Japan Airlines will take delivery of its first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner on Sunday, March 25, and will fly it to Tokyo the following day, the airline announced on Wednesday.
JAL will become just the second customer to operate Boeing’s new state-of-the-art airliner, and the first to operate the General Electric GEnx-1B powered version, which the FAA certified yesterday.
JAL also revealed for the first time the seating layout in the new jets. The two-class configuration includes 186 seats: 42 in Executive Class and 144 in Economy.
The Executive Class lie-flat seats, dubbed the JAL Shell Flat Neo, are laid out in a 2-2-2 configuration, featuring 60.1 inches of pitch. The 21.3 inch width of the seats measures about 2 inches wider than the seats found on JAL’s 777 airliners. Each seat is fitted with a 15.4 inch touch panel display, a USB port, a power outlet and RCA jacks.
Economy class is set up 2-4-2, with 31.1 inches of pitch. Seats are 18.5 inches wide, nearly an inch wider than JAL’s current economy seats. Entertainment is provided by 10.6 inch touch screens, power and USB ports and RCA jacks.
For the Executive lavatories, JAL collaborated with Japanese plumbing fixture-maker Toto, aircraft interior specialists Jamco, and Boeing to create a warm water washlet.
JAL will introduce Japanese comics to their in-flight entertainment offerings for the first time on the 787 through a new channel called SKY MANGA. The comics will be offered only in Japanese at first, but will eventually offer English versions.
Japan Airlines will launch their first 787 route on April 22nd with service from Tokyo to Boston. As more of the airline’s 45 total 787s are delivered, additional destinations will include San Diego, Beijing, Moscow, New Delhi and Singapore.
