~/flights/2026/jl/44
JL44 London → Tokyo, Business
LHR T3 · gate 34 → HND T3
London Heathrow Airport → Tokyo Haneda International Airport
- aircraft Airbus A350-1000
- registration JA-01WJ
- seat 12A window
- block time 13 h 26 min
- distance 9,591 km
LHR 31.3 °C · 12 km/h SSE · clear
HND 23.7 °C · 10 km/h SE · partly cloudy
| scheduled | actual | delay | |
|---|---|---|---|
| gate departure | 19:20 | 19:28 | +8 min |
| take-off | 19:30 | 19:52 | |
| landing | 17:10+1 | 16:46+1 | |
| gate arrival | 17:20+1 | 16:54+1 | 26 min early |
A long time in the planning, this trip was originally going to be via Qatar, but due to continuing disruptions in the region, the option I had dismissed as too expensive suddenly became the sensible one. So it was JAL’s flagship A350-1000 in business class: let’s see how it holds up against Qatar’s Qsuite.
Check-in and lounge
Check-in formalities and security were a breeze, and departing from Terminal 3 gave us the pick of the bunch for oneworld lounges: British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Qantas and American Airlines.
Of the available options, Cathay and Qantas are the best. As it was still early for the Qantas flights, we decided to go for some Aussie sparkling wine and the à la carte food before it got too busy, with the intention of then doing a mini lounge run and trying the Cathay lounge before boarding.
As you can tell from the pictures, that plan did not happen: the Aussie sparkling wine is quite tasty and refreshing, it turns out. It goes very well with a sausage roll.
Boarding
In what seemed like no time at all, it was time to board. We were leaving from one of Heathrow’s more remote piers, which wouldn’t normally be a problem, but this was at the height of the UK heatwave(s) of 2026, and I can confirm the air con in the remote areas struggled to keep up.
Boarding itself was efficient. While taxiing we got a glimpse of the Qatar flight we had originally booked, followed by some gorgeous early evening views on take-off.
The seat
JAL’s A350-1000 business class is Safran’s Unity suite, in a cabin designed by London’s tangerine:
- 54 seats, 1-2-1
- a sliding door, with translucent panels, and a communication panel outside it
- a 24-inch 4K screen, with speakers in the headrest
- a full-flat bed, about 198 cm long and 56 cm wide, with weight-distributing cushions; the headrest raises on its own, to watch in bed
- privacy partitions that stow away
- storage for a standard maximum-size carry-on bag
- a wardrobe for a coat or jacket
- a wireless phone charger
The specs alone don’t do the suite justice: there’s oodles of space, the storage is well thought out, and JAL include an airweave mattress topper that makes it one of the best beds in the sky. I had the best sleep I’ve ever had on a plane, which is just as well, as this is a longggg flight.
JAL’s colourful amenity kits include useful extras as well as the usual fodder: a phone stand and a Micro-USB/USB-C charging cable were welcome additions.
Also at the seat were a face mask and the “loaned” JAL cardigan, but as there are no individual air vents and JAL has a habit of keeping its cabins on the warm side, I didn’t try it on.
Food and drink
We were off to a strong start, and the food didn’t let us down either. JAL runs a more traditional meal service (unlike Qatar’s dine on demand), but after the main service you can order anything from the food and drink menu. I found this setup really quite good, and was surprised to see the same service on their much older 777 on the return trip, albeit with a much older IFE system.
You have the choice of a Western meal or the Japanese Washoku. At the start of my first trip to Japan, it seemed too good an opportunity to pass up, so Washoku it was.
The presentation and flavours were absolutely brilliant: easily one of the best aeroplane meals I’ve had. I continued with the white wine, then opted for a Hibiki after dessert, as I was seriously flagging at this point and ready for some sleep.
After going to get changed, I came back to the biggest pour of Hibiki I think I’ve ever seen, and whilst it was delicious, sleep was calling and I didn’t finish it.
After several hours of excellent sleep, I woke up as we were passing South Korea. Keen to get myself on to local time, I opted for a pork cutlet sandwich, ice cream and coffee: just the thing to perk me up before Fuji-san gave us a wave above the clouds and we began our final descent into Haneda.
Arrival
As we had already registered for immigration ahead of time, clearing immigration and customs was a breeze. After a short wait we’d collected our bags, and we were even ready before the driver of our pre-arranged taxi to the hotel.
“The first time I came to Japan, to Tokyo, it was a transformative experience. It was a powerful and violent experience.”
— Anthony Bourdain, Parts Unknown
The rest of the trip is on the Japan trip page.
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