Japan Airlines New First and Business Class A350-1000
Japan Airlines has finally revealed its new first and business class cabins on its upcoming A350-1000 aircraft. The airline first revealed they would launch new cabins on its A350-1000 back in January of this year and teased details of the new aircraft delivery over the summer.
The A350-1000 will become Japan Airlines’ new flagship aircraft and over time will replace its fleet of 777s primarily flown on long-haul routes to the US and Europe.
Originally the new A350-1000 was supposed to enter service in late November 2023, but Japan Airlines now indicates things are “expected to commence before the end of the year due to a supply chain disruption affecting the delivery of components”. When Japan Airlines launches the A350-1000, it will commence service on the New York to Tokyo Haneda route.
Let’s take a look at the details of Japan Airlines’ new A350-1000 first and business class cabins.
Japan Airlines New First Class A350-1000
Japan Airlines’ A350-1000 first class cabin will include six seats in a 1-1-1 configuration, which are designed by Safran Seats GB.
The new first class seat is an enclosed private seat featuring doors, which Japan Airlines compares to a “luxury hotel room”. The first class suite will include three seating modes: sofa, seat & single bed, and seat & double bed. You can find the official dimensions of Japan Airlines’ A350-1000 first class below.
- Seat Type: Enclosed Private Suite with Door
- Wall height: Approximately 157cm (62 in.)
- Seat Pitch: Approximately 211cm (83 in.)
- Seat Width: Maximum of approximately 123cm (48 in.)
- Bed Length: Maximum of approximately 203cm (80 in.)
- Individual Monitor Size: 43 in.
- Seat Manufacturer: Safran Seats GB (UK)
The first class suite looks incredibly spacious in bed mode, and I like the versatility of seating options. I do wonder how useful the “seat & single bed” mode will be. The seat portion is off to the side and doesn’t look like it would be optimal for watching the inflight entertainment compared to the sofa mode. I assume there is a tray table next to the seat, which may be beneficial for working off a laptop or tablet.
It also appears the seat has an additional tray table that you can utilize to store things while you rest in bed.
Beyond the seat modes, Japan Airlines is also including “the world’s first headphone-free stereo with built-in headrest speakers, allowing customers to enjoy the inflight entertainment system without using headphones”. You can see the rendering of what this is expected to look like below.
I assume Japan Airlines’ new first class suite on the A350 must offer some sort of sound proofing feature in order to allow customers to listen to the entertainment system without disturbing others. Japan Airlines is setting high expectations here indicating it is “high-quality sound as if you are seated at a live concert.”
I’ll be interested to try out how good the sound quality is compared to headphones, but this definitely has the potential to make the flight more comfortable compared to wearing headphones for hours on end.
On the side of the seat you’ll find wireless charging, a universal electrical port, and seating controls. There is also a “digital monitor” included with the seat that you will be able to use to communicate with flight attendants. I assume this is just a tablet of some sort and may be similar to what Emirates offers to its customers on its latest 777-300ER first class.
The private suite includes a wardrobe, which could store items such as a jacket and shoes. There is also ample storage underneath the footwell for your bags. Finally, the seat includes a mini bar which could presumably keep certain drinks cool like bottled water.
Overall, I’m very excited to try out Japan Airlines’ new A350 first class and anticipate it will be one of the best first class products in the world once it enters service. It certainly looks to have a leg up on ANA’s latest first class product, offering more space and versatility. The only thing I’m currently not a fan of is the color scheme, but I’ll reserve judgment until we have actual photos and not just renderings of the product.
Japan Airlines New Business Class A350-1000
Japan Airlines’ business class on the A350-1000 will include 54 seats with doors in a 1-2-1 configuration. The seats in the center will include a privacy partition that can be lowered for passengers who are traveling together. Below are the exact business class seating specifications.
- Seat Type: Enclosed Private Suite with Door
- Wall height: Approximately 132cm (52 in.)
- Seat Pitch: Approximately 130cm (51 in.)
- Seat Width: Maximum of approximately 56cm (22 in.)
- Bed Length: Maximum of approximately 198cm (78 in.)
- Individual Monitor Size: 24 in.
- Seat Manufacturer: Safran Seats GB (UK)
JAL’s A350-1000 business class seat looks cutting edge but nothing revolutionary compared to the competition. I’m excited to see how spacious it feels compared to ANA’s “The Room” business class.
As with first class, the business class seat includes the headphone-free stereo option, a wardrobe for storing personal items, storage under the footwell, and wireless charging.
For business class dining, Japan Airlines indicates “a new service will be introduced that allows customers to design their own preferred way of spending their time onboard (available from spring 2024).” I’m guessing that Japan Airlines may be introducing a dine on demand concept that will allow passengers to order whatever they want when they want during flight, similar to Qatar Airways.
Japan Airlines A350-1000 Entertainment
Japan Airlines A350-1000 will include 4K monitors in all classes (including premium economy and economy) along with Bluetooth support to connect your own pair of headphones such as Apple AirPods. Japan Airlines notes that starting in Spring 2024, passengers can create a playlist of music and movies on the JAL mobile app to then enjoy during flight. This is certainly a nice innovation so you can plan how to spend your time in the air.
Japan Airlines A350-1000 Bar and Lavatory
On Trip JAL, also shares some renderings of what the A350-1000 lavatory may look like. A self-service bar area is also expected for business class passengers.
Japan Airlines Reveals New First and Business Class on the A350-1000 Pilot Debrief
Japan Airlines announced the details of its new A350-100 first and business class cabins today. I think these new seats check the boxes for what the latest first and business class cabins should look like in 2023, and the overall designs are stunning. I appreciate the innovations Japan Airlines is offering here between a versatile first class suite and a stereo audio feature that we have not seen elsewhere. I look forward to seeing if these features are truly innovative or more of just a marketing gimmick to stand out.
I can’t wait to review Japan Airlines’ new first and business class products once they launch later this year. I will provide updates as Japan Airlines indicates an official launch date for its new A350-1000.
Below is a video from Japan Airlines covering the new cabins on its A350-1000.
