Press Release

Sep 11,2007

Products / Service / Technology

JAL New Domestic First Class Starts December 1, 2007

Tokyo September 11, 2007: Japan Airlines (JAL) will introduce a first class service for the first-ever time on Japan domestic flights. JAL will introduce the new service on the Haneda, Tokyo - Itami, Osaka route from December 1 2007. Seat reservations can be made from October 1 2007.

JAL's new first class service will be available on 7 flights per day (round trip) operating between Haneda, Tokyo and Itami, Osaka from December 1, 2007. The airline plans to expand the new service to all flights operating between the two airports as soon as it can. In FY2008, the year starting April 1 2008, the new class will also be introduced on two other key trunk routes: Haneda - Fukuoka & Haneda - Sapporo.

Passengers choosing JAL's domestic first class service will be able to completely relax in a seat as comfortable as a sofa. Upholstered in the finest leather, the seatreclines to a maximum angle of 132°, and has a generous seat pitch (legroom) and width of 130cm and 53cm respectively. The seats will be arranged on board B777-200 aircraft in a 2-2-2 configuration, and a center partition made with a wood finish has been added between each pair of seats for extra passenger privacy. The customer-friendly principles of Universal Design have been incorporated into the seat's design to ensure that it is usable by as many people as possible regardless of age or physical condition.

On board, JAL will serve first class passengers a choice of either a main meal or a light snack which will be changed every 10 days to ensure that only the freshest ingredients are used. Some of the main meals and snacks will be created by some of the top restaurants and shops in Japan. Evening main meals will be alternately made by the French restaurant epouvantail and Japanese restaurant Nadaman in Osaka, and L'Alliance, Waketoku-yama and Aromafresca in Tokyo which are well-known respectively for their French, Japanese and Italian cuisine. Between the hours 9am and 5pm passengers can choose between a bento box light meal, or delicious desserts made by Maison de Petit Four, Suzukake, or Sun Fruits. 　

In addition to the complimentary blankets, headphones and soft drinks already provided in economy class and in JAL's award-winning domestic business class, Class J, domestic first class passengers will be given a cushion and slippers for extra comfort and can enjoy a selection of complimentary alcoholic beverages including beer, wine, and shochu. The drinks menu will also feature a monthly recommendation of a champagne, wine or sake.

At the airport, JAL will provide dedicated first class check-in counters, and passengers will be able to enjoy priority boarding and priority baggage claim. They will also have access to the Diamond Premier Lounge at Haneda airport, and the Sakura Lounge at Itami airport and other airports where the service will be introduced.

Passengers who have purchased a domestic fare ticket can upgrade from economy class to first class by paying just 8,000 yen for each sector of their journey, subject to seat availability. Ticket rules and conditions apply. Passengers traveling internationally in JAL First Class will be seated at no additional cost in the new domestic first class cabin on applicable domestic routes. Seat reservations can be made from October 1 2007.

In June 2004, JAL introduced `Class J' on domestic flights to replace an earlier business class service, called `Superseat'. The concept of `Class J' was to enable as many customers as possible to enjoy space with comfort for a small supplement. At present, JAL offers about 8 million `Class J' seats a year (based on planning for FY2007). The average usage rate is more than 85%, indicating the popularity of the service, which has contributed significantly to increasing domestic passenger income. At the same time, there have been requests from some customers for a higher class of service, and to respond to these customers' requests JAL has decided to introduce First Class on JAL domestic flights.

Furthermore, JAL is planning to improve in-flight meal quality and to introduce new seats in First and Executive class (business class) in FY2008. JAL also plans to introduce a new international service class, “JAL Premium Economy” during FY2007.

Domestic First Class outline

Item	Content
Service name	Domestic First Class
Route & Frequency	On December 1 2007, seat to be introduced onto 7 round-trip flights per day operating on. Haneda (Tokyo) - Itami (Osaka) route.
	Plan to introduce onto all Haneda - Itami flights (15 round-trip flights per day in total) as early as possible.
	Introduction onto Haneda - Fukuoka & Haneda - Sapporo routes in FY2008 (year starting April 1, 2008).
Aircraft type	Boeing 777-200 aircraft
No. of Seats	14
Seat configuration	Seat rows arranged in a 2-2-2 configuration
Seat Maker	Koito Manufacturing Co., Ltd
Seat Surcharge	JPY 8,000 one-way, in addition to domestic economy fare.
Reservations	From October 1, 2007

Quick Reference JAL Seat Comparison Chart

	New First Class	Class J	Economy
Seat Surcharge	JPY8,000	JPY1,000	n/a
Seat Pitch	130 cm	95 cm	79 cm
Seat Width	53 cm	47 cm	44 cm
Armrest width	33 cm	18 cm	6 cm
Max. Angle of Recline	132°	121°	-
Complimentary Drinks	Alcohol and soft drinks	Soft drinks	Soft drinks
Meal Service	Yes	No	No
Other amenities	Blanket, headphones cushion, slippers.	Blankets, headphones	Blankets, headphones
Priority Boarding	Yes	No	No
Lounge Access	Yes	No	No
Luggage Allowance*	40kg	15kg	15kg
JMB Mileage Accrual	+ 50% of the sector miles	+ 10% of the sector miles	n/a