On Monday Japan Airlines unveiled its much-anticipated new cabin interiors on board its forthcoming Airbus A350-1000 planes. When the first of the 13 new aircraft begins rolling out at the end of 2023, it will launch on the carrier’s route between New York JFK and Tokyo Haneda and be designated the airline’s flagship jet for other international flights.
The new cabins come with plenty of design innovations. In the spacious and ultra-private first-class cabin, for example, there will be just six roomy suites. Each of the suites will come equipped with five-foot high, fully-closing doors and feature generous seats measuring four feet wide and more than six feet long when in flat bed mode. Another move Japan Airlines made to increase the cabin’s open and airy aesthetic? Eliminating overhead bins. Instead, first-class passengers will have more storage space within each suite, including wardrobe storage for jackets and other areas to stow personal belongings. Without the large bins cluttering the overhead space, first-class fliers will be able to stand and move more freely inside their suites without crouching or worrying about hitting their heads.
Inside the suites, there will be several seating options, as the seats can convert into three modes: a sofa, a combination of a single chair and a single flat bed, or a double bed. Additionally, the headrest of each seat will be embedded with a set of built-in speakers, meaning first-class fliers will no longer need to wear headphones to watch in-flight entertainment. Japan Airlines says it’s the world’s first headphone-free stereo system on board a commercial aircraft.
International airlines have been racing to upgrade their first-class cabins to mega-suite products on their long-haul planes. Earlier this year, Lufthansa announced a similar first-class product that would be large enough to accommodate two passengers traveling together. That suite, which will be launching in 2024 as part of the carrier’s new Allegris cabins, will also feature six-foot-high doors, a sofa that could convert to a double bed, and an option to configure face-to-face dining within the suite.
As part of Japan Airlines’ A350-1000 launch, the carrier also redesigned the three other cabins aboard the aircraft, including business, premium economy, and regular economy. (Each of the three cabins outside of first class will still have the overhead storage space.) In business class, doors have also been added to each of the 54 seats to create an enclosed and secluded environment. The seats will have the same built-in speaker technology as first class, and overhead bins will be limited to the window sides—not in the center aisles—to create a more spacious feel.
Premium economy and regular economy class will also be getting upgrades. The carrier’s new premium economy seats will be the first in the world to feature an automated recline function, which will make the process of reclining the seats smoother and more luxurious. The seats will also have privacy partitions near the headrest and a fixed hard shell back—like a pod you might find in a business class cabin—so that the seat’s don’t encroach on the passenger behind you when in recline mode. Economy seats will feature 34 inches of legroom pitch and new 13-inch 4K seatback screens, which are some of the largest in any coach cabin.
The first of the A350-1000 planes with the new cabins was originally scheduled to launch in November 2023, but due to supply chain issues, Japan Airlines says the debut has been pushed to sometime “before the end of the year.”