Tokyo Airlines.

[POB]

Hi,

Found some cheapish flights £560 ish to Tokyo.

Its around the same price for ANA or JAL. Anyone have any opinions on which is better?

Can get BA or Virgin for the same price but definitely don't want Virgin.

Also which would be better Feb or March?

 

[robgmun]

BA always surprises me, i always expect it to be rubbish but it's quite decent.

 

[Burnsy2023]

BA fly to Haneda rather than Narita IIRC, so that is a bonus. I've flown ANA and they were ok but nothing to write home about.

 

[memyselfandi]

I tend to fly JAL personally to Tokyo but they do tend to be quite expensive, (booked a trip for next October last weekend!).

You can get it cheaper if you fly via somewhere in Europe with other carriers instead of flying directly. I would strongly suggest checking out seejapan.co.uk (Japanese tourist Board site) offers section as I have seen flights recently down to £509 return on there.

I would go the end of March out of the months listed as it does tend to get cold in the winter.

edit: I would add that JAL and BA are part of OneWorld so if you are flying from Heathrow on a flight other than JL402 then it could well be a BA flight anyway. Flying into Narita is not really an issue as it's not that expensive/difficult to get into Tokyo from there (I use the orange Airport Limobus service which takes me from the terminal to my hotel (as it's one of there drop off points) with no fuss or issues very cheaply).

 

[delta0]

March you are getting close to Cherry blossom season. If you can it is worth going in that season.

 

[Cavallino]

The CEO of the mother company I work for is also the CEO for JAL so I have to say JAL

(But in all fairness I find JAL to be more, personal than ANA).
ANA have Star Alliance points though.

 

[cheechm]

Had great experiences on JAL. But otherwise would pick BA. Both OneWorld so you can collect some Avios.

 

[[TW]Fox]

Why would you definitely not want Virgin? I have had consistently good service from them every time I've used them, infact I'd probably seek them out on this route rather than avoid them!

 

[Rossmac]

Why would you definitely not want Virgin? I have had consistently good service from them every time I've used them, infact I'd probably seek them out on this route rather than avoid them!

I've only flown to Narita once and I used Virgin from Heathrow. Had no problems and would also seek them out again if possible!

 

[POB]

Why would you definitely not want Virgin? I have had consistently good service from them every time I've used them, infact I'd probably seek them out on this route rather than avoid them!

I also use them quite a lot miles + money makes them cheaper loads of the time, but don't actually like them.

Also had the misfortune of going on one their Airbus A340-300 recently.
My old passport (probably missing around 50% of the actual Virgin stickers):

Crew is random, can be OK, or terrible, not consistency.

Also I hate the entertainment system, screens are ****.

Food is nasty. No treats in the galley.

I prefer BA. Just my personal preference, every other person will have a different view of the two airlines.

I was hoping to find a decent alternative airline like Cathay Pacific which I really enjoyed when I went to Hong Kong. (Cup noodles in the middle of night + Shell seat = awesome)

 

[[TW]Fox]

I feel for you with the 340-300, my last flight had one and the entertainment system is indeed dire - worse than useless. Happily though they only have 4 left in the fleet and only 3 of those have the crap entertainment so it's a fairly rare occurrence. Annoyingly they tend to use the damn things on the more expensive routes they operate as well (London to Vancouver for example) meaning you buy one of the most expensive economy fares they offer and get stiffed with the crap IFE. Grrrr.

 

[POB]

Unfortunately for me the 340-300 was not my worst flight.

Thomson put on a 757 configured for European short haul to serve my flight returning from Orlando once.

Needed a fuel stop to cross the Atlantic. Zero leg room and no entertainment.

 

[BigglesPiP]

Is there such a thing as good in flight entertainment? I thought you always put enough in your carry on to keep you entertained for the whole flight, which isn't hard even on long haul flights...

 

[[TW]Fox]

Is there such a thing as good in flight entertainment? I thought you always put enough in your carry on to keep you entertained for the whole flight, which isn't hard even on long haul flights...

I find the on-demand stuff great, new release movies I couldn't have on my tablet even if I wanted to.

 

[memyselfandi]

Is there such a thing as good in flight entertainment? I thought you always put enough in your carry on to keep you entertained for the whole flight, which isn't hard even on long haul flights...

The JAL inflight entertainment system is pretty good. Has a good selection of films, other programs, music and games all ondemand. I can normally find enough on there to keep me amused for two 11hr flights (they change on a monthly basis so the chances are a return flight will have the same choices).

Normally flying premium economy which with JAL means a shell seat (although not as good as their business class ones) which I much prefer. I've flown Virgin to the US several times and they were fine.

The thing I like with flying from Heathrow to Narita with JAL is the timing of their flight works really well for me for avoiding jetlag. They take off early evening UK time and land mid-afternoon the following day Japan time. By the time you get through the airport (fun with immigration last time!) and into the city it's late afternoon so just enough time to settle in, go and get something to eat, before crashing out (I don't sleep on the plane) and by that point I'm so tired I sleep through to a normal local wake up time the next day and find I'm straight on their time zone.

 

[ic1male]

Flying into Narita is not really an issue as it's not that expensive/difficult to get into Tokyo from there (I use the orange Airport Limobus service which takes me from the terminal to my hotel (as it's one of there drop off points) with no fuss or issues very cheaply).

How long does it take on the Limobus?

 

[malachi]

I flew to Narita via Dubai with Emirates back in May. Cost me about £390, enjoyed the flight with plenty entertainment on board.

 

[[TW]Fox]

I flew to Narita via Dubai with Emirates back in May. Cost me about £390, enjoyed the flight with plenty entertainment on board.

Thats astonishingly cheap, was that return?!

 

[memyselfandi]

How long does it take on the Limobus?

It'll vary dependent on what route you want and also things like traffic and the weather. They have timetables on their website (in English, google for Tokyo limo bus and it's normally the first hit) but these have plenty of leaway built into them. Last time it took me ~1.5hrs to get in to Shinjuku but the traffic and weather were particularly bad ... but it's very easy if your hotel is a drop off / pickup point and you can stumble out of arrivals and the ticket counter is just opposite. Going back out to the airport was only ~1.25hrs.

The train is probably quicker but personally I don't want to have to go through Shinjuku station at the start of afternoon rush hour, with a large suitcase, after a very long flight. Bus is also really a misleading term, they are proper, comfortable coaches.

 

[robgmun]

How long does it take on the Limobus?

For me the Limobus was the cheapest and the best, it was only half full and the roads where clear so i was really lucky with the timing of my landing. It was a weekday and mid-morning, it only took me 35mins in total and was very comfy