Review - Japan Airlines First Class A350-1000 New York Kennedy to Tokyo Haneda

JL3 JFK-HND

December 2025

Posts in this series:

Introduction - Hello! Hibachi Benihana Teriyaki!

Review - Japan Airlines First Class A350-1000 New York Kennedy to Tokyo Haneda

Review - The Ritz-Carlton, Kyoto

Review - Nozomi Shinkansen Kyoto Station to Tokyo Station

Review - Palace Hotel Tokyo

Review - Japan Airlines Diamond Premier Lounge Tokyo Haneda (HND)

Review - Japan Airlines Economy Class A350-900 Tokyo Haneda to Sapporo New Chitose

Review - Hoshino Resorts KAI Poroto

Review - Japan Airlines Diamond Premier Lounge Sapporo New Chitose (CTS)

Review - Japan Airlines Class J B787-8 Sapporo New Chitose to Tokyo Haneda

Review - Delta Sky Club Tokyo Haneda (HND)

Review - Delta One Business Class A350-900 Tokyo Haneda to Detroit

In-transit:

Kicking off our holiday to Japan, we first flew from Miami to JFK. Y’all, we almost missed our flight to Japan, because our AA flight from Miami was delayed due to ATC staffing shortage at JFK. Our captain came onto the PA and shared this detail with us. He also said we could see this delay on nasstatus.faa.gov. I didn’t know that was a thing, but now I check it every time I fly.

By the power of divine intervention, we disembarked at 00:18, and JL3 was scheduled to depart at 00:40. For those of you familiar with JFK T8, there are two concourses connected by an underground tunnel. Fortunately, we were parked at gate 3, and JL3 was departing from gate 6. So 3 minutes later at 00:21, we boarded this beautiful A350-1000. Phew…

For my review of the old JAL first class experience, check it out here.

Lounge:

If you are unlike us and have time to spare, JAL first class passengers can use the Soho Lounge at JFK. It’s a good lounge by US standards, but not anything worth going out of the way for. The Chelsea Lounge is worth a stop; however, it’s only for first class passengers on AA and BA, and not on any other oneworld carriers.

Boarding:

My first thought of the cabin was: damn, it’s really hard to get a good cabin shot in here. I mean just look at how high the walls are.

Japan Airlines A350-1000 First Class Cabin

My second thought as I walked into my suite was: ok this is ridiculous. I wasn’t necessarily impressed by the design or the seat itself, per se, but I was aghast (might be an exaggeration) by the sheer amount of real estate this product occupies. It’s so wide that you could probably fit a pilates reformer in here. On a side note, although I wasn’t escorted to my seat, I was given a seat tour once settled in.

In typical JFK fashion, only one jet bridge was deployed for boarding.

Japan Airlines A350-1000 First Class Seat

What you are looking at below is the biggest IFE screen in the game - 43 inches with 4K.

Underneath the ottoman was an enclosed storage space, in which you could easily store your Rimowa cabin.

The seating area had ample space for three Blackpink members, or one osumosan🤣. The side seat came with its own seatbelt. There was actually a total of three seatbelts in this suite, with the other one being on the ottoman. Now that’s a party🤪.

Japan Airlines has always had, umm, interesting aesthetics. Here are some feedback from my friends…

Japan Airlines A350-1000 First Class Seat Feedback

Maybe that is what JAL is going for? Since Japan has such an affinity for train culture?

I digress… To the side of the seat was a touchpad that essentially did everything.

Japan Airlines A350-1000 First Class Seat Touchpad

From seat and lighting controls…

…to f&b ordering. I like how you can just order caviar from your iPad, which is very JAL, lol.

Next to the touchpad were the physical seat control buttons, as well as charging options.

Opposite from the touchpad was a side table with numerous storage compartments.

JAL doesn’t have the most exciting amenity kits, and the Shiseido skincare has been a staple offering for well over a decade. One small change in the amenity kit was the charging cable, which now comes in a woven nylon casing instead of the previous rubber casing.

It always seemed random to me that JAL provides Crystal Geyser water on flights departing the US. So I looked into it a bit, and it turns out Crystal Geyser is owned by Otsuka Holdings, a Japanese conglomerate. I’m not saying there’s a connection, but one is at liberty to speculate… I love peeling into all the subsidiaries of a Japanese conglomerate, as one does, lol. They own the most unrelated stuff and definitely don’t believe in synergy. Otsuka Holdings has exposure to industries from reinsurance to pharmaceuticals to, well, a bottling company. Bewildering!

Within each seat was a sliding wardrobe for your outerwear.

A portion of the smaller seat folds down to make for a pretty substantial side table.

Even with the door open, privacy was still pretty good.

Awaiting at each seat were the menu and beverage list for the flight.

JAL religiously publishes menus and wine lists for all classes, so you can always browse beforehand. For our flight, the menu reads as follows:

And the wine list reads as follows:

JAL is quirky when it comes to pre-departure beverages, as it’s never served in business class. In first class, I was offered a cold pressed juice made with citrus and ginger. It was zesty and refreshing. There was no other options. On flights departing Japan, they do serve the cheaper champagne before takeoff. I personally reserve my caloric intake for inflight consumption, but I know other people might be celebrating things. The drink was accompanied by a hot towel, which was served on a towel dish, as is proper in civilized societies.

Japan Airlines First Class pre-departure Drink JFK-HND

I was then offered a pajama set, the same one I received on my flight earlier this year. These pajamas were plusher than ordinary thin business class pajamas, but I did notice how dusty they were. When I pulled them out of the packaging, I could see dusts fluffing all over the cabin. Interestingly, the FA asked if I would like to change in my suite, and after I agreed to it, she closed the suite doors. I have never changed at my seat before, so it was a novel concept. It goes to show how much privacy has enhanced over the years in premium cabins.

Japan Airlines First Class Pajamas JFK-HND

I checked out the lavatory prior to departure, which was standard. JAL still offers Clé de Peau skincare in first class, sugoi!

Japan Airlines B777-300ER First Class Lavatory

Inflight:

We had an on-time departure, and all 6 suites in first class were taken. Soon after takeoff, the crew unlocked the ordering system in the IFE, and I got myself some yummy goodness.

For the past few years, Salon was only served on flights departing Japan. I figured I’d act dumb and ask anyway. Much to my surprise, I was met with a resounding “Certainly!”. Does anyone know if JAL changed its policy and now offers Salon on all first class flights? Or did I just get lucky because nobody drank it on the outbound?

Either way, I ain’t complaining…

Japan Airlines First Class Dinner Apéritif JFK-HND

Flying westbound in the winter is a marathon, and our flight time was 14.5 hours. I eased myself into this long journey with some salty Dippin' Dots. Not to sound like a brat or anything (although we are on a travel blog fussing about stupid things…), lately I’ve been noticing how the quality of these airline caviars were just not it. I flew Emirates, Etihad and Lufthansa in first class all in the past month, and the caviars were just, meh… Except on Lufthansa, the caviar they had was downright awful.

Japan Airlines First Class Dinner Starter JFK-HND

I moved on to the lobster roll, which was rather underwhelming. I prefer chunky lobster meat, and this was not that.

Thankfully, Fumiko saved the day with her Japanese plate. Fumiko is the food consultant who designed this part of the meal. It’s called Fumiko’s plate on the menu, in case you’re wondering who tf Fumiko is, haha. It consisted of grilled Chilean seabass with green sansho pepper, rock shrimp cake, simmered sweet potatoes with lemon, and grilled mushrooms. The side dishes were leafy greens and fried bean curd in Japanese dashi broth, steamed rice, miso soup, and Japanese pickles.

Japan Airlines First Class Dinner Main Course JFK-HND

Everything was fantastic on this plate, but the simmered sweet potato with lemon truly stole the show. I honestly never knew I needed sweet potato like this in my life, as I’m not a fan of starchy vegetables. The flavours were so balanced and delicate. It was phenomenal.

I thought I did well with my order - not overly filling but utterly comforting. After the table was cleared, the FAs made my bed for a good night’s rest.

I particularly liked the texture on the suite wall and the soft ambient lighting that you could adjust to your preference.

The cabin was kept quite cool during the flight, which was uncommon but appreciated. Around 8 hours into the flight, I woke up and decided to have my main meal. Since JL3 departs after midnight, the main meal is served at this point in business and economy. First class is of course dine on-demand. I’ve had the Japanese options when flying JAL for as long as I can remember, so I wanted to switch things up and go with the western option this time.

I will say that for first class, it’s not the most inspiring tablescape. To help me wake up, I ordered JAL’s famous Royal Blue tea to drink.

Japan Airlines First Class Breakfast Apéritif JFK-HND

The amuse-bouche of the day was poached sturgeon. It was dry and bland. I like sturgeon fish just as much as I like the eggs, but admittedly, it’s far from a safe amuse-bouche choice for most people…

Japan Airlines First Class Breakfast Amuse-bouche JFK-HND

For our second amuse-bouche, the chilled butternut squash, apple and coconut soup was much more agreeable. It did have curry spices, though.

A bread basket was presented, and I went with this one that looked and tasted exactly like Texas toast. It was scrumptious.

Japan Airlines First Class Breakfast Bread Service JFK-HND

I switched to the juyondai junmai daiginjo in anticipation for the first starter - poached sea scallop carpaccio with sunchoke ricotta cream and truffle vinaigrette. The juyondai was so sweet that I still haven’t decided if I like it or hate it.

Japan Airlines First Class Breakfast Beverage JFK-HND

The scallops were fresh, albeit slightly under seasoned. I was amazed by both how significant the portions were and how substantial the whole meal was. There were 6 pieces of scallops in this starter, and this was one of the two starters… I thought I’d pick one appetizer and one main course, but nope, I was automatically served everything on the menu…

Japan Airlines First Class Breakfast Appetizer JFK-HND

Starter number two was the Mongolian lamb chop with hot pearl couscous salad, and mint and pickled ginger aioli. This was served with a side of sansho pepper salt, which was a nice touch. The lamb chop was delicious, but not the best lamb chop I’ve had in the sky.

What was possibly the best dish I’ve had in the sky was the Chilean seabass with baby turnip, chorizo salsa, and Spanish tomato coulis. The fish was perfectly buttery, yet firm enough to hold itself together. I don’t think a fish dish on the ground could be better executed. I paired this course with Jacquesson Cuvée 744 champagne, whose piquant notes of plum helped cut the richness of the fish.

Japan Airlines First Class Breakfast Main Course JFK-HND

The last main course was the USDA prime beef tenderloin with creamy manchego cheese polenta, wild mushrooms, and red wine and red currant sauce. It was, uh, you’ll see…

Needless to say that was returned to the galley… I was also beyond full by this point.

Many years ago I flew this route and had a steak I still remember to this day. I dug through my album and found it, so I’m just gonna post it here for comparison.

Japan Airlines First Class Catering Main Course JFK-NRT Years Ago

Now that’s how a first class steak should look like. And I’m pretty sure it was wagyu, and that was before 90% of the restaurants in America had even heard of wagyu.

To conclude the meal, I switched to try the Alain Milliat sparkling pinot noir with dessert. This was non-alcoholic, and I regret wasting my calories on that. It was super sweet. Like if I wanted a sparkling grape juice I would’ve gotten a Grapico.

The apple tart à la mode was without a doubt the sweetest dessert I’ve had on a Japanese airline.

Japan Airlines First Class Breakfast Dessert JFK-HND

After this extensive meal service, I spent the remainder of the flight lounging and watching TV. Prior to landing, the FA came by to see if I would like anything else. While it’s almost a ritual of mine to have some ramen on every JAL flight, I physically could not have consumed anything else. So I just asked for a french press.

On Arrival:

At around 5AM Tokyo time, we touched down at Haneda Airport. Flying JAL in first class is a treat, period. Catering out of New York was, all things considered, a solid 8.5 out of 10. Service is dependable and consistent on JAL, especially in first class, so I want to focus on the hard product. Dare I say that I feel like the airlines are acting irrationally with the new generation of first class products? We see so many airlines reduce the size of first class cabins and going from 1-2-1 configuration to 1-1-1. Is it really worth it, though? No one argues that real estate is the true luxury on an aircraft, but the side table felt like wasted space to me. It’s not even a part of the sleeping surface. Who is really going to sit in that seat next to you when you’re lying down? I had an equally amazing flight in JAL’s old B777-300ER first class as I did on this one.

I had the exact same thought when I was flying Emirates “Game Changer” first class last month. It’s a great seat, but the marginal benefit over the existing product simply wasn’t justifiable. Maybe Emirates realized that, and that’s why despite the “Game Changer” first class having been introduced in 2017, Emirates has reconfigured ZERO older 777s with the new product.

Unless the airline is revolutionizing its first class product like what’s on Etihad or Singapore Airlines’ A380s, I don’t find it prudent or meaningful to go from 1-2-1 to 1-1-1. I know, I must be cuckoo telling airlines that their seats are getting too big!

Review - Japan Airlines First Class A350-1000 New York Kennedy to Tokyo Haneda

JL3 JFK-HND

December 2025

Review - Thai Airways Royal Silk Business Class B787-8 Bangkok Suvarnabhumi to Chengdu Tianfu

Satay Away