Best airline to Tokyo

[Disney loving Iowan]

Planning to go to TDR next year. What airlines would you recommend to use and to stay away from? TIA

 

[Haley R]

Planning to go to TDR next year. What airlines would you recommend to use and to stay away from? TIA

We flew ANA last time we went to Japan and they were fantastic. We’re planning on flying JAL next summer

 

[gelatoni fan]

You want to fly ANA or JAL. Stay away from airlines headquartered in China and the US. If the price is significantly cheaper with a layover, I'd pick Asiana Airlines (assuming they still exist) over Korean Air over EVA over China Airlines and Air Canada.

If you're flying economy class, JAL's 787 would be the best followed by ANA's 787. If your route isn't served by a 787, I slightly prefer the economy class food in ANA.

 

[Kwami]

If you're flying economy, then JAL's 787 flights are great! They use a 2-4-2 configuration, which means that each seat has more room than in a typical 3-3-3 configuration. And, if you're traveling as a pair, then you won't have to sit next to any strangers! Unfortunately, ANA uses the more typical 3-3-3 configuration, as does pretty much everyone else.

 

[nutshell]

JAL
ANA
Singapore Air

I’m flying Delta this year. Fingers crossed.

 

[Mathmagicland]

Planning to go to TDR next year. What airlines would you recommend to use and to stay away from? TIA

ANA to Haneda. It’s the closest airport to TDR. Narita is a lot farther away.

 

[gelatoni fan]

JAL
ANA
Singapore Air

I’m flying Delta this year. Fingers crossed.

I totally forgot that Singapore brought back that nonstop flight from Los Angeles to Narita. This is actually a good pick if the JAL and ANA flights to Haneda are significantly more expensive. It absolutely does not make sense to do the crazy long routing with a layover in Singapore unless you're someone super interested in trying out their business or first class.

Delta should be better than American, United and Zipair.

 

[Kwami]

ANA to Haneda. It’s the closest airport to TDR. Narita is a lot farther away.

Most international cities don't fly to Haneda, though. And with N'EX, getting to Tokyo station (or wherever you're going) from Narita is trivial.

 

[nono]

Most international cities don't fly to Haneda, though. And with N'EX, getting to Tokyo station (or wherever you're going) from Narita is trivial.

Now that more of the Narita Express trains stop in Chiba, it's my new "go to." Chiba City is a great place to spend 24-48 hours to adjust from jet lag while still having things to do and plenty of services near the train station.

 

[nutshell]

I totally forgot that Singapore brought back that nonstop flight from Los Angeles to Narita. This is actually a good pick if the JAL and ANA flights to Haneda are significantly more expensive. It absolutely does not make sense to do the crazy long routing with a layover in Singapore unless you're someone super interested in trying out their business or first class.

Delta should be better than American, United and Zipair.

I had a friend fly Zipair who said it was great but I’m a bit wary. Have you tried it?

 

[gelatoni fan]

I had a friend fly Zipair who said it was great but I’m a bit wary. Have you tried it?

I have not personally tried it but I know people who have. It seems like they have ANA style recline where the seat slides forward rather than reclines back. From what I know of the specs, seats on Zipair should be better than United but Delta has slightly more room. Everything is an upcharge on Zipair but it can still end up cheaper. I think one potential benefit is if you like to watch things on your own tablet, they have a little ledge thing to put it rather than a TV in the seat back.

From what I've heard, at least from San Jose to Narita, the food is bad and they don't offer TSA pre-check but leaving Japan, the food is better although not as good as the food on other Asian airlines.

 

[AndyR]

We've done United, Delta, JAL & ANA. By far the best experience was ANA.

 

[nutshell]

We've done United, Delta, JAL & ANA. By far the best experience was ANA.

I’ve got Delta coming up. Can you tell me about your experience with Delta?

 

[AndyR]

I’ve got Delta coming up. Can you tell me about your experience with Delta?

We were in DeltaONE. The food & service was not what I'd expect for their flagship product. Average at best. We had better service and food on the Shinkansen Gran Class. The DeltaONE Suites were spacious when seated, but too narrow in the shoulders when fully reclined. The seats also recline by sliding forward so you end up wearing the food/service tray half way up your chest.

 

[MasonsG]

We just came back and flew Singapore, which used to be outstanding. This time the food was pretty meh, I noticed a lot of it still on the trays when they came to pick them back up. Just pack some snacks in case. On the up side, it is a direct flight and although they do use 3,3,3 seating they are a Lot more spacious in economy than any US brand, and the cleanest bathrooms you'll ever fly. Leg room was generous, overhead spacing a little tight but our flights were full both ways. More than the airline, look at which terminal they fly into and how they are doing- hard to predict but with the paperwork currently required on landing- and so many travelers from assorted countries, their passport officers are facing mindblowing challenges. And talk about kind, I never saw a single one with his feathers fuffled when people had not done their paperwork correctly.
Our flight from LAX was mostly Americans but passport control still took almost 75 minutes in Terminal 1. we were worried our driver wouldn't wait but he mentioned that he loves it when he gets tourists in Terminal 1 because he has had days where it took his guests up to 6 hours to get through Terminal 2. Going back through Terminal 1 was super effortless, they use facial recognition and although they do not have TSA pre check- we were through in mere minutes.

 

[Kwami]

And talk about kind, I never saw a single one with his feathers fuffled when people had not done their paperwork correctly.

Heh. On my very first visit to Japan, I was staying at a vacation rental that I'd booked through HomeAway (now VRBO). As instructed, I put the address of the apartment on my form and went to get in line for immigration. There was a woman checking everyone's forms as they got into line and when she saw mine, she started yelling, "Hotel, hotel! Hotel!" She didn't like the address. I just waited until she was distracted with someone else, got into line, and then met the very nice immigration officer.

But she was probably the most ruffled person that I ran across for at least the first couple of weeks!

(By the way, why is Singapore running flights from the US to Japan? Isn't there some convention that prohibits running flights between two foreign countries?)

 

[gelatoni fan]

Heh. On my very first visit to Japan, I was staying at a vacation rental that I'd booked through HomeAway (now VRBO). As instructed, I put the address of the apartment on my form and went to get in line for immigration. There was a woman checking everyone's forms as they got into line and when she saw mine, she started yelling, "Hotel, hotel! Hotel!" She didn't like the address. I just waited until she was distracted with someone else, got into line, and then met the very nice immigration officer.

But she was probably the most ruffled person that I ran across for at least the first couple of weeks!

(By the way, why is Singapore running flights from the US to Japan? Isn't there some convention that prohibits running flights between two foreign countries?)

It's uncommon but not prohibited for an airline to fly between two foreign countries. The airline would have to deal with the regulatory agencies of three different countries but Singapore Airlines has quite a few of these because Singapore is a tiny country quite out of the way geographically. This allows their planes to connect passengers going to/from Singapore to many additional countries around the world with one stop and pick up additional passengers for just part of the total route. It also extends the range of their planes because with the stop, planes can refuel and swap out flight crew.

 

[Selket]

I've been looking at fully refundable flights for early next year from Washington, DC to Tokyo and both ANA and United have them. On the United site, it looks like I can book a flight operated by ANA. If I go to the ANA site the fare seems to be twice as much. I don't quite understand that! Any ideas why? It's about $2500 booked through United to fly an ANA operated plane and $5600 to book through ANA directly.

I have some health issues (both knees need replacing) that I'm trying to postpone until after this trip but always the chance I may need to cancel. I thought I'd get the fully refundable flight and closer to the time, if the trip is a go, I could look at booking a non-refundable flight if it's cheaper, and cancelling the first one. If anyone sees a problem with that idea (other than cost - ouch)...I'd appreciate any tips.

 

[nono]

I've been looking at fully refundable flights for early next year from Washington, DC to Tokyo and both ANA and United have them. On the United site, it looks like I can book a flight operated by ANA. If I go to the ANA site the fare seems to be twice as much. I don't quite understand that! Any ideas why? It's about $2500 booked through United to fly an ANA operated plane and $5600 to book through ANA directly.

I have some health issues (both knees need replacing) that I'm trying to postpone until after this trip but always the chance I may need to cancel. I thought I'd get the fully refundable flight and closer to the time, if the trip is a go, I could look at booking a non-refundable flight if it's cheaper, and cancelling the first one. If anyone sees a problem with that idea (other than cost - ouch)...I'd appreciate any tips.

Codeshare agreements give x number of seats to the other airline, which can sell it as they wish. The computations for how they are figuring yield are often different between a US carrier and a non-US carrier, so sometimes there are discrepancies. If you book the ANA flight through United, you can still pick your seat, just afterwards, as you need to sign into ANA to do so.

 

[dunkindonut]

ANA and JAL and it's not even close. They are very expensive but they are unlike any flight you will ever go on.

Air canada is another option, and I would fly them over any US airline, but JAL and ANA by far are the best, it's a huge discrepancy.