Japan Airlines has announced it will install new business and economy class seats on its two-class Boeing 767-300ER as part of its ongoing upgrade scheme.
Nine of JAL's fleet of 32 B767 aircraft will be retrofitted with the new seats.
The new business class – called JAL Sky Suite II – will be fitted with 24, instead of the current 30, fully flat seats in a 1-2-1 configuration.
Each seat offers a bed length of up to 78 inches/200cm and a width of up to 20 inches/52cm, making it slightly longer than the new business class seats on the B777s but also slightly narrower. Seats also consist of a 15.4-inch touchscreen inflight entertainment system, USB ports and universal power outlets.
The new economy seats, dubbed JAL Sky Wider and fitted in a 2-3-2 configuration, offer an increased pitch, which will go from 31 inches/79cm to a maximum of 33 inches/86cm. Seats will also feature a 10.6-inch touchscreen TV, USB ports and universal power outlets.
Tokyo Narita-Vancouver will be the first route to be operated by an upgraded B767, which is scheduled to launch in December this year. Eventually, the nine B767s with the new seats will operate select long-haul Southeast Asian and Honolulu routes.
JAL began its upgrade scheme by reconfiguring its fleet of B777-300ERs last year (see story here).
For an in-depth feature of new business class seats, stay tuned for "Pushing the premium envelope" on P36 of Business Traveller Asia-Pacific's June 2013 issue. For more information, visit www.jal.com/en.
Alisha Haridasani