Japan Airlines (JAL) will start taking reservations on 1 February for the first class cabin it is introducing on the Tokyo-Fukuoka route from 1 April.
The new service will be available on two return daily flights ” morning and afternoon departures ” between Tokyo Haneda and Fukuoka, the largest city in Kyushu and an important business centre. It is the airline's second busiest domestic route after Tokyo-Osaka.
It costs just Y8,000 (”38) to upgrade from economy to first class, which features seats 133cm (52”) wide and reclined at 132 degrees on Boeing 777-200 aircraft configured in a 2x2x2 format.
Passengers will check-in at dedicated counters, enjoy priority boarding and baggage claim, and use the recently renovated Sakura lounge at Fukuoka. Journey time is around two hours.
From May, the airline intends to introduce first class on more of its 18 daily services between the cities, and also extend it onto the Tokyo-Sapporo route.
JAL began its domestic first class service last December between Tokyo Haneda and Osaka Itami, and is expanding it because of demand from business travellers requesting a higher level of service, a spokesman told ABTN.