Japan Airlines 787s and Legroom

Above, a United Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

On my last two trips to Japan, I few on two different planes and with two different airlines.

In 2014, I flew aboard United Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliners. In 2015, I flew aboard Singapore Airlines Airbus A380s.

Of the two, the Dreamliners were more comfortable with more legroom. The A380 was very cramped and on a 11-hour flight to Japan, that made it a miserable flight. I had to get up and walk about every half hour to "iron out" leg cramps.

According to Simple Flying, there's an airline that has bucked the trend in adding more and smaller seats: Japan Airlines. I have never flown with Japan Airlines, but this will definitely make me take a second look.

They wrote:

Few aircraft types took to the skies with more fanfare and higher expectations than Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner. The plane was going to turn the travel experience on its head. Instead, most passengers were left lamenting the end of the roomy 747 while they were squeezed into tighter seats on the 787. But one airline bucked that trend. Japan Airlines has always had a good reputation. Unlike most airlines, Japan Airlines’ reputation has increased on the back of what it has done with its Dreamliners. 

Since the Dreamliners first started flying, word got around about Japan Airlines’ economy class product. It was good, people were saying. The food was good, the service good, and there was room to stretch out. The killer decision by Japan Airlines was to install a 2-4-2 economy class layout across its Dreamliner fleet.

The article goes into detail on the cabin configurations of Japan Airlines 787s. If one is looking for more comfort for long-haul flights, this article is well worth one's reading time.

To read more, go here.