Review of Japan Airlines flight from Hong Kong to Tokyo in Business

Introduction

Hello everyone, this is my first flight report on the community.

Though I've been to Japan for quite a few times, this was the first time I've flown on business class to Japan thanks to a sale by Japan Airlines back in September 2025, as I figured out the date between February and March would be less busy for my schedule, knowing that I don't have too many holidays this year and that I've never flown on a business class to Japan. I went to the trip with my friends as they decided they would also like to travel around February and March after I've purchased my tickets, and our  ultimately arrived in Japan by 3 different airlines on 26-28 February. 

Japan Airlines operate 2 flights per day on the Hong Kong-Tokyo route, one departs from Hong Kong in the morning (JL735 to Narita) and the other in the afternoon (JL26 to Haneda). I've chosen the afternoon flight as it allows me to "save" my annual leaves for half-a-day, as well as knowing there would be lie-flat seats on the flight as opposed to non lie-flat seats on the morning flight.

Hong Kong Airport

After finishing my work in the morning, I arrived at the airport by around 1:35pm and went straight to the immigration as I already finished checking in before my work in the morning.

It's nice to see some live music playing in the airport.

Another Japanese airline, ANA, also operate flights from Hong Kong to Tokyo. This is flight NH860 which goes through the same route as my flight, but departs almost an hour earlier than mine. The flight now uses a 767-300ER as in April 2026, which has a rather outdated hard product than the 787-9 as shown in the photo.

The Bridge lounge

Though the "default" lounge of Japan Airlines is the Qantas lounge, I opted for the Bridge lounge operated by Cathay Pacific, as both Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines (Qantas as well) are under the Oneworld alliance, and I reckon there would be a wider selection of food in Cathay Pacific lounges.

There were more people in the lounge than I've expected since I thought the "morning peak" hour was past, but still there were seats available. I entered the Nook, the Chinese food dining area of the lounge located on the southern side of the lounge. I ordered "dan-dan noodles", which is one of the signature dishes of Cathay Pacific lounges in Hong Kong, along with vegetable dumpling and Hong Kong-styled milk tea, which is served in the self-service drink counter. Both "dan-dan noodles" and milk tea were rich and delicious, but the vegetable dumpling was just so-so.

Further walked deep along the Nook is an area serving Chinese buns. I ordered a shredded chicken bun and Chinese turnip cake, and both of them were tasty, with the bun being particularly impressive. There was a lot of chicken stuffed inside the bun, and the condiments added a refreshing feel to it.

After treating myself a lunch in the Nook, I then walked to the northern side of the lounge which serves Western-styled food. As I already had some great food in the Nook, and was aware that there would be meals onboard the plane, I missed out baked pie which looked delicious. Instead I just grabbed some salad and fruit, as well as the vegetarian onion soup, and all of them tasted great. 

I also ordered the famous "Cathay Delight" drink from the bar nearby, which consists of coconut milk and kiwi fruit. It was refreshing and unique as a kiwi fruit drink is rather uncommon, but it blends well with the coconut milk.

The flight

Gate 24 was used for the flight, located right next to the newly built "Sky Bridge" linking to the Satellite Concourse of the airport. 

Today's flight was operated by JA869J, painted in Oneworld livery. The plane is one of the premium-heavy 787-9 operated by Japan Airlines with 52 "Sky Suite III" business class seats. 

Prior to the trip, I've heard the comments on "Sky Suite III" seats were mixed, with some bloggers criticized it as "one of the worst reverse herringbone business class seats", which left me a little bit concerned and secretly hoped there would be an equipment change of 777-300ER, which equips with a superior product named "Sky Suite", and this is sometimes the case for the JL29/26 flight. However, after the trip, I found the seat perfect for the trip of this length, and I would explain that in the report. 

Although there is no door, the seat does feel quite private thanks to the partition around the head, and the overall space is spacious, although  it is worth noting that I'm not particularly tall or bulky. The storage space next to the seat is large enough to put my iPad, and the biggest  advantage of herringbone seat is that there is a table-like space for placing personal items. There is no storage space under the footrest, which is my biggest criticism of the seat, and I had to put my backpack into the overhead compartment, which is a little bit inconvenient.

Pillows, blankets, a bottle of water, slippers and a pair of noise-cancelling headphones were prepared on my seats.

The noise-cancelling headphone was placed in a red plastic bag. Though the packaging was a bit "cheap", I found the noise-cancelling effect quite decent, and it was quite comfortable to wear for me. By the time I was exploring my seats, the inflight service manager introduced herself with a warm smile.

A wet towel was served right after takeoff. While there is no welcome drink, a bottle of water is a welcoming gesture as keeping myself hydrated during a flight is important.

This was the first time I dimmed the famous 787 windows to the darkest mode. It took a few seconds to turn dark but it was dark enough to block most of the lights. Below is the comparison of the undimmed mode.

I also utilized the power outlet below the storage area to charge my phone, and it charged as quick as my power outlet at home.

While entertainment is considered a weak point of Japan Airlines based on reviews I read, I had no problem entertaining myself during the flight as there was complimentary WiFi after takeoff, and surprisingly Bang Dream! It's MyGo!!!!!, an anime I've recently become hooked on, could be found in the entertainment system. I watched part 2 of the movie as I previously watched part 1 of the movie in the cinema, but not part 2. 

Around 35 minutes into the flight, the table cloth was ready and the meal service started around 10 minutes later. I've chosen the JAL Skytime for pre-meal drink, which is a mixed peach and grape juice. It was quite sweet but I quite like the combination of peach and grape. Along with the drink is a pack of Japanese rice crackers.

The meal was served after 15 minutes. I pre-ordered the Western option before checking in, as I've never tried a beef tenderloin on a plane before, although my friends urged me not to choose beef tenderloin as it would be very likely that the beef becomes overcooked. Turned out my friend was absolutely right… The side dishes were tasty, though.

The entrees were quite impressive as both the chicken and beef were tender, and while the salad vegetable was nothing special, the carrot salad dressing was surprisingly refreshing and among the best dressing I've tasted. The flight attendant had forgotten the butter on the first round of meal service, but I subsequently received it after a short while. The bread, consomme and fruits were good.

Nothing tastes better than a hot green tea after a full meal, along with green tea ice cream. 

I visited the toilet after the meal. The toilet was spacious and clean, along with some amenities, and there is even a bidet function for the toilet, which was really impressive. I didn't use the bidet though.

It's time to enjoy the movie! As I previously mentioned, I didn't use the bed mode of the seat during the journey as it was close to landing by the time I finished the movie. I found the big ottoman of the seat particularly useful since I could lie down very comfortably with my feet on the ottoman while watching movie or texting my friends with a big recline. It just had the incredible feeling similar to being in my own room sitting on a sofa, and I guess that's why every traveller dreams of a "genuine" business class seats. 

I could understand why the seat might not be suitable for longer journey though, as I imagine the space of my feet will be limited if it lies flat. I would be alright for me as I'm not tall (around 1.7m), but it might be a problem for taller passengers.

The 3-hour journey went really fast, and it's time for landing. It's probably the first time I didn't want to leave a plane as I felt so relaxed on my seat!

The plane was landed at around 8:30pm. It's a bit surprising that the plane was not parked at a terminal bridge, but the immigration was so fast that I managed to get on the airport bus half an hour after I left the plane! That's really efficient.