Japan Airlines (JAL) is installing new seats across its entire fleet of international Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.
The new seats will be rolled out progressively across the airline’s B777 fleet, debuting on JAL’s daily service between Tokyo Narita and London Heathrow airport in January 2013. This will be followed to flights to New York’s JFK airport, before being gradually added to other long-haul European and North American routes.
New seats will be added in all four cabin classes, with each B777-300 featuring eight seats in first class, 49 in business class, 40 in premium economy and 135 in economy class. First, premium economy and economy will be the first to be upgraded, followed by business class which will see the installation of new flatbed seats.
First class seats will retain many elements of the existing JAL Suite, with personal TV screens enlarged from 19 to 23 inches (48 to 58cm). Business class will feature a brand new lie-flat seat, all of which have aisle access. The personal TV screens will be increased in size from 15.4 inch to 23 inches – the same as first class. Seats will also be wider than at present.
In premium economy, the seats’ pitch will be increased by approximately 10cm, while the TV screen will be enlarged from nine to 12.1 inches. The premium economy seats will retain the fixed-backrest feature, which ensures passengers’ personal space isn’t affected when the seat in front reclines. Finally in economy class, a slimmer seat-back has increased the pitch by 5-7cm, while the seats awill be 2cm wider than at present.
“Drawing from our customers’ feedback, we continue to make earnest efforts in creating services with originality and innovative products that can meet and exceed their expectations,” said Takahisa Hatakeyama, JAL’s Vice President of Product & Service Strategy Development.
“Extensive research and planning have gone into the selection of these new products, and with the roll-out including other upcoming services, we hope to deliver on our promise to offer our customers excellence in safety and quality, and to express our gratitude for their support as we endeavour to re-establish ourselves as a leading air transport company that can continuously serve the travelling public.”
