Summary

  • Japan Airlines stands out from other Dreamliner-operating carriers by maintaining a more spacious 2-4-2 seating configuration in economy class, offering passengers 18 inches of width and a standard pitch of 32-33 inches.
  • While most airlines prioritize increasing capacity, Japan Airlines prioritizes passenger comfort, choosing to operate a roomier setup on its long-haul 787s, even though the industry standard has become a cramped 3-3-3 configuration.
  • Japan Airlines operates various configurations on its Dreamliners to balance passenger demand, including two-class configurations with different pitch sizes and a three-class configuration with economy, premium economy, and business class. Overall, the airline's 2-4-2 configuration gives it a competitive edge in terms of passenger comfort over its rival ANA.

Japan Airlines (JAL) stands apart from its fellow Dreamliner-operating flag carriers with its seating configurations of the Boeing 787. Indeed, this is because it has maintained an eight-across (2-4-2) layout in economy class for its internationally operated Dreamliners. Meanwhile, the standard for other airlines has typically become a more cramped nine-abreast (3-3-3) affair in their economy class cabins.

While some carriers have attempted to push beyond the norm and include additional capacity (as is the case with AirAsia X's 3-3-3 A330 configuration), airlines rarely attempt to push in the opposite direction and attempt to improve passenger comfort. Rarely, Japan Airlines has done just that. In this article, we will take a deeper look at this unique configuration chosen by Japan Airlines.

Japan Airlines and the Boeing 787

The introduction of the Boeing 787 in 2011 with Japanese legacy carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) marked a new dawn in twin-engine widebody air travel. Not only was the 787 industry-leading due to its advancements in fuel efficiency and range, but the aircraft also set a new bar for passenger comfort. The cabin was spacious, pressurized more closely to surface-level pressurization, and quiet.

Japan Airlines Economy Class Cabin
Photo: Japan Airlines

A decade or so down the line, Japan Airlines currently ranks among the largest operators of the Boeing 787. However, its Dreamliners are generally considered to be a more attractive prospect than those flown by other major operators, due to having one seat fewer per row. Most carriers elected to use a cramped 3-3-3 configuration, justifying the tighter seating by citing the jet's other numerous improvements in terms of passenger comfort, Japan Airlines didn't buy this line of thinking and chose to operate a far roomier setup.

A more spacious configuration

While JAL may seem like an undisputed leader in terms of passenger comfort, operating a 787 with a 2-4-2 configuration was not abnormal at the aircraft's time of launch. Even launch customer ANA initially operated its jets with this configuration. Nonetheless, as economic conditions changed, ANA alongside many other legacy carriers worldwide believed the additional revenue from another seat per row to prove far more valuable than the additional passenger comfort.

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The world of commercial aviation is dictated by economics, and at the end of the day, passengers were not willing to pay a high enough premium to justify a lower capacity and more seats per row. Currently, almost every Dreamliner set to roll off of Boeing's assembly lines is destined for a 3-3-3 configuration in economy class. Japan Airlines, however, did not concede and continues to operate the configuration on its long-haul 787s.

Not all of the aircraft's Dreamliners operate with this passenger-friendly configuration, however. On domestic routes, the carrier operates a denser configuration on its 787-8s, which does featere nine-abreast seating. However, due to the shorter nature of these flights, it is unlikely that the airline receives much criticism on the configuration.

In a 2-4-2 arrangement, Japan Airlines is able to offer 18 inches of width, according to data from ch-aviation.com. Additionally, the airline's economy class seats offer a standard pitch of between 32 and 33 inches, according to information from SeatGuru.

The different options

The airline operates an impressive variety of configurations on its different Dreamliners, featuring multiple different class structures in order to balance passenger demand on many different route structures. In total, Japan Airlines operates five different Boeing 787 configurations:

A spacious two-class economy and business, with 156 economy and 30 business. Japan Airlines operates 10 787-8 aircraft in this configuration, with a more generous 33 inches pitch in economy class, and 74 in business.

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Two-class economy and business, with 176 economy and 30 business. Japan Airlines operates 11 787-8 aircraft in this configuration, with less pitch for both economy (31 inches) and business class (60 inches).

JAL Boeing 787-9 Three Class Seat Map
Image: Japan Airlines

Three class configurations on the 787-9. All of Japan Airlines' 22 787-9 aircraft have a three-cabin configuration, with this consisting of economy, premium economy and business class. One configuration has 116 economy seats, 35 premium economy and 44 business (although four aircraft increase this to 52 seats). 17 of the airline's 787-9 aircraft are configured this way.

The second 787-9 configuration with more economy seats. These still offer the same eight-abreast layout with a 33-inch seat pitch. The five aircraft configured this way have 21 premium economy and 28 business class seats.

Japan Airlines Boeing 787 Premium Economy
Photo: Japan Airlines

Domestic three-cabin aircraft. JAL also has four Boeing 787-8 aircraft fitted for domestic routes. These have 227 economy seats (arranged nine abreast in a 3-3-3 layout), as well as 58 "J class" business seats. These are more like a premium economy product, with a 38-inch pitch. Finally, there are nine first-class seats.

Better than other operators

Across the board, an eight-abreast economy class configuration is a victory for passengers and does allow Japan Airlines to maintain a competitive edge in terms of passenger comfort, particularly over its biggest rival, ANA. All of ANA's Boeing 787 aircraft now offer nine abreast in economy (on all its 787-8, 787-9, and 787-10 aircraft). On the 787-9 and 787-10, however, the airline leads the way in terms of pitch, providing passengers with up to 34 inches of legroom.

This was increased when the cabins were re-fitted as nine abreast. This is a higher pitch than Japan Airlines, and is an interesting trade-off compared to the lack of width. In its most dense international 787-9 layout, ANA manages 192 economy seats, 14 premium economy, and 40 business seats. Its dense domestic configuration reaches 377 economy seats (and 18 business/premium seats).

Inside the United Airlines Boeing 787-9 Economy Class Cabin.
Photo: Pranjal Pande | Simple Flying

American legacy carriers United Airlines and American Airlines are also both major operators of the Boeing 787 and feature large fleets with nine-abreast economy class cabins. United offers 17-inch width and 31-inch pitch while numbers on American vary but are roughly within the same range. European operators such as British Airways and Air France also have similar specifications.

Whether any other carriers will add 2-4-2 seating in the 787's economy class cabin in the future could be an interesting question to ponder. Emirates, which prides itself on passenger comfort, could be a carrier that may add this roomier configuration to its upcoming 787s which it has on order from the jet maker.

The fleet in a nutshell

Let's conclude by taking a closer look at the ages of the aircraft that make up Japan Airlines' current Boeing 787 'Dreamliner' fleet. Its 25 short-fuselage 787-8 aircraft are older than their mid-sized counterparts, clocking in at 7.7 years old on average. Meanwhile, the figure for its 22 787-9s comes to 4.9 years old. In any case, both of these are comfortably below the fleet-wide average age of 10.3 years.

Have you ever flown on a Japan Airlines Boeing 787? What did you think of the seat and service, and does the economy cabin feel better in practice? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!