Japan Airlines System Corp. said Tuesday it will offer a new class featuring larger seats on its domestic flights in June.
"The concept of Class J is to have as many passengers as possible enjoy a comfortable atmosphere," and this will be the main attraction to symbolize the merger of Japan Airlines Co. and Japan Air System Co., President Isao Kaneko said at a news conference in Tokyo.
The new Class J seats will be 95 cm long, 47 cm wide and include footrests and wider armrests, according to the holding company of JAL and JAS.
While the seat is much larger than economy class seats, it takes only 1,000 yen to upgrade to Class J.
The new section will be introduced on 60 planes to replace the conventional Super Seat Service, which provides passengers with large seats and various services, including exclusive check-in counter, quick luggage pickup service and light meal and alcohol services. The conventional upgrade seat is priced at 4,200 yen on main routes.
Class J features slightly smaller seats compared with the Super Seat versions, and will not offer alcohol, light meals or other exclusive services. But blankets, head phones and herbal tea will be provided, along with soft drinks.
JAL group officials said its recent customer survey for domestic flights both in economy class and business class showed that large and comfortable seats topped the list of needs, while many passengers in Super Seat Class did not stress the need for light meals.
JAL and JAS integrated their operations under the holding company in October 2002. The two carriers will completely merge into three group firms in April.