JAL 787-9 Business Class

[Hlitner]

Thought I would post an observation.  We are soon going to book a future JAL flight from LAX to Osaka and noticed that JAL is using the relatively new 787-9 aircraft on both that route and the LAX to Narita route.   When looking at the Bus Class configuration it had been (not my use of "had") a 2-2-2 configuration with generous size lay flat seats.  But JAL is now changing over to a 1-2-1 Reverse Herringbone Configuration (our favorite) because of some folks being unhappy with the 2-2-2 configuration.  DW, who really does not follow the airline industry but loves comfy seating remarked, "why on earth are they changing the configuration on their newest aircraft?"   My only response was "because they can"  but the reality is that the better Asian airlines really try to keep up with the competition and their customer's wants.  This is a lesson that could be learned by the US Airlines.  Consider how long it is taking United to truly implement real "Polaris" Class seats.

 

Hank

[Ine]

Hank, this winter our flights on Aero Mexicos 787- 900 also had the 1-2-1 configuration. The 787-800 still had the 2-2-2.  You can also check seating on seatguru.com

Groeten, 

Edited June 11, 2019 by Ine

[Globaliser]

7 hours ago, Hlitner said:

But JAL is now changing over to a 1-2-1 Reverse Herringbone Configuration (our favorite) because of some folks being unhappy with the 2-2-2 configuration.  DW, who really does not follow the airline industry but loves comfy seating remarked, "why on earth are they changing the configuration on their newest aircraft?"

 

Is JAL actually retrofitting existing aircraft? Or have they just changed the configuration for your flight? A quick prowl didn't immediately throw up any reliable information that suggested that there is a retrofit programme; it looked more like the configuration depends on when the aircraft was delivered as different batches have different seat types.

 

[ETA]

 

Found it. It looks like the retrofit means density is going up.

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, Globaliser said:

 

Is JAL actually retrofitting existing aircraft? Or have they just changed the configuration for your flight? A quick prowl didn't immediately throw up any reliable information that suggested that there is a retrofit programme; it looked more like the configuration depends on when the aircraft was delivered as different batches have different seat types.

 

[ETA]

 

Found it. It looks like the retrofit means density is going up.

Funny thing about density.  Sometimes it seems that the airlines keep improving Bus Class while they make up for it by packing more into Economy.    You might be correct in that I cannot be sure if they are doing refits or simply ordering new aircraft with the 1-2-1 configuration.  Some here might be able to actually access tail numbers but that is beyond my pay grade :).   But many airlines, such as United, have configured Bus Class on the 787-9 with the 2-2-2 configuration which is similar to what JAL did up until recently.  Moving to 1-2-1 is obviously going to mean some lost seats and lost revenue.

 

Hank

[Globaliser]

23 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

You might be correct in that I cannot be sure if they are doing refits or simply ordering new aircraft with the 1-2-1 configuration.  Some here might be able to actually access tail numbers but that is beyond my pay grade :).   But many airlines, such as United, have configured Bus Class on the 787-9 with the 2-2-2 configuration which is similar to what JAL did up until recently.  Moving to 1-2-1 is obviously going to mean some lost seats and lost revenue.

 

I did find the JAL press release which uses the word "retrofit" that was then picked up by blogs.

 

The comparable before and after configurations are changing from 44J / 35W / 116Y to 52J / 35W / 116Y. So the change to the new seat is going to increase the business class seat count by 8 in the same space, with four more seats in the front cabin and four more seats in the aft cabin; that's why it looks to me like density is going up.

 

Old:

 

 

New:

 

[Hlitner]

That is great work.  Interesting that the reverse herringbone configuration allows more seats while reducing the number in each row.  I guess it is all in the angles :).

 

Hank

[Globaliser]

10 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Interesting that the reverse herringbone configuration allows more seats while reducing the number in each row.  I guess it is all in the angles :).

 

The angles, the stagger and the three-dimensional stacking make it hard to compare the number of seats per row as a bald statistic. In a reverse herringbone, if you lie everyone flat (which is what these configurations are designed to achieve) and then draw a horizontal line across the cabin at any point other than the ends of the cabin, that line will cross parts of eight different passengers.

[Hawaiidan]

19 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Funny thing about density.  Sometimes it seems that the airlines keep improving Bus Class while they make up for it by packing more into Economy.    You might be correct in that I cannot be sure if they are doing refits or simply ordering new aircraft with the 1-2-1 configuration.  Some here might be able to actually access tail numbers but that is beyond my pay grade :).   But many airlines, such as United, have configured Bus Class on the 787-9 with the 2-2-2 configuration which is similar to what JAL did up until recently.  Moving to 1-2-1 is obviously going to mean some lost seats and lost revenue.

 

Hank

Not with the new Prem econ scam.  and Economy Plus fees..   Econ going to 31- inches     I do ANA  to Japan on 777's      The 787 with 6000 ft cabin pressure is best  ( 340 and 380  too)

[Zach1213]

1 hour ago, Hawaiidan said:

Not with the new Prem econ scam.  and Economy Plus fees..   Econ going to 31- inches     I do ANA  to Japan on 777's      The 787 with 6000 ft cabin pressure is best  ( 340 and 380  too)

 

Premium Economy scam? Do go on...