Comparing First Class: Japanese Airlines vs. American Airlines – A Travel YouTuber’s Insight

Discover the Shocking Services of First Class!

I want to experience it at least once in my lifetime. One of the dreams of luxury that everyone has is flying in first class on an international flight. For us common folks, the realities of first class can be hard to grasp. What kind of services are offered? And is the pricing such that ordinary people can afford it? I spoke with KK, a 33-year-old YouTuber who shares travel and aviation-related videos, to learn more about the first class experience.

KK works for a foreign IT company in Tokyo. He started uploading videos about airplanes and travel five years ago while working in Sydney, Australia. He currently lives in Japan and has countless experiences flying in economy class, as well as about 20 to 30 flights in business class. This time, he shared his experience flying in first class on JAL from Tokyo to Paris during his honeymoon in June.

“The entire journey took about 14 hours. Excluding takeoff and landing, it was roughly 12 hours of flight time. In my case, the in-flight meal was served about an hour after takeoff.”

The in-flight meals can be selected from Japanese or French cuisine, and KK chose Japanese food. There was unlimited champagne available, priced around 200,000 yen per bottle, served in glasses from the renowned wine glass maker Riedel.

“I think the taste is on par with high-end Japanese restaurants. They probably warmed the food just before serving, but it was still quite delicious. I felt they paid great attention to detail, properly heating the meat and other ingredients separately. The presentation was also beautiful, with fresh vegetables artfully arranged on top of the meat. Other airlines’ first class meals can seem a bit careless, but JAL’s commitment was evident here.”

After the meal, he enjoyed a leisurely time with tea and snacks, chatting with his new wife.

“The seats are designed so that the table slides to allow us to sit facing each other. It was wonderful to be able to talk face-to-face without separating during the trip. I was also pleased with the attention to detail. I could enjoy high-quality blended tea, which helped me relax.”

The seats themselves are luxurious and designed for comfort over long hours.

“Of course, the seats are spacious. There’s a significant difference compared to business class. Business class tends to focus on maximizing space, cramming as many seats as possible, with widths around 50 centimeters and configurations that overlap with the space of the person in front. But in first class, there’s a sense of excess in a good way, with no overlap. The feet of the person behind won’t intrude under the armrest. There are partition walls, ensuring privacy unless someone really tries to peek.”

About five hours into the flight, KK took a short nap. Given the seven-hour time difference between Tokyo and Paris, he wanted to sleep well during the 14-hour flight but decided to hold off for the sake of adjusting to the time difference. Instead, he opted for a one-hour nap..