CDG-NRT JL B788
HND-CDG JL B77W
Reason: business
B788 flight boarding slightly delayed due to unattended luggage before security checkpoint, yet timely departure.
Good flight, great crew, great and abundant catering, great aircraft.
Electronic window blinds actually nice despite my scepticism, IFE touchscreen not working but fine with the controls.
The blinds were actually annoying when the sun was on my side, but I had chosen the dark side on purpose so it didn't bother me too much.
Not enough drink services, had to help myself in the galley.
Cabin environment very dry, too dry. It gave me a soar throat, despite the "wet cabin" marketing of the 787.
Cabin altitude felt lower, comfortable.
Tray table dirty, my neighbor's as well.
Aircraft very quiet, it sounded as if only the APU were running.
One bite by dust mites.
B77W flight not so good. Seat pitch felt smaller.
Check-in lady already not so friendly, which is rare for Japan.
Crew not as professional, aircraft noisy, IFE ok, not enough drink services and not very understanding when I asked for a second bottle. Second meal was more like a snack, both meals not so great in taste nor abundant enough.
Tray table not cleaned properly.
Cabin altitude very high, made it hard to stay awake, which was fine with me but definitely caused jetlag to the other pax.
Several bites by dust mites.
JL need to work on their cabin hygiene.
It's the first time I've ever been bitten by dust mites on an aircraft.
JAL from CDG to Japan and back
Re: JAL from CDG to Japan and back
Is that a trip report or just some random rant ?
Verstuurd van mijn A0001
Verstuurd van mijn A0001
Flown: A319 / 320 / 321 / 350 - B737 / 757 / 767 / 777 / 787 - MD11 - Fokker 50 - Fairchild SA-227
Re: JAL from CDG to Japan and back
Actually this was part of the summer trips thread.
I don't mind it to be considered a trip report, but I didn't feel that it was worthy of that name, given the lack of details, pictures, etc...
Also, it's not a rant if you look well.
Credit where credit is due, criticism where criticism is due.
If the moderators want this to be a trip report, I will add a few things though:
-JAL's cheapest fares are not available on Kayak or expedia but only on their own website, plus you need to go further than the flexible dates matrix, because sometimes you can select an even cheaper fare than shown on top of the matrix for that date
-At the gate in CDG, my seat was changed into the exit row seat, with limitless legroom!
-Upon boarding, a couple composed of two assholes were already seated there, but I ordered them to get out of the way and to their own seats, one row behind. Where is the respect?
-The space was so comfortable that I didn't feel the need to recline, on both flights.
-Typical Boeing widebody cabin rattling. The divider/bulkheads between classes make this annoying noise at each vibration of the aircraft, and they didn't fix this when they built the B787.
-Miso soup was offered on the flight out of CDG, on the way back they were holding the thing without saying what it was... I shouted that I want it, but the noise was so loud that she misunderstood and I gave up.
-Hagen Dazs vanilla ice cream as a desert was a nice touch, though on the way out it was too frozen to eat.
-Presentation of the meals is great. The meal out of CDG was the best I've ever had on an aircraft. On the way back on the B77W was the worst meal ever.
-the headrest was adjustable in height, which is pretty standard now
-legroom felt great on both flights
-lavatory flush surprisingly quiet on the B787
-Moving map not so practical as the data moves too quickly.
-At a certain moment between CDG and NRT, the rising sun was practically all the way to the left side early in the cruise as we entered Russia,which was weird. I took a seat on that side on purpose to avoid the sun on the 787 electric blinds, yet it was shining straight into the cabin.
So I tried to calculate the heading based on the change in coordinates. It took me 20 minutes to read out 2 sets of coordinates reliably (as they were switching the sets of data too fast) and it was weird to realise that the aircraft was heading South as the longitude stayed almost constant and the latitude decreased. I was already suspecting a diversion, but it was just weird routing I guess.
-IFE touchscreen didn't work, but the controls compensated it. Scrolling between movies was actually pretty annoying as it would overshoot each time you tried to choose something. Movies selection was quite ok.
-Japanese and non-Japanese flight attendants were available. They didn't mind when I helped myself to a drink in the galley when they were absent and later came. I hate having to ask for a cup of water, I don't like to be baby-sitted, I can pour myself a cup of water. I wouldn't go as far as opening a tray cart to do that because then it would be rude. I would prefer if they just came around with trays of drinks.
-Cuttlery was not plastic, thankfully.
-Personal pillows and blankets
-In the lavatories, packaged toothpaste and toothbrushes are available, which is great.
I don't mind it to be considered a trip report, but I didn't feel that it was worthy of that name, given the lack of details, pictures, etc...
Also, it's not a rant if you look well.
Credit where credit is due, criticism where criticism is due.
If the moderators want this to be a trip report, I will add a few things though:
-JAL's cheapest fares are not available on Kayak or expedia but only on their own website, plus you need to go further than the flexible dates matrix, because sometimes you can select an even cheaper fare than shown on top of the matrix for that date
-At the gate in CDG, my seat was changed into the exit row seat, with limitless legroom!
-Upon boarding, a couple composed of two assholes were already seated there, but I ordered them to get out of the way and to their own seats, one row behind. Where is the respect?
-The space was so comfortable that I didn't feel the need to recline, on both flights.
-Typical Boeing widebody cabin rattling. The divider/bulkheads between classes make this annoying noise at each vibration of the aircraft, and they didn't fix this when they built the B787.
-Miso soup was offered on the flight out of CDG, on the way back they were holding the thing without saying what it was... I shouted that I want it, but the noise was so loud that she misunderstood and I gave up.
-Hagen Dazs vanilla ice cream as a desert was a nice touch, though on the way out it was too frozen to eat.
-Presentation of the meals is great. The meal out of CDG was the best I've ever had on an aircraft. On the way back on the B77W was the worst meal ever.
-the headrest was adjustable in height, which is pretty standard now
-legroom felt great on both flights
-lavatory flush surprisingly quiet on the B787
-Moving map not so practical as the data moves too quickly.
-At a certain moment between CDG and NRT, the rising sun was practically all the way to the left side early in the cruise as we entered Russia,which was weird. I took a seat on that side on purpose to avoid the sun on the 787 electric blinds, yet it was shining straight into the cabin.
So I tried to calculate the heading based on the change in coordinates. It took me 20 minutes to read out 2 sets of coordinates reliably (as they were switching the sets of data too fast) and it was weird to realise that the aircraft was heading South as the longitude stayed almost constant and the latitude decreased. I was already suspecting a diversion, but it was just weird routing I guess.
-IFE touchscreen didn't work, but the controls compensated it. Scrolling between movies was actually pretty annoying as it would overshoot each time you tried to choose something. Movies selection was quite ok.
-Japanese and non-Japanese flight attendants were available. They didn't mind when I helped myself to a drink in the galley when they were absent and later came. I hate having to ask for a cup of water, I don't like to be baby-sitted, I can pour myself a cup of water. I wouldn't go as far as opening a tray cart to do that because then it would be rude. I would prefer if they just came around with trays of drinks.
-Cuttlery was not plastic, thankfully.
-Personal pillows and blankets
-In the lavatories, packaged toothpaste and toothbrushes are available, which is great.
Re: JAL from CDG to Japan and back
I understand you had a great seat pitch on the exit row, but how was the 788 seating: 3-3-3 like most airlines, or the great 2-4-2, like the national competitor ANA.
P.S. I was the one who moved your initial post to the airline experience section, where it was more appropriate.
P.S. I was the one who moved your initial post to the airline experience section, where it was more appropriate.
André
ex Sabena #26567
ex Sabena #26567
Re: JAL from CDG to Japan and back
The B788 seating was 2-4-2 in Y (not Y+!)
The configuration is very comfortable and felt very wide compared to the 3-3-3 B77W where I had to be careful not to spread my shoulders too much. Somehow on the B77W I could smell the breath of my neighbor, which was not so good despite being a cute young French lady, and I couldn't get rid of it because the B77W doesn't have the personal air vents.
It was my first B787 flight, so the huge windows were a bit of a shock. They are just huge and act as a piece of entertainment by themselves as you can really enjoy it as you fly over Siberia. I couldn't see sh*t out of the B77W windows.
It was very weird though to go from the B787 to the B77W. The contrast in service and product was huge.
The B787 and its crew and products all seemed to be set up for passenger comfort and brand image (with cuter and relaxed, confident cabin crew), while the 4-class B77W was really set up to be a money-making sardine can with cabin crew that were tense and borderline at Japanese standards of behavior.
The difference was noticeable from the inital bow of the cabin crew. On the B787 flight it was a well-timed and beautiful deep bow, while on the B77W flight, the bow was shallow and hasty. That felt so weirdly different. It's a detail, but you still notice it very strongly.
One funny thing did happen early on the B77W flight. The stewardess managed to cartwheel a drinks cart just as she pulled it out of the galley, spilling bottles and ice on the floor next to the exit row passenger's feet... I've never seen that happen and it was weird as I could not see how you could achieve that in the small space of an aircraft. It was probably too top heavy, a rookie mistake.
On the B77W (I always take window seats), the window blind and its furnishings were rattling against each other all the way in the clim and into the cruise. It sounded like an alarm clock was going off constantly next to my head and it was so annoying that I folded pieces of paper and stuck them between to act as spacers. It worked great.
For those interested, JL is running a great promotion for Belgium right now.
You can book a BRU-HEL-NRT return for 608 EUR with the HEL-NRT portion covered by JL B788's. The BRU-HEL routes are operated by AY/BE.
You can also book ZYR-CDG-TYO returns for 690 EUR with CDG-HND on B77W or CDG-NRT on B788.
All of them with 2 checked luggage even in the cheapest fare class, which is great.
Also great to know, foreign passports can take the NRT Express from NRT to downtown for just 1500 Yen instead of 3000 Yen, while enjoying the great landscapes of the Northern part of Chiba prefecture as you move closer and closer to the Metro area of Chiba/Tokyo.
I've got more trips planned (both through ZYR on B77W and BRU B788) quite soon, so I'll try to make complete TR's and post them here.
More questions are welcome.
The configuration is very comfortable and felt very wide compared to the 3-3-3 B77W where I had to be careful not to spread my shoulders too much. Somehow on the B77W I could smell the breath of my neighbor, which was not so good despite being a cute young French lady, and I couldn't get rid of it because the B77W doesn't have the personal air vents.
It was my first B787 flight, so the huge windows were a bit of a shock. They are just huge and act as a piece of entertainment by themselves as you can really enjoy it as you fly over Siberia. I couldn't see sh*t out of the B77W windows.
It was very weird though to go from the B787 to the B77W. The contrast in service and product was huge.
The B787 and its crew and products all seemed to be set up for passenger comfort and brand image (with cuter and relaxed, confident cabin crew), while the 4-class B77W was really set up to be a money-making sardine can with cabin crew that were tense and borderline at Japanese standards of behavior.
The difference was noticeable from the inital bow of the cabin crew. On the B787 flight it was a well-timed and beautiful deep bow, while on the B77W flight, the bow was shallow and hasty. That felt so weirdly different. It's a detail, but you still notice it very strongly.
One funny thing did happen early on the B77W flight. The stewardess managed to cartwheel a drinks cart just as she pulled it out of the galley, spilling bottles and ice on the floor next to the exit row passenger's feet... I've never seen that happen and it was weird as I could not see how you could achieve that in the small space of an aircraft. It was probably too top heavy, a rookie mistake.
On the B77W (I always take window seats), the window blind and its furnishings were rattling against each other all the way in the clim and into the cruise. It sounded like an alarm clock was going off constantly next to my head and it was so annoying that I folded pieces of paper and stuck them between to act as spacers. It worked great.
For those interested, JL is running a great promotion for Belgium right now.
You can book a BRU-HEL-NRT return for 608 EUR with the HEL-NRT portion covered by JL B788's. The BRU-HEL routes are operated by AY/BE.
You can also book ZYR-CDG-TYO returns for 690 EUR with CDG-HND on B77W or CDG-NRT on B788.
All of them with 2 checked luggage even in the cheapest fare class, which is great.
Also great to know, foreign passports can take the NRT Express from NRT to downtown for just 1500 Yen instead of 3000 Yen, while enjoying the great landscapes of the Northern part of Chiba prefecture as you move closer and closer to the Metro area of Chiba/Tokyo.
I've got more trips planned (both through ZYR on B77W and BRU B788) quite soon, so I'll try to make complete TR's and post them here.
More questions are welcome.
Re: JAL from CDG to Japan and back
SN26567, I found explanatory brochures online.
It seems that I was not imagining the comfortable perception of legroom. Apparently the legroom is 34 inch pitch now.
http://www.jal.co.jp/en/inflight/inter/ ... ndex1.html
It really felt great, as did the seat width on the B787 (the B77W seat width was the regular one I think).
I also found this:
source: Jal.com
Also apparently there are AC power ports, which are below the seats, facing forward and the USB port that could have been convenient if I had known there was one (didn't notice it on the way out as I was on exit row, slept on the way back).
I'm discovering so many little things on their website that I didn't know/notice. I'll try them all out as my next trips are already fast approaching. I usually never care for miles as fare and safety is more important to me, but this time I signed up as it looks like I'm going to achieve status in what remains of the year
JAL is definitely investing on their longhaul product and international recognition with promotional fares, but they need to advertise these small perks more as people just don't know.
I'm already glad to pay such low fares for an airline that's not on my safety blacklist but rather on the top of the safe list, the added perks are just the icing on the cake.
The JL timetable is quite convenient, although I wish I could combine BRU and ZYR as departure/arrival points, because a HEL transit is shorter Eastbound, but the ZYR option is more reliable on the return leg as JL flights operate like clock-work like anything in Japan and worst case I can take later TGV/Thalys trains or worst worst case have someone pick me up in CDG. I don't want to get stuck in HEL on the way back.
Interesting to note, that when I compare all the offers (I don't have a secretary to book my flights, fortunately), AZ seems to be offering cheaper fares but long trips of 30 hours on either of the legs or both.
EK's also offering the connection in DXB at around 650EUR. I would have considered it if DXB-NRT/HND was on A380, but the longer routing, bad schedule, 10-abreast B77W BRU-DXB and the fact that they're on my blacklist, make them a pretty lame choice for trips to Northeast Asia.
NH, AY, LX, SU, were too expensive. AF is on my blacklist as are LH, BA, TK, QR and Air China which offered cheap fares out of CDG.
It seems that I was not imagining the comfortable perception of legroom. Apparently the legroom is 34 inch pitch now.
http://www.jal.co.jp/en/inflight/inter/ ... ndex1.html
It really felt great, as did the seat width on the B787 (the B77W seat width was the regular one I think).
I also found this:
http://www.jal.co.jp/en/inflight/inter/economy/y_meal/On long-haul flights, it's only natural you don't want to wait for snacks or beverages when you feel hungry or thirsty. So please help yourself to our convenient Sky Oasis selection on flights to and from Europe and North America! (except Hawaii route).
source: Jal.com
Also apparently there are AC power ports, which are below the seats, facing forward and the USB port that could have been convenient if I had known there was one (didn't notice it on the way out as I was on exit row, slept on the way back).
I'm discovering so many little things on their website that I didn't know/notice. I'll try them all out as my next trips are already fast approaching. I usually never care for miles as fare and safety is more important to me, but this time I signed up as it looks like I'm going to achieve status in what remains of the year
JAL is definitely investing on their longhaul product and international recognition with promotional fares, but they need to advertise these small perks more as people just don't know.
I'm already glad to pay such low fares for an airline that's not on my safety blacklist but rather on the top of the safe list, the added perks are just the icing on the cake.
The JL timetable is quite convenient, although I wish I could combine BRU and ZYR as departure/arrival points, because a HEL transit is shorter Eastbound, but the ZYR option is more reliable on the return leg as JL flights operate like clock-work like anything in Japan and worst case I can take later TGV/Thalys trains or worst worst case have someone pick me up in CDG. I don't want to get stuck in HEL on the way back.
Interesting to note, that when I compare all the offers (I don't have a secretary to book my flights, fortunately), AZ seems to be offering cheaper fares but long trips of 30 hours on either of the legs or both.
EK's also offering the connection in DXB at around 650EUR. I would have considered it if DXB-NRT/HND was on A380, but the longer routing, bad schedule, 10-abreast B77W BRU-DXB and the fact that they're on my blacklist, make them a pretty lame choice for trips to Northeast Asia.
NH, AY, LX, SU, were too expensive. AF is on my blacklist as are LH, BA, TK, QR and Air China which offered cheap fares out of CDG.
Re: JAL from CDG to Japan and back
And why are all these airlines on your blacklist? I had a quite positive experience on LH long-haul.Flanker2 wrote:AF is on my blacklist as are LH, BA, TK, QR and Air China which offered cheap fares out of CDG.
André
ex Sabena #26567
ex Sabena #26567
Re: JAL from CDG to Japan and back
It's a personal safety blacklist. I worked in the sector so I know by experience and/or reputation which airlines have or don't have a positive safety culture. This has ramifications on all levels from flight crew, to maintenance and human resources for staff selection.