Thanks for sharing. I had flown both BA Club World and Premium Economy to and from Japan and have actually found the Premium Economy product and seat to be totally fine. But I would always recommend people use ANA or JAL to and from Japan simply because the onboard service for such a long flight is so much better.
What would you say the main difference in service is? Yes, I found premium economy to be pretty good! I thought about making a video on that but I didn't really have enough footage to do so.
Few years back I tried ANA first class (highly recommended) using Virgin points but nowadays availability is almost non-existent. Would not pay £2500+ cash for BA business, either suffer in economy or redeem avios with upgrade voucher for business.
I have been collecting miles for 10 years and am now flying first class to Japan for the first time. But you have to keep at it otherwise you won't get enough miles.
Thanks for this. Looking to book a flight for a 3 week trip and was considering getting business at least one way or at least premium economy. The recommendation of premium economy at the end has sold me that, that might be the answer :)
I'm so glad it was helpful! Yes, premium economy definitely makes the flight more enjoyable than regular economy, without hurting the budget too much. You get a decent amount more space and comfort. If you do end up going business one way, I would say do it on the way there so that you have the most conserved energy for your travels!
Thank you for sharing this. This helped me decide against booking with BA. As compared to JAL and ANA. BA’s seating and meal offerings seem outdated (Lufthansa also has a similar issue) when heading to Japan.
I'm not sure when exactly you took this flight, but British Airways runs the Airbus A350-1000 and Boeing 787-9 for the two daily flights to/from Tokyo. It looks like you were on the 787-9. The A350-1000 would've had the much newer BA "Club Suite" seat, so you might've inadvertently downgraded yourself to the old seat by accepting the earlier flight :O
My theory is that I was on the 787-9 anyway, because I had the cheapest business class tickets, and I was on a similar plane on the other leg. I have no idea if that theory is correct, but it would make sense to me that the more expensive tickets would have the nicer planes!
I didn't find out the plane type at the time but I'm fairly sure it was the 787-9. I also have a suspicion the 787-9s are cheaper than the 777s, because their suites look nicer, but I don't know for sure. I hope you get the comfiest version on your trip!
Great post. Thank you. Just one thing, you say November isn’t peak season at all, but I thought going in the Autumn to see the autumn colours is a very popular time and therefore would expect flight prices in October and November to be high. Am I wrong?
That's a very good question! But looking at pre-pandemic tourism data, historically November sees a bit of a dip, along with September and February. This could simply be because people aren't travelling much just before they take off time over Christmas. But also, the Tokyo autumn leaves don't come in to colour until late November in Tokyo, but they can be earlier or later in other regions. Here's an example autumn foliage forecast from last year: livejapan.com/en/article-a0002628/ I was also looking at flights between Tokyo and London, so this could be a very different story between Hokkaido and Taiwan for example, where more people visit for the autumn leaves around that time!
Thank you Cassandra, that’s really interesting. Planning a trip soon to Japan, been on my bucket list for ages! Spring time with the cherry blossoms or Autumn time are supposed to be the best seasons to visit but will probably go for autumn when as you say slightly less busy than in spring and less expensive flights too. Will look into business class as such a long flight! Thinking of Tokyo, Hakone national park, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and Takayama as an Itinerary. Thanks again.
Yeah I have actually grown to love autumn in Japan more than cherry blossom season! Generally the pretty areas are much less crowded than in sakura season (though still popular), and it feels so nice as the air is cooling down a little. Those sound like good spots - Nikko is a nice autumn spot about 2 hours from Tokyo for a day trip if you fancy. Let me know if there is anything else you want to know, or would like to see a video about! Otherwise, I hope you have a great trip!
The food presentation look awful. If you don’t mind transit, I highly recommend Qatar. I fly to Asia once or twice a year, but prefer transit with Qatar instead of fly direct with BA. ANA is not an option for me as I am Oneworld loyalist.
Thank you for the video! It's very helpful in answering questions I had about the Business Seats on BA. One question about the beds, was it long enough for you to be comfortable when lying flat?
I'm glad to hear it! Yes, the beds were a good length. Apparently they're 6ft when fully flat, so may require some knee bending if you're tall. Newer ones claim to be 6"6 but they're more expensive and I'm not sure if they fly the Japan route
Because I was hurried on to the earlier flight, I have no record of my seat number sadly, though I was basically right at the back end of the business class area. Me being unbooked also may well have affected the number of meals onboard! On my recent JAL flight, I was able to state my meal preference when booking, though, so maybe look out for that option during booking.
Thanks for sharing. I had flown both BA Club World and Premium Economy to and from Japan and have actually found the Premium Economy product and seat to be totally fine. But I would always recommend people use ANA or JAL to and from Japan simply because the onboard service for such a long flight is so much better.
What would you say the main difference in service is?
Yes, I found premium economy to be pretty good! I thought about making a video on that but I didn't really have enough footage to do so.
Next time you fly in the summer schedule use BA7/BA8. An Airbus A350 is allocated
Few years back I tried ANA first class (highly recommended) using Virgin points but nowadays availability is almost non-existent. Would not pay £2500+ cash for BA business, either suffer in economy or redeem avios with upgrade voucher for business.
I have been collecting miles for 10 years and am now flying first class to Japan for the first time. But you have to keep at it otherwise you won't get enough miles.
Wow, you must have done a lot of travelling!
@@cassandra_lord No. You generate the most with shopping.
Thanks for this. Looking to book a flight for a 3 week trip and was considering getting business at least one way or at least premium economy. The recommendation of premium economy at the end has sold me that, that might be the answer :)
I'm so glad it was helpful! Yes, premium economy definitely makes the flight more enjoyable than regular economy, without hurting the budget too much. You get a decent amount more space and comfort. If you do end up going business one way, I would say do it on the way there so that you have the most conserved energy for your travels!
Thank you for sharing this. This helped me decide against booking with BA. As compared to JAL and ANA. BA’s seating and meal offerings seem outdated (Lufthansa also has a similar issue) when heading to Japan.
I'm not sure when exactly you took this flight, but British Airways runs the Airbus A350-1000 and Boeing 787-9 for the two daily flights to/from Tokyo. It looks like you were on the 787-9. The A350-1000 would've had the much newer BA "Club Suite" seat, so you might've inadvertently downgraded yourself to the old seat by accepting the earlier flight :O
My theory is that I was on the 787-9 anyway, because I had the cheapest business class tickets, and I was on a similar plane on the other leg. I have no idea if that theory is correct, but it would make sense to me that the more expensive tickets would have the nicer planes!
Booked Business for our trip next March, hoping the new Club Suite has been installed by then! Which plane were you on? 787-9? 777?
I didn't find out the plane type at the time but I'm fairly sure it was the 787-9. I also have a suspicion the 787-9s are cheaper than the 777s, because their suites look nicer, but I don't know for sure. I hope you get the comfiest version on your trip!
Great post. Thank you. Just one thing, you say November isn’t peak season at all, but I thought going in the Autumn to see the autumn colours is a very popular time and therefore would expect flight prices in October and November to be high. Am I wrong?
That's a very good question! But looking at pre-pandemic tourism data, historically November sees a bit of a dip, along with September and February. This could simply be because people aren't travelling much just before they take off time over Christmas. But also, the Tokyo autumn leaves don't come in to colour until late November in Tokyo, but they can be earlier or later in other regions. Here's an example autumn foliage forecast from last year: livejapan.com/en/article-a0002628/
I was also looking at flights between Tokyo and London, so this could be a very different story between Hokkaido and Taiwan for example, where more people visit for the autumn leaves around that time!
Thank you Cassandra, that’s really interesting. Planning a trip soon to Japan, been on my bucket list for ages! Spring time with the cherry blossoms or Autumn time are supposed to be the best seasons to visit but will probably go for autumn when as you say slightly less busy than in spring and less expensive flights too. Will look into business class as such a long flight! Thinking of Tokyo, Hakone national park, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and Takayama as an Itinerary. Thanks again.
Thank you also for the link. Super informative
Yeah I have actually grown to love autumn in Japan more than cherry blossom season! Generally the pretty areas are much less crowded than in sakura season (though still popular), and it feels so nice as the air is cooling down a little. Those sound like good spots - Nikko is a nice autumn spot about 2 hours from Tokyo for a day trip if you fancy.
Let me know if there is anything else you want to know, or would like to see a video about! Otherwise, I hope you have a great trip!
The food presentation look awful. If you don’t mind transit, I highly recommend Qatar. I fly to Asia once or twice a year, but prefer transit with Qatar instead of fly direct with BA. ANA is not an option for me as I am Oneworld loyalist.
Thank you for the video! It's very helpful in answering questions I had about the Business Seats on BA. One question about the beds, was it long enough for you to be comfortable when lying flat?
I'm glad to hear it! Yes, the beds were a good length. Apparently they're 6ft when fully flat, so may require some knee bending if you're tall. Newer ones claim to be 6"6 but they're more expensive and I'm not sure if they fly the Japan route
Great video and thank you for this. Can I ask what seat number you were on? Hopefully we can avoid the food running out on our next flight!
Because I was hurried on to the earlier flight, I have no record of my seat number sadly, though I was basically right at the back end of the business class area. Me being unbooked also may well have affected the number of meals onboard! On my recent JAL flight, I was able to state my meal preference when booking, though, so maybe look out for that option during booking.
BA always runs out of beef. FACTS
I would appreciate less words and more images
Me too!