Japan Airlines is in the process of refreshing its long haul fleet, as the oneworld airline is gradually replacing its Boeing 777-300ERs with Airbus A350-1000s. Not only is the A350 a joy to fly in general, but these planes are particularly exciting, given that they feature an all-new passenger experience.
The A350-1000 is already in service on its first route. Now the airline has revealed the next few flights that will get this plane, though we don’t have an exact timeline yet. Still, let’s go over what we do know, to reflect the updates.
Let me emphasize that these A350-1000s are separate from the company’s A350-900s, which are exclusively used for domestic flights (and which have been in the news quite a bit).
In this post:
Japan Airlines’ A350-1000 fleet progress
Japan Airlines has so far taken delivery of two Airbus A350-1000s, out of the 13 that the airline has on order:
- The first A350-1000 has the registration code JA01WJ, and operated its delivery flight from Toulouse (TLS) to Tokyo (HND) on December 14, 2023
- The second A350-1000 has the registration code JA02WJ, and operated its delivery flight on January 13, 2024
Japan Arlines is taking delivery of these jets progressively, and all 13 A350-1000s aren’t expected to join the oneworld carrier’s fleet until 2028, at which point the Boeing 777-300ERs will be retired. We don’t have an exact schedule for what deliveries will look like, but it’s expected that at least a couple more of these planes will join Japan Airlines’ fleet in 2024.
Japan Airlines’ current A350-1000 routes & flights
Japan Airlines is now flying the Airbus A350-1000 daily between Tokyo (HND) and New York (JFK). The airline operates two daily frequencies in the market, and the following frequency is the one to currently features this special jet:
JL6 Tokyo to New York departing 11:05AM arriving 10:50AM
JL5 New York to Tokyo departing 1:45PM arriving 5:15PM (+1 day)
Japan Airlines’ future A350-1000 routes & flights
While there’s no timeline yet, Japan Airlines has announced the next routes and flights that are expected to get the Airbus A350-1000. The next route to get the Airbus A350-1000 will be the carrier’s daily flight between Tokyo (HND) and Dallas (DFW), which operates with the following schedule:
JL12 Tokyo to Dallas departing 10:55AM arriving 8:40AM
JL11 Dallas to Tokyo departing 11:30AM arriving 2:40PM (+1 day)
However, the airline hasn’t yet announced when the route will be operated by the A350-1000, so that’s anyone’s guess as of now. Personally I wouldn’t expect it to be before the second half of 2024, and even then, don’t expect it will immediately get the A350 daily.
Now Japan Airlines has also announced the next two flights to get the Airbus A350-1000, after Dallas. Specifically:
- Japan Airlines will fly the A350-1000 on the second daily Tokyo (HND) to New York (JFK) flight, frequencies JL3/4
- Japan Airlines will fly the A350-1000 on the daily Tokyo (HND) to London flight, frequencies JL43/44
While there’s no formal timeline there, the airline states that these flights should start to see the A350-1000 as of the fiscal year 2024, which runs through March 31, 2025. Now, it seems a bit aggressive to think that all four of these frequencies would get A350-1000s daily in that timeframe, since that would probably require a an absolute minimum of six frames, and possibly even seven or eight, depending on scheduling and spare aircraft.
I don’t believe Japan Airlines intends to take delivery of that many A350s so quickly, so only time will tell. However, as of now that’s the official claim.
It’s interesting what markets aren’t getting the plane
One thing I can’t help but point out is how noteworthy it is that both Los Angeles and San Francisco aren’t among the first several routes to get the A350-1000. That’s despite the fact that these are among the carrier’s shortest long haul routes, and the airline could even operate a daily roundtrip flight to San Francisco with one frame.
People often assume that Los Angeles and San Francisco are lucrative markets across the Pacific, because of tech and Hollywood. However, these are also very competitive markets, and yields across the Pacific from those airports can be tough. Japan Airlines hasn’t even consistently been offering first class to the West Coast in recent months.
Bottom line
Japan Airlines has put its Airbus A350-1000 into commercial service. The aircraft is initially flying daily between Tokyo and New York. The next destination to get the plane will be Dallas. Then after that, we can expect the second daily frequency to New York, plus the London flight, to be the next routes to get the plane.
The timeline of all these flights getting the A350-1000 by the end of the fiscal year 2024 seems a bit aggressive, so we’ll see how this plays out.
What do you make of Japan Airlines’ Airbus A350-1000 routes?
A friend of mine flies DFW-TYO-DFW monthly for business (he's very familiar with JAL/AA Business Class on this route LOL). He thinks why DFW-HND is getting the new A350-1000 before LAX/SFO/ORD is because Toyota has major operations in Dallas area, and now many Japanese auto suppliers also moved to Dallas area. Therefore, on most DFW flights he's on, >90% are Japanese business people probably paying top dollar (similar to my friend). LAX/SFO/ORD cannot compete with...
A friend of mine flies DFW-TYO-DFW monthly for business (he's very familiar with JAL/AA Business Class on this route LOL). He thinks why DFW-HND is getting the new A350-1000 before LAX/SFO/ORD is because Toyota has major operations in Dallas area, and now many Japanese auto suppliers also moved to Dallas area. Therefore, on most DFW flights he's on, >90% are Japanese business people probably paying top dollar (similar to my friend). LAX/SFO/ORD cannot compete with that amount of paid Business Class cabin! JAL knows what they're doing IMO...
Does anyone know how long the bed is in the new First class?
I had the chance to try the old First class on HND-HKG a couple of days ago. I would guess 2m based on my size of 2,05m. A bit shorter than the QR F which is arouns 2,05m
Seating configuration : 1-1-1 (3-seats per row layout)
Capacity : 6 seats
Seat width (distance between armrests) : approximately 123 cm
Max. bed width : approximately 123 cm
Max. bed length : approximately 203 cm
Personal monitor size : 43 inch
Height of room : approximately 157 cm
JL only has 1 daily flight to DFW (I think it used to have 2 daily), but 2 daily flights to SFO and LAX each. I think it's about adding capacity to DFW.
Forget the new a350, I’d be thrilled if the sfo routes would get the 777 instead of the 787
Alternatively, on the longest flights, 351 will deliver more fuel savings over a shorter long haul? Just questioning the market properties, but wondering if there are other factors at play here.
That's what I was thinking
Yes. Tech and Hollywood but also people connecting?
In these days, JAL deploys 777-300ER to Singapore and Bangkok from Haneda, and also selected domestic flights instead of flying them to SFO, LAX and ORD. Even SYD will get 777-300ER in southern winter - low season for Aussie-Japan traffic.
Interesting, but hard to guess their motives behind their plan.
The loads in business class seem to be doing very well HND-SYD. It's often sold out for many consecutive days which surprised me. They put the 777 on the route a few years back so this is a return. I wonder how F will do, certainly a lot of Qantas FF very happy to have a non-stop option to Tokyo in first class if they can snag an award redemption. 12k AUD rtn is a lot, but no doubt will be popular.
HND-SYD is popular route in southern summer and JAL put 777 occasionally in the past but this is the first time I see 777 deployed in southern winter. For F, I see the article that you can snag F award for 120000 QF miles for HND-SYD - which would be quite good for frequent QF flyer as J award requires 82k to 90k miles.
I've also noted consistently competitive JL J class fares SYD-HND-JFK, and on the random mid-year date I checked today it was less than 50% above the SYD-HND fare. Beats QF J. I don't pretend to understand the detailed economics for JL, but selling those seats could be a factor in up-gauging SYD-HND.
Interesting to see Dallas’ priority here. It was never a JAL First destination before the pandemic
What’s your thoughts on O’Hare also being excluded? It regularly sees JAL First (moreso than SFO/LAX even)
Toyota North America has now fully transitioned its headquarters to a Dallas suburb.
Bingo. Biggest reason why JAL restarted service there a few years ago.
JFK is a pretty brutal market too, with lots of competition. I think it points to the fact that the finance industry is a bigger customer for the Tokyo-NYC segment than anything else (also why London would be one of the early ones too)
Truth is that there isn't much tech traffic to Tokyo. Lots to India and China but not really that much to Japan. And same with Hollywood: lots of productions in Europe,...
JFK is a pretty brutal market too, with lots of competition. I think it points to the fact that the finance industry is a bigger customer for the Tokyo-NYC segment than anything else (also why London would be one of the early ones too)
Truth is that there isn't much tech traffic to Tokyo. Lots to India and China but not really that much to Japan. And same with Hollywood: lots of productions in Europe, and large theater markets in China but not really that much of either in Japan.
If I had to guess, I'd say the biggest industrial ties are probably finance and old school manufacturers (auto, heavy industry, machine tools, etc) not tech and Hollywood.