Japan Airlines (JAL)

   Allow me to sing my praises for such a fantastic airline, Japan Airlines.

   I love everything Japanese. Having said that, I do not need to qualify such statement. Really, what is there not to love. They have the best cuisine, their sense of beauty in simple things in life and nature leaves me in awe, everytime. It never fails. They are the most courteous people I know and have met. They are so serene and calm in their manners. They make everything with a sense of pride and they draw beauty even in the littlest of things. Again, what is not to love. So when I had the chance to fly JAL, I took the chance and embraced it. I am posting this without any regret that I took this flight from LAX to Narita Airport Japan.

   First of all, customer service when I checked in my luggage was superb. I am exactly to be seated as my eticket confirmation said I would be, no surprises and no last minute changes. Thank you very much. Next, I was so kindly pointed to were I would be checking in my luggage. Again, the gentleman, thanked me for choosing JAL and for checking in my luggages. So far so very good!

  Next I was at the Gate for boarding and a JAL lady walked around the seated passengers reminding us that this was flight for JAL and that we would be boarding shortly and to have our passports and boarding pass ready to make the boarding easy and coordinated. There were no cutting in line and for once I stood in line without people talking so ever loudly. I was loving this so far and by golly we have not even boarded yet.

   As we were boarding there were stewards and stewardesses welcoming us, just like other airlines would. People tend to help others so not to block the flow of aisle traffic. Very nice. So civilized.

   So we get to the best part. The seats were clean and the covers were surprisingly clean. After having been used to beat up seat covers on other airlines, it was a breath of fresh air to see - clean seat covers and the headrest was comfortable. The seats are spacious ( I have shorter legs!) for me. I have enough "wiggle" room. And my handcarry was stowed right above me for easy access. The pillow was clean and the blankets were freshly laundered (sealed inside a plastic wrap). I was on 18C, aisle seat, just how I like it.

   Food was very good and it kept coming and coming and coming. I have never eaten so much in one 10hour flight. And boy was the food great. It was great. And the dessert..well, look at the photos and judge for yourself. Let me mention that I ate the Haagen Daz so fast I forgot to take a photo of it. It was my favorite flavor - rum and raisin! Sorry for the oversight, I just got so excited, I gobbled it up and forgot to take a picture. But I am sure the rest of the photos will make up for this faux-pax of mine.

Enjoy the photos.

15minutes into the flight, we were served drinks and this rice cracker. I opted for hot green tea and water.

First meal included miso soup. I requested that mine be placed in a paper cup (as seen) rather than in the cup. For an airline miso, it was very, very good. 

Main course, I chose the beef stroganoff with pasta. The beef was very tender and the sauce was just right with slices of mushroom, and steamed carrot slices and brocolli. Also seen here is a small tray of fruit slices, pineapple, honeydew and cantaloupe.

Salad was served with balsamic vinaigrette. Butter and a roll was included. And on the top left portion is a tray of salmon gravlax, a slice of lemon and the ever so delicious japanese potato salad. Also note that JAL use silver cutlery. I almost clapped my hands when I saw these!

Real cutlery. I felt so spoiled and pampered.

This was a winner combination. The gravlax was so juicy and delicious with the savory potato salad. Yummy! Just thinking about this makes my mouth water again.

This meal was so good and the quantity was so much but then the best part was yet to come....

You scream, I scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM!!! What a treat. I ended up having two of these in the duration of the flight..one for after dinner and then one after lunch..aside from the Haagen Daz..
Google THREE TWIN ice cream and you will discover what a great choice JAL made for giving their passengers ORGANIC ice cream. This is Madagascar Vanilla. Heavenly good! Each tub was more half a pint. And this size was made especially for JAL. Did I say it was delicious? Because it is!

So as you can see it was so much good food..JAL did not disappoint. For dinner, since I was so stuffed from lunch I chose the lightest meal they had..beef yoshinoya served with rice, a tray of almond gelatin for dessert...instructions came with dinner.

Also, pickles was served with this.

All in all, food is very good and good quality with Japan Airlines. If you have an opporunity to fly with JAL, I hope you get the same experience I did. I loved every minute of this flight. Needless to say, I slept so well on the plane the rest of the way. And let's be honest, no one really sleeps well in the plane after a bad meal, am I right?

I had such a great couple of meals I had to skip breakfast..and it is so unlike me not to have breakfast on the plane when I am travelling. I live for simple breakfasts.

My aim here when I posted this is to share a good thing when I see it. JAL is one airline that pays attention to details, and I love that they do.

 Thank you JAL.