south. Where would you recommend?

Luke I Amyofath

Best flight from sydney / heathrow was with JA. arr in Osaka around 8pm, free hotel room for the night, not a bad buffet brekkie and flight to heathrow didnt leave til around 11:30am.
Breaks up that dreadfuly long flight into 2 manageable halfs unlike my flight next month with Lauda Air, direct to Vienna, 22 hr flight ewwwwwww

bondipom

I think that Lauda stop in Kuala Lumpur for a little while.

The problem with JAL Osaka to sydney is it stops in Brisbane for 2 hours before the short hop South and has no back seat screens.

I did SYD -LHR via Narita in November and the timing was pretty similiar. At Osaka the hotel is a short walk from the terminal. At Narita you need to get a courtesy bus to the hotel. At the Nikko Narita you can check in at the hotel to avoid the nightmare qs in the Terminal.

bondipom

I think that Lauda stop in Kuala Lumpur for a little while.

The problem with JAL Osaka to sydney is it stops in Brisbane for 2 hours before the short hop South and has no back seat screens.

I did SYD -LHR via Narita in November and the timing was pretty similiar. At Osaka the hotel is a short walk from the terminal. At Narita you need to get a courtesy bus to the hotel. At the Nikko Narita you can check in at the hotel to avoid the nightmare qs in the Terminal.

You can also check your baggage all the way through to London if you want to avoid the hassle.

maxpaxx

..did you see any 'plastic food' in the restaurant windows..oh how I laugh..it always looked so appetizing..not! and I remember once in Osaka coming accross a shop that actually sold the plastic food - it was incredible.

..and for those who haven't been to Tokyo may not believe me when I say there is a machine in Shinjuku that actually sells used school girl underwear..sadly this is a side of Japan that exists too but quite out in the open. Many a time spent sitting on trains beside people reading the most horrendous comic books with violent images..it's a culture shock!

I imagine you went to Fuji Bondi..try the hot springs, Kyoto is really quite beautiful isn't it? Did you go to Harajuku in Tokyo? This was always a favorite haunt of mine I bought a beautiful Kimono which takes pride of place on our stairwell - I have hung it over a pole and it looks really good - there is always something interesting going on there - wether it be a wedding at the shrine or millions of Japanese Elvis impersonators.

..see you have made me all nostalgic now!

Take Care Bondi and Happy New Year

bondipom

The plastic speghetti and omelettes looked the strangest.

We stayed at the Shinjuku Prince which is right next to the "pleasure district". The most disturbing thing was seeing a 6 foot person in a mini skirt drawn so high that you could see the bollocks bulging out of the his knickers. Other than that we did not notice used knicks vending machines although I have heard of them before. The hotel had a vending machine that sold clean underwear.

We went to Harajuku and Shibuya and accidentally found the street of love hotels. Fascinating areas and always something strange to be found. We did not go to Fuji because of time and the weather.