Japan Airlines has unveiled the new seating products which will feature on the carrier’s 13 A350-1000s, the first of which is due for delivery later this year.
The four-class aircraft will offer a total of six first class suites designed by Safran Seats (down from eight on JAL’s Boeing 777-300ERs).
These will offer three different seating / sleeping choices – a wide sofa, a seat and single bed, or the option to convert the whole suite into a double bed – although note that one corner of the double bed option houses a storage / table unit so the bed doesn’t stretch to double size all the way down.
When in sofa mode the seat will be 123cm wide, and the bed length is 203cm. The suites feature a sliding privacy door, with a wall reaching up to 157cm, as well as a wardrobe and storage space, a 43-inch TV screen, and what the carrier says is “the world’s first headphone-free stereo with built-in headrest speakers, allowing customers to enjoy the inflight entertainment system without using headphones”.
Business class will be configured with 54 suites (slightly up from the 49 on JAL’s 777-300ERs) in a staggered 1-2-1 layout, with features including a sliding privacy door, a seat offering 56cm of width and converting into a 198cm bed, a 24-inch screen, a wardrobe and storage space, the same headphone-free stereo system as in first class, and electric slide down partitions in between middle seats for customers travelling together.
In both business and first class the seats offer a headset reclining function “allowing comfortable viewing of the inflight entertainment while lying down”.
Premium economy is configured 2-4-2, with a total of 24 seats. Interestingly this is down considerably on the 40 offered on JAL’s 777-300ERs. Features include a 107cm seat pitch, 48cm seat width, and a 16-inch screen.
The airline also says that its fixed shell premium economy seat is the first in the world to offer “electrically operated reclining functionality”.
Finally in economy there are 239 Recaro seats configured 3-3-3 (compared to 244 on the carrier’s 777-300ERs), with features including a seat pitch of between 84 and 86cm, a seat width of 46cm, and a 13-inch screen.
All classes will offer 4K monitors with Bluetooth connectivity, and from spring 2024 customers will be to create movie and music playlists in advance of their flight through the JAL mobile app.
In business class there will be a lounge wear rental service, while garments will be provided to first class customers, and amenity kits will feature artwork from “welfare experimental company” Heralbony.
Inflight dining highlights will include the option to choose when to dine in business class (from next spring), and economy and premium economy customers will be able to upgrade their meals for an additional cost.
JAL had planned to bring the A350 into service on its Tokyo Haneda – New York JFK route from late November, but now says that this will happen “before the end of the year” due to “supply chain disruption affecting the delivery of components”.
A dedicated website with more information on the carrier’s A350-1000 aircraft has been created at jal.co.jp/ar/en/offers/A350-1000.
