LIKE IN THE GOOD OLD DAYS: Japan Airlines Boeing 787-8 Economy Helsinki to Tokyo! | BRUTALLY HONEST

LIKE IN THE GOOD OLD DAYS: Japan Airlines Boeing 787-8 Economy Helsinki to Tokyo! | BRUTALLY HONEST

This video is sponsored by Hulskan, whose watches and accessories made from natural materials like wood and stone have been loyal companions on many of my trips, including this one. And for this holiday season, viewers of this video get 15% off their order using the link and coupon code below. Back in early 2018, I flew aboard Japan Airlines Boeing 787 from Helsinki to Tokyo. a flight that I was so genuinely impressed by that I labeled my trip report back then as my all-time best economy class flight. Since 2018 though, a lot of time has passed. Many airlines went through various transformative changes, leaving them almost unrecognizable from their past self. So, what I’ve been wondering is whether Japan Airlines long-haul economy class still holds up to my nostalgic memories. After all, my experience also grew by another million km of air travel on 300 plus flights since then. Would it still make it to the top of my list? Well, that’s what I’m excited to find out today. So, let me bring you along a journey once again from Helsinki to Tokyo aboard Japan Airlines Boeing 787 in economy class. I hope you’re as excited for the journey as I am. So, without further ado, let’s get going. Aviation geeks and frequent flyers, a very cold welcome from Helsinki Vantage. International Airport. I just spent the night at the brand new Clarion Helsinki Airport. This 2024 opened hotel is part of Finland’s largest hotel complex and was honestly one of the best airport hotels I’ve ever stayed at. I mean, just look at the size of this breakfast buffet. Of course, being in Finland, I had like five Curillian pies or Kalan Piraka for breakfast. The hotel is right next to the airport’s departure hall, which opened only in 2022 alongside an underground train station connecting the airport to the city. The transformation Helsinki Airport has gone through over the past few years is incredible to see. One of my favorite airports in Europe. Let me show you a place here that most people don’t know about. From the departure hall, go downstairs, take a right, and exit to the bus station. Walk around the entire bus lot and go up one floor. There you’ll find a door with a big C next to which is a small sign of what you’ll find there. Take the elevator up to the sixth floor and enjoy the view. This Airbus A33300 of Fin Air is just coming in from Delhi. The little Embrya 190 is arriving from Munich. And the A330 carrying a decal by Finnish design studio Marino is completing a flight from Doha. And that that’s the aircraft we’ll be traveling aboard today. A 2015built Boeing 787-8 registered Juliet Alpha 840 Juliet which took off in Tokyo 12 hours and 41 minutes ago. Our flight to Tokyo will take roughly the same time which is considerably longer than my flight was back in 2018 when Helsinki to Tokyo clocked in at just 8 hours and 45 minutes, meaning we are a whole 4 hours more in the air. Back in the terminal, we’re getting ready to check in and drop off our bag. Customary bow by the ground crew included. In an efficient few minutes at the counter, we’ve exchanged the suitcase for a boarding pass. So that means we’re ready to go. Our flight leaves from the new part of the terminal, which like the rest of the airport came out stunning. JL48 to Tokyo Haneda. That’s us. This is also a small change compared to 2018 since we can now fly directly into Haneda airport as opposed to Narita airport which catered to the route back then. What a cute little gesture by Japan Airlines giving people the option to write Christmas wishes to Santa. Thank you so much. Thank you. Boarding is underway efficiently and orderly, which means we’ll be on our way in no time. Entering the plane through door two, there is a forward business class section to our left and another two rows behind featuring Collins Aerospace Apex suites, a type of seat that I recently showcased aboard the Boeing 787 of Oman Air, a video certainly worth watching, too. Aboard the smaller Boeing 787-8, there is no premium economy cabin. This one you’ll only find aboard Japan Airlines larger -9’s where I made a video detailing why I believe it is a somewhat pointless product because their regular economy class is just too good. No, honestly, that was my key takeaway. So, let me show you why. This is Japan Airlines long haul economy class aboard their Boeing 787. Notice anything out of the ordinary? It’s only eight seats per row, a 242 configuration on a Boeing 787. This is the way Boeing originally planned the aircraft to look like, but airlines quickly realized that nine seats per row in a 333 configuration is sufficiently comfortable for the majority of people. So, every single airline that has the Boeing 787 in operation has fitted it with nine seats per row in economy. Well, every single one except Japan Airlines. Even their main competitor ANA has switched to a nine a breast configuration after initially taking delivery of their dream liners with eight seats per row as well. A detailed review of ANA’s longhaul economy class aboard their Boeing 787 will be out soon. And if you’d want to watch that video and many more we’re working on, please consider to subscribe to our channel. Each seat comes with an adjustable headrest, both vertically adjustable as well as on the sides. And waiting for us already is a small pillow with a cover made of real fabric as opposed to the scratchy single-use covers many airlines opt for nowadays. And a blanket. Being 180 cm tall, the leg room is excellent, and I highly appreciate the little extra compartments the seatback pocket comes with. Headphones are with us already, too. Beneath the seat, you will find universal power ports. Not just one to share with your neighbor, but personal ones for each passenger. The seats are also equipped with a biffold tray table and a non-adjustable entertainment screen with a USBA port at the bottom. The audio port is located at the tip of the armrest. Next to the screen, you may find a coat hook and in the ceiling above are adjustable reading lights, but unfortunately no personal air vents. Like all Dreamlininers, this one too comes with dimmable windows as opposed to mechanical window shades. I will have some comments on that later on though. 5:20 p.m. pushing back for Tokyo perfectly on time. This is one of the watches I got from Hulskan, the sponsor of today’s video. If you’re looking for a unique kind of Christmas present, Hulskan has something for you. It’s a company from my hometown of Vienna, not some random corporation, but a company that I personally have visited before. Their watches and accessories are made from natural materials like wood, stone, or even things like leaves and peacock feathers. This means that every piece is unique as it carries Mother Nature’s mark with it. Not just do I love traveling with and wearing my Hulskan watches, they’re also a super easy company to order from. Worldwide, express shipping is always free of charge, and customers in the United States don’t even have to worry about the tariffs as Hulskan handled the customs fees for you. And for Christmas, Hulskan even guarantees that orders are delivered by Christmas Day if ordered until December 19th. Yes, thanks to their worldwide free express shipping, this is a present you can opt for even last minute. And you can get it already packaged and ready to go in elegant dark green boxes or romantic red pouches. Viewers of this video get 15% off their entire order when using the link hulskan.com/simply and coupon code aviation at checkout. A unique gift for that special someone or simply something to treat yourself with. Completely hassle-free and you’re supporting our work with it. Thank you to Hulkan for sponsoring this video. And now back to the flight. Welcome on board. Please watch this safety video and familiarize yourself with the safety instructions. Look at that. After this beautiful climb out of snowy Helsinki, it’s a smooth 12 hours and 45 minutes to Tokyo today. First heading in well the opposite direction before circling around Eastern Europe over the Black Sea and then on towards East Asia. Unexpectedly, I even found they updated these routings in their in-flight magazine. The outbound flight to Helsinki even takes you over the North Pole. Before dinner is served, the crew handed out little toelettes. This is called oshiburi in Japanese and is customary for places like restaurants to welcome you with one. They must have had some old ones from business class left over as we are definitely not in business class. Although if you blindfolded me, there is a chance I would mistake my seat for premium economy. Inside J’s in-flight magazine, you’ll find the beverages on offer, which I find to be very handy, as I often don’t know all of the stuff each airline is hiding in their carts. A wide selection of alcoholic beverages is offered at no extra charge, even here in economy class. Before the main meal service, Japan Airlines offers an initial round of beverages and a pack of Japanese crackers. I decided to go with a can of beer, which along with the crackers and the comfy seat just makes for a relaxing time because as we all know for relaxing times make it Santo time. For the main meal service, two choices are offered. And just like ANA, Japan Airlines has laminated cards to present the options to you, which I just love. This is just so much more pleasant than simply being asked pork or beef. Anyway, I decided to go with a braced beef and red wine sauce with mashed potatoes and some tomato sauce pasta. Japan Airlines inflight meals are so extensive. We also have a bread roll in butter, a salad with French dressing, a cup of fresh fruit, some soba with wasabi, another salad with turkey ham, a third L bottle of water, a beverage of choice, in this case some cold green tea, as well as a cup of miso soup, and we’re given real metal cutlery. On top of that, vanilla ice cream was handed out after the meal as well. If this is not the pinnacle of economycl class dining, I don’t know what is. The amount of different items, the presentation, the quality of each dish. What could I possibly even still be asking for? To a westerner, the main dish might feel a bit odd because why is there tomato sauce pasta alongside braced beef stew with mashed potatoes? But this is actually quite common in Yoshoku, Japanese western cuisine. And you’ll find some type of meat with a dark sauce and tomato sauce pasta in many different variations in restaurants throughout the country. All in all, this dinner service from the oshi and the crackers and drinks to the main dish, sides, soup, and ice cream, and the tea and coffee that were handed out at the end was just flawless. A perfect 10 out of 10 with no sensible possibility for improvement. Directly after the meal, blueberry muffins are handed out by the crew. I assume this is meant to be a mid-flight snack, as the crew doesn’t want to wake everybody when it’s the middle of the night. The lavatories come with this faux stone floor, a changing table, some air freshener, and disinfectant, but no bday function. This is surprising as I believed that all of Japan Airlines long haul configured Dreamliners are equipped with bdays. Well, they are. I just happened to be inside the one lavatory that doesn’t. Man, I love Japan and its information-packed websites. Jal actually spelled out which lavatories have bays and which don’t, among a whole host of other useful information. As the cabin has darkened and we’re cruising into the night, let me introduce Japan Airlines inflight entertainment system to you. Don’t worry, it’ll be quick because there isn’t all that much to show. The airline only provides a limited amount of TV shows and movies, especially for non-Japanese passengers. It’s probably the only area in which the carrier is notably behind its competition. The system does offer a kit section, but apart from the in-flight map, that’s it. The headphones are pretty simple. Nothing remarkable about them. For good sound quality, definitely bring your own. Maybe also bring the entertainment. Just download a bunch of stuff on your phone or tablet before a long flight on Japan Airlines. Economycl class passengers can use the in-flight Wi-Fi free of charge for 1 hour, and it’s actually pretty decent. After that, it’s around $14 for another 3 hours and $19 for 24 hours. Ah, look at this. As we found out earlier, the bday is here after all. just need to know where to look for it. In the mid galley, a variety of snacks and beverages were available at all times, elegantly presented in this basket with a white cloth. Crew members were present at all times if you had any more elaborate drink requests. I woke up after a couple of hours when the sun started shining right into my face. Even though my window is at the max stim setting, it was bothersome. The window in front of me had this thing on. What is that? I have never seen this before. Where did it come from? Does Japan Airlines just have these aboard their planes? I mean, I know that after some time, these windows degrade in quality. And since this Dreamliner was built all the way back in 2015, I could imagine Japan Airlines carries these specifically because the windows don’t work all that well anymore. When I traveled aboard a 2014built Boeing 787 of Air Canada last year, the windows also seemed to be defective, not being able to fully darken the cabin anymore. But it baffles me how a feature that was meant to seemingly make air travel more modern and comfortable ended up bringing back the exact thing it was supposed to replace. A physical layer between the window and the cabin. And don’t even get me started at how hot these windows get when the sun shines directly on them. This is something I really dislike about the Boeing 787. Cruising over Beijing as we’re getting closer to Tokyo. Here’s something fascinating I found in the in-flight magazine. So, if I understand correctly, Japan Airlines changed its boarding groups on short hall flights for faster boarding with window seat passengers now boarding with an earlier group and also using the two front doors for the different sides of the aircraft. That latter part surprised me though as my only short hall flight aboard Japan Airlines back in 2016 boarded like that already. Breakfast service kicks off with another oshiburi. This time only one option was offered which was this chicken with cheese sauce, steamed vegetables, and tomato fried rice. Alongside we’ve got a little cup of banana yogurt and some more fresh fruit, as well as another beverage of choice. This time, Japan Airlines signature peach and grape drink. Another good meal, though significantly less substantial compared to dinner. And I find chicken with cheese sauce to be quite unusual for breakfast. Time-wise, a regular breakfast would be quite fitting for both Japanese as well as Finnish time. Let me compare this to the flight I had back in 2018. There, this dish consisting of some sort of savory greenish pancake, sausage, frittata, tomato, and creamy potatoes was served. This was more suitable in my opinion. Breakfast complaints aside, this flight was just amazing. As we’re descending into Tokyo, let me just underline again how impressed I am with Japan Airlines and how surprised that basically nothing changed compared to 2018. There is no decline in quality or offering. Flying Japan Airlines still feels like traveling in what some people refer to as the good old days where you’ll find large, comfortable seats, scrumptious meals, and some of the most professional crews around. paired with an entertainment system that leaves a lot to be desired. All of this naturally comes at a price. Flying on Japan Airlines isn’t cheap. It was actually quite a bit more expensive to add this particular flight to my itinerary compared to just doing both directions on Fin Air. So, to compare, we’ll take Fin Air’s Airbus A350 on our way back to Europe. That video will be out soon, so make sure to subscribe to our channel and not miss it. India with that. Welcome to Tokyo. We’ve touched down 40 minutes ahead of schedule here at Haneda Airport. For a limited time only, get 15% off your entire order at Hordzan when using our link and coupon code at checkout and get a little something for you or your loved one this holiday season. Thank you to Hodzkan for sponsoring this video and special thanks to all of you who watched until the end. I appreciate you joining me on this trip so much and from the bottom of my heart, thank you for coming along. And another big thank you to those who continue to support our work with your own hard-earned money through our channel memberships. But whether you are here for this one video, have subscribed to our channel, or contribute with a channel membership, thank you for watching and coming along. I’ll see you again for a new video next week. And until then, safe travels. Did you know that on select routes to North America and within Asia, Japan Airlines offers flights aboard their own dedicated lowcost airline called Zip Air? It’s a fascinating concept where they replace the in-flight entertainment screens with unlimited free Wi-Fi, for instance. If you are curious about what that airline is like, we have a detailed review available on our channel as well.

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For the longest time, I labeled JAL as one of my favorite airlines for traveling in Economy Class, but does that assessment still hold true today?

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*FLIGHT INFORMATION*
Airline: Japan Airlines
Aircraft: Boeing 787-8
Registration: JA840J
Flight Time: 12h 45min
Seat: 48K
From: Helsinki Vantaa
To: Tokyo Haneda
Date: December 2024

*PRICE BREAKDOWN*
Total Price: EUR 997.95 + EUR 34.00
Total Routing: VIE-HEL-HND-HEL-VIE
Booked through: Finnair Website
Cost includes: Economy Class Ticket including two checked bags and seat reservations at booking for HEL-HND, plus seat reservation for HND-HEL (EUR 34.00)
Booking made: July 2024

*VIDEO BREAKDOWN*
00:00 – Introduction
01:39 – Clarion Hotel Helsinki Airport
02:14 – Helsinki Airport
04:13 – Boarding
05:01 – Cabin and Seat
08:11 – Holzkern offers great Christmas Presents!
09:46 – Taxi and Take Off
11:31 – Dinner Service
14:35 – Inflight
15:23 – Inflight Entertainment and WiFi
16:34 – Snack Bar
16:51 – Dimmable Windows
18:52 – Breakfast Service
19:49 – Conclusion
20:50 – Landing
21:54 – Outro

*COLLABORATION DISCLAIMER*
This video contains product placements sponsored by Holzkern. The airline was neither involved nor informed about the production of this video. The ticket fare was paid by ourselves.

*ANIMATED MAPS*
Created with: GeoLayers 3 for Adobe After Effects – https://aescripts.com/geolayers/
Map Data by: OpenStreetMap
Compiled with: Map Tiler – https://www.maptiler.com/cloud/geolayers/
Created: November 2025

*GRAPHICS ATTRIBUTION*
Seat Drawing in intro made by Aviation Volume
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aviationvolume
Website: https://www.avlm.net/

*EQUIPMENT INFORMATION*
Cameras used: Canon R6 (Canon 15-35mm F2.6, Canon 100-400mm F5.6-8), iPhone 15 Pro Max
Additional equipment used: Rode VideoMic Pro+, Blue Yeti Podcast Microphone, Joby Bendipod, Joby GorillaPod 1K

*CONTACT US*
info(at)simply-aviation.com

COPYRIGHT 2025
www.simply-aviation.com

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