WORTH THE UPGRADE? Review Japan Airlines Premium Economy A350-1000

WORTH THE UPGRADE? Review Japan Airlines Premium Economy A350-1000

Japan Airlines premium economy has been crowned 
the world’s best. But is it really superior to the premium economy on other airlines? More importantly 
we’ll do a deep dive on whether or not it’s worth the extra hefty cost to upgrade from economy 
class. We’ll fly from Tokyo Haneda to New York’s JFK in their newest premium economy cabin on the 
A350-1000 where we’ll be able to find out if it really matches up to all the hype of being number 
one. And at the end of the trip I also discover a surprising service that Japan Airlines offers that 
other airlines don’t. So make sure you stick around to the end of the video to find out what it is. But 
first our trip starts off here at Tokyo Haneda at the Japan Airlines check-in counter. As a premium 
economy passenger you do get priority check-in. You also get two pieces of check-in luggage 
at 23 kg or 50 lb each. That’s the same as what economy passengers get though so no 
premium perks here. And after checking in our bags and clearing security it’s 
now time for us to check out the lounge. Hi so I am currently here in Japan 
Airlines Sakura Lounge here at Tokyo Haneda Airport. And this is where the premium in premium 
economy starts because Japan Airlines does provide lounge access for premium economy passengers. 
Which is actually a really really big deal because it’s actually way more common for 
airlines to not provide lounge access for premium economy. There’s actually only a very very 
small handful of airlines that do this and luckily for us Japan Airlines is one of those airlines. 
This is actually the same lounge that they give access to their business class customers. So 
we are over here rubbing shoulders with the people at the front of the plane today. So I did 
visit this lounge when I flew in business class. I’ll link the video in the description below 
if you haven’t seen it yet and want to watch it after. But here’s a quick overview of the Sakura 
lounge. It’s bright and airy and has some great views of the apron. There is a self-service 
buffet area and the food is pretty good here. You also have the option to order from QR 
codes on the tables and have food brought to you as well. In terms of drinks 
there’s an entire room dedicated to beverages including espresso based coffee, 
tea, soft drinks, and of course plenty of alcohol. The one thing that I didn’t get a chance 
to try the last time I was here that I will be trying out this time is the shower rooms. 
The shower rooms are actually the opposite of the main lounge area which is bright and airy. 
Instead they’ve gone for a moodier look with all gray walls and flooring. I like it though. It’s 
still very clean and minimalistic. In terms of amenities there was shampoo, conditioner, and body 
wash from Japanese skincare brand Prédia, toothbrushes, and a hair dryer. There was also a tissue box. But 
I’m not sure a tissue box counts as an amenity. And after taking a quick shower and brushing 
my teeth it’s now time to get to boarding. Today we’ll be boarding out of gate 114. 
As a premium economy passenger you do get priority boarding. Premium economy boards in 
group three after first class and business class passengers. Japan Airlines A350 has 
24 seats in premium economy arranged in a 2-4-2 configuration making it most ideal for 
people traveling in pairs or in groups of four. My boyfriend and I are sitting in seats 19K and 
19H today. The seats have a 19 inch width and a 42 inch row pitch. The headrests are a nice plush leather 
in Japan Airlines red. It is adjustable of course and it was definitely a comfy spot to rest 
your head. In addition to a foot pedal that pulls down from the seat in front of you there’s 
also a calf rest that rises up to a full 90°. There is a privacy divider in between the seats. 
But if you’re in one of the two seaters like we are it doesn’t really pull out that far. You’ll 
still be able to see the person next to you if you’re next to a stranger unfortunately. If 
you’re in the middle four-seater section though the privacy divider in between the 
two center seats does pull out all the way. And you can see here that it actually looks 
really private. There is no divider in between the two seats at the end though so there’s no 
privacy there unfortunately. The armrest in the center are double wide so there’s no need 
to fight for the armrest space. And there’s also a small cocktail tray that pops out at 
the end of the armrest as well. The armrest in the center also houses the headphone jack, 
universal charge port, USB A port, and USB C ports. As for the tray table it pops up from the seat in 
front of you. It’s actually quite large and it can be adjusted to pull it closer to you or further 
from you. In case you need to get out of your seat there is also a smaller groove table though that 
you can use to hold your phone or tablet. Now the most interesting thing about these seats is the 
recline. And that’s because they don’t recline at all. On one hand it’s great because nobody can 
recline onto you. But it also means that you can’t recline either. Now before we all start a riot 
what the seats do instead is basically slide down to kind of mimic a recline. I’ll show you 
in several different angles how the seats slide down. Personally, I don’t really feel like this 
does a great job of mimicking recline. It kind of just felt like you were slouching in your 
seat. But let me know in the comments down below what you think about this fake recline where 
the seats slide down. Do you think you’d prefer this over a real recline? And if you’ve tried 
out these seats before let me know what your experience was like. Did it feel like a recline 
to you? Or did it also just seem like you were slouching? All right it’s now time for the safety 
video. And after takeoff the crew gets started right away on the welcome service. This is what 
the drink menu looks like. As a premium economy passenger you do get access to premium alcohol 
offerings including spirits like gin, brandy, and whiskey that aren’t available in economy. We 
just went for a coke and water though because we already drank too much while we were in Japan. 
They also gave us these rice crackers as a welcome snack and these were delicious. I loved them. 
In the meantime let’s talk about the amenities. You’ll get a bottle of water, slippers and 
a shoe horn, and a fleece blanket which is pretty thin. But if you think the blanket is 
thin then just take a look at this pillow. It is hilariously thin. What is even the point 
of this? Can you even call this a pillow at this point? Let me know in the comments down 
below what you think of this paper thin pillow. The amenity kit itself comes in 
a plastic drawstring bag with earplugs, an eye mask, dental kit, and a moisture mask. It’s now time for dinner and the crew 
stops by with a menu for us to look at. And this is what the menu looks like. It’s a 
choice between chicken and fish. And even though the meals are served in disposable 
containers they were still quite nice. Definitely nicer than your 
average disposable airplane containers. My boyfriend got the white 
fish. It was served with marinated root vegetables as well as some seaweed rice. As 
for me I ordered the chicken fricassée. It was served with a creamy lemon sauce, sencha 
green tea accent, as well as penne pasta. Both meals were served with a side of deep 
fried tofu and chicken dashi broth, broccoli with quinoa tartar topped with almonds, and 
a shrimp and spring vegetables with bonito dashi flavored vinegar and soy sauce. 
There was also some green salad, miso soup in a cup, and for dessert a miniature 
maple cookie flavored Häagen Dazs ice cream. I also really liked how the meals came with 
this ingredient listing card which was written in both Japanese and English. It’s really 
great for anyone with allergies or dietary concerns. Overall the food was solid. 
Although if you’ve ever had Japan Airlines economy meals then you’ll know 
that they’re also very good as well. I would actually say the quality of the economy 
and premium economy food is pretty similar. Okay now that dinner is done let’s take a look 
at the IFE and headphones. Okay so first off the headphones come wrapped in what is essentially 
a red trash bag. Which I found almost as funny as those sad looking pillows they gave us. 
The headphones are by Sony and they are noise cancelling. I found these to be quite good. So 
I guess we can say that good things do come in trash bags. Sometimes. But not always. As for 
the IFE it’s 16 inches and has a 4K touchscreen display. Although there is a remote located 
in the center armrest if you don’t want to use the touchcreen. Let me know if you prefer 
using the touchcreen or the remote. In terms of features the IFE does have Bluetooth capability so 
you can connect your own headphones if you’d like. As for the movie and TV selection I did find it 
to be a bit limited compared to other airlines. So maybe you’ll want to download your own movies 
onto your own devices beforehand. All right now let’s go check out the lavatories. But before we 
go you can see here it’s actually quite difficult to get out of your seat if you’re in the window. 
You’ll have to ask the person in the aisle to get up if you’re next to a stranger. Now on to 
the washrooms. Premium economy passengers have access to two washrooms located at the back of 
the premium economy cabin. The washrooms were kept spotless throughout the flight. But other than some 
basic hand soap, fabric and air freshener spray, and Biore Guard, which is hand sanitizer, there wasn’t 
any other amenities. Being a Japanese airline of course you do have bidet functions for the toilet. 
Personally while I love a bidet toilet while I’m in Japan I wouldn’t use one on an airplane. Let 
me know in the comments if you’ve ever used an airplane bidet though and how it was. Or let me 
know if you’d give it a try if you haven’t used it before. There was a foot pedal to open 
the garbage lid which we always love to see. All right it’s time to 
get back to our seats now. Okay so back at our seats one of the things you 
do get access to as a premium economy passenger that you don’t get access to as an economy 
passenger are these Japan Airlines Udon de Sky Udon instant noodles. Inside the instant udon 
noodles there were blocks of dehydrated tofu, and scallions. These were pretty good considering 
they were instant noodles. I did find it funny that instant noodles are considered to be a premium 
perk though. Let me know what you think in the comments though. Would you consider instant 
noodles to be a premium offering? The crew also handed out these gentle steam eye masks 
which they also give out to business class passengers but not economy. This was essentially 
a heated eye mask that you could wear over your eyes and pretend like you’re at a low budget 
spa. I actually quite enjoyed it. It was relaxing. All right so before we get to the pre-arrival 
meal as well as the surprise service that Japan Airlines offers at the end of each flight let’s 
talk about how much all this cost. All right so let’s talk about cost. So I did use points for this 
of course. And one way between Tokyo Haneda and New York’s JFK per person was 50,000 Alaska miles plus 
$45.30 USD in taxes and fees. So combined total for the two of us was 100,000 Alaska miles and $90.60 
USD in taxes and fees. Which I feel like is a pretty good redemption for this. And just for reference 
when I flew business class on this exact aircraft it was 75,000 Alaska miles so 25,000 more to fly 
business class. It’s now time for the pre-arrival meal and once again they’ve given us this handy 
little card so we can see all the ingredients. There’s only one meal option for the pre-arrival meal and it comes in this cute little takeout style container. On the side we have root 
vegetables and mashed tofu salad with hemp seeds and inside the takeout box we have mochi barley 
rice with white sauce, meat sauce, edamame and ham. This was just so-so. It was mostly just mushy. And 
for dessert there was panna cotta. Okay now before we get to the surprise service Japan Airlines 
offers at the end of each flight let’s have some final thoughts on their premium economy. Overall 
I really enjoyed the experience. But if I’m being honest their economy class is actually pretty good 
and I’m not sure that their premium economy offers enough value to pay the cost difference. Personally 
I would either book the first row of economy or I would go all out and upgrade to business or first 
class. Premium economy is kind of just this awkward in between. And if you’re the type of person 
who only cares about legroom space, like I said earlier, I would recommend you just book the first 
row of economy. You can see here that the first row of economy has endless leg room. One might 
even say that it rivals first class leg room. But if you’re traveling as a pair or in a group 
of four and really value not having to sit with a stranger then maybe premium economy would be worth 
it to you. But let me know in the comments down below what you think of Japan Airlines premium 
economy. Is it worth the upgrade from economy? Or no? And now it’s time for the surprise service that 
Japan Airlines offers at the end of each flight. I haven’t seen any other airlines do this but let 
me know in the comments if you have. When we got to the luggage carousel there was a Japan Airlines 
staff catching each of the luggage to ensure that they have a soft landing. How considerate is 
this? Anyways thanks for joining me on board as always. And if you’ve enjoyed the video please 
like and subscribe so we can fly together again soon.

Is Japan Airlines Premium Economy on the A350-1000 truly worth the upgrade?

In this in-depth review, we fly from Tokyo Haneda to New York JFK to experience what’s been called the best premium economy in the world.

From priority check-in and exclusive lounge access to in-flight meals, amenities, and the unique seat design, we explore every aspect of JAL’s newest premium economy product.

We also compare it to economy class to see if the upgrade justifies the price—and uncover a thoughtful surprise service Japan Airlines offers that most travelers don’t expect.

Whether you’re considering flying Japan Airlines Premium Economy or comparing premium cabins across airlines, this video has everything you need to know before booking.

Watch my video on Japan Airlines Business Class on the A350-1000 below

“SURPRISING Flight on Japan Airlines NEW Business Class A350-1000 HND-DFW”

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VIDEO CHAPTERS
0:00 Introduction
0:39 Japan Airlines Premium Economy Check-In at Haneda Airport
1:04 Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge Haneda Airport
3:11 Japan Airlines Premium Economy Boarding
3:27 Japan Airlines Premium Economy Cabin Configuration A350-1000
3:36 Japan Airlines Premium Economy A350-1000 Seat Tour
5:35 Japan Airlines Premium Economy A350-1000 Seat Recline
6:13 Welcome Snack Japan Airlines Premium Economy
6:41 Japan Airlines Premium Economy Amenity Kit
7:28 Dinner Service Japan Airlines Premium Economy
8:56 Headphones on Japan Airlines Premium Economy
9:23 IFE on Dinner Service Japan Airlines Premium Economy A350-1000
10:10 Lavatory on Japan Airlines Premium Economy A350-1000
11:03 Japan Airlines Udon de Sky
12:06 Cost Japan Airlines Premium Economy
12:40 Pre-Arrival Meal Japan Airlines Premium Economy
13:13 Is Japan Airlines Premium Economy Worth the Upgrade?
14:14 Surprise Service Japan Airlines Offers at End of Each Flight

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