We booked a group return ticket for the family, including an infant, to fly to Japan to celebrate my 65th Birthday. One member of the family could not make it and so on the outward journey my daughter and grandson had three seats between them. On the return flight we discovered that JAL had sold the seat we had paid for to a passenger. It was not the chap's fault but JAL took two payments for one seat and left my daughter and grandson without that extra room for the 14+ hour flight. This was extremely disappointing and when I complained to JAL they told me, politely, to talk to my travel agent - but the agent did not deprive me of the seat that had been paid for, JAL did. Please be aware that JAL can sell your seat to whoever they like and at any time without contacting you, let alone asking you.

Apart from the above sour episode JAL were very good and actually outstanding in another respect - which makes the above seat-stealing a great shame. Alright, alright, I can hear you - I'll shut up about it now.

The food on the way out was delicious, seriously. I had the salmon meal as the other one (whatever it was) had all been taken. I can understand why. Without tasting either I would have gone for non-fish on an aircraft because it sounds dodgy but the salmon was spectacularly good - one of the best salmon dishes I have ever had and I've eaten at Michelin starred restaurants.

The Economy seats aren't roomy but they're not tight either. I'm 6' 3" and didn't find leg-room a problem.

JAL did everything expected of them on the outward flight and there were no problems getting my grandson's specially aircraft-compliant folding buggy/stroller on board.

At Haneda my son discovered that he had lost his wallet. We retraced our steps and even telephoned JAL to ask if had been left on the aircraft but they said it hadn't. That put a downer on the proceedings as cards had to be cancelled etc.

Our transfer from Haneda to Kansai took place without a hitch and we were reunited with all our luggage in Osaka, hooray! Another of my boys had his luggage lost for him earlier in the year when going to the US so we were mindful of the possibility of loss.

When we arrived at Haneda for our return flight the check-in staff raised a palaver regarding the buggy/stroller, saying it had to go into the hold. My daughter quite rightly stood her ground and we explained that not only was it specifically designed to be aircraft compliant and moreover had been accepted by JAL on the inward flight. In short (very, very short) the bumptious and officious little boss gave up trying to justify her existence and wandered off, leaving the other counter staff to check-in the buggy/stroller in exactly the same way as it had been done at Heathrow.

Seeing a commotion at another check-in desk I was expecting more nonsense but it transpired that the check-in staff had been holding onto my son's wallet that he had lost 10-days earlier. Not only had it been found on the plane by the cleaners, they had handed it in, JAL had the gumption to check the passenger lists, identify our return date and have the wallet ready for collection, including all the cards and money within it! Astounding service. Everything was there and my son was overjoyed, as we all were.

I forget what the meal was on the way back but seem to recall it was good.

Summary - exceptionally good, if not great . . . and yet also, in other ways, annoying.

Very bad experience with JAL customer care. Never going to purchase the ticket nor recommend everyone to stop service. They are not 1% flexible. I will stop using Oneworld airlines altogether.

I had the worst experience at the check in counter queue. The staff assigned to manage the queue was extremely rude and not helpful at all. JAL needs to train their staff on good customer service.

I am glad that the counter staff was nice.

The customer service there is top notch with the flight attends ever ready to help out with the slightest of problems. The seat clearance is enough for even talll people and the seat itself was very comfortable though having some nuts stucked to the bottom of the arm rest which is the gap between seats. The food's fragrance made my appetite go from zero to hungry, it was absolutely delicious. In conclusion I would 100% reccomend it.

A family member has multiple food allergies (gluten, eggs & dairy) and long flights have always been an ordeal for us. This is the first time we tried JAL and it was such a relief!!!
- they have a 7 allergen & 28-allergen free meal selection which can be be booked 49 hours in advance for ALL flights (Singapore Air also has a minimal-allergen option but it is not available for all flights - with no clarity on which routes the option is available)
- at check-in they double checked on allergies and same in Tokyo during the connection
- after boarding again double checked by attendants
- Each meal was super tasty and all ingredients clearly indicated

The entire experience was better than most high end restaurants because of their attention to detail and quality of food.

Travelling with extensive dietary restrictions is extremely difficult but this was so confidence inspiring that we would be happy to pay a premium to travel on JAL.

Apart from food - all aspects of every segment were befitting a top airline. The connection in Tokyo was super smooth.