Review: Japan Airlines 767 Domestic Business Class Tokyo-Osaka (ITM)
- Konrad Tillman
- Aug 25
- 5 min read
Updated: Aug 27
Intro
Following a disappointing flight on board the Japan Airlines A350-1000 in Business Class from Los Angeles, the next flight of the day was on board a 767 in Domestic Business Class over to Osaka (ITM).
Going into this, I had actually booked to fly over to Itami instead of Kansai, primarily due to the fact of flying the 767-300, which is becoming a rarity in today's world. How was it? Despite the ineffectiveness of the previous flight on service regards, I am pleased to report that this flight was exceptional. Let’s dive in.
Route- Tokyo (HND)-Osaka (ITM
Flight Number- JL139
Seat- 6H
Aircraft- Boeing 767-300ER
Date- August 2nd, 2025
Flight Time- 1 Hours and 13 Minutes
Price Paid- 70K AA Miles+ minimal fees (LAX-HND-ITM (KIX)-BKK)
How I Booked
Getting to Russia is a challenge these days from the West Coast of the United States, and the most straightforward routing is never the one I want to take 😅. With zero mileage space on OW, *A, and Skyteam (a lot of frequent flyer programs block routes to Russia), I had to settle for getting as close as I could and reviewing plenty of products.
So, for 70K American Airlines miles, I ended up booking the following:
Japan Airlines A350-1000 Business Class LAX-HND
Japan Airlines Boeing 767-300 Business Class (Domestic) HND-ITM
Japan Airlines Boeing 787-8 Business Class KIX-BKK
Considering all three flights came out to 70K AA Miles, this isn’t a bad deal. It’s interesting, though, as JL uses married segment logic, so the LAX-HND was solely unavailable, but adding another destination opened up space. Expert tip there for you 😉.
However, keep in mind that this ticket can be booked for about 130 USD one-way in Business. Not bad…
Boarding
Finishing up at the JAL Sakura Lounge (reviewed here), I headed off around 7:00 pm for our new scheduled boarding time of 7:00. Seeing as the aircraft had just arrived, late, from Osaka, I knew it would be delayed a couple of minutes.
First thoughts: efficiency??? My gosh, put it this way: Group 1 was called (OW Emerald and First Class passengers) right at 7:05 pm, Group 2 was called at 7:08, and by 7:15, boarding was complete. United boards their 767s a whopping 50 minutes before departure, so this is exceptional JAL.
The Seat/Cabin
On most 767s these days, whether it be LATAM, United, or Delta, you will generally find lie-flat seats in business. Heck, even the international 767s that Japan Airlines offer have lie-flat seats. However, Japan Airlines has configured a certain subfleet of 787s, A350s, and 767s that are in a regional setup.
There is one row of “First Class” set up in a 2-1-2 configuration, while behind that, you will find 42 “Business Class” seats in a 2-2-2 configuration. Luxury? No, but you get what you pay for. A lie-flat seat would require much more room, and these seats are basic but comfortable for such a short flight.
Minus a remote that works for, well, nothing, you will find a tray table that pulls out from the armrest and a recline button. Extremely barebones, but functional.
For reference, you will not get these on long-hauls.
Departure
While I was unable to secure a window seat due to my last-minute booking, I did manage to snag an empty pair of middle seats, which worked perfectly for this flight. As soon as the cabin doors were closed (12 minutes late), the purser on today's flight came on to profusely apologize for the delay. I guess with most things being on time in Japan, it really is a rarity to have a delay.
We ended up pushing back 15 minutes late, had a quick taxi out, and rocketed out of runway 16R on a fine summer's evening.
IFE/Wifi
Not expecting much (what do you think, that I do some sort of research??? 😅), I headed over to my wifi settings on my phone and found wifi available. Okay, seen this drill before, how much will it cost???
Free? Well, isn’t that nice? And entertainment is available (you can see the selection in my previous review)?? Mashallah.
I’m quite impressed with JAL here, as while most people were sleeping on this flight, I became extremely productive for the 48 minutes of airtime. Perfect for business travelers.
Drinks Service
As soon as we hit 10,000 feet, the bell went off and the cabin crew snapped into action. Serving this many people on a 48-minute flight is tough, and Thai Airways has done it before on my Phnom Penh leg, but today we would only be offered a drinks service (First gets a snack).
A quick menu was distributed as the crew came around, and the options consisted of tea, coffee, water, and a few other options. With a couple of Asahi’s in the lounge, I decided on a cup of water to hydrate.
I could be one of those bloggers and detail the water, “mouth-watering”, “crisp and tender”, but bro, it was water…
Lavatories
Unfortauntely, unlike the single row of "First Class", there were no dedicated cabins for business class as they were shared with economy. While you will find two in the aft of the business class cabin, there were quite long waits usually.
Arrival
25 minutes into the flight, the captain came on to announce that we would be descending into Osaka shortly, and that the cabin crew should prepare the cabin for arrival.
We had a couple of twists and turns due to some traffic ahead of us (tracking off of the free wifi, ha), but we ended up touching down and pulling into our gate 12 minutes late. Not bad at all. Time to head off to Kansai to take yet another redeye!
Final Thoughts
So yes, this product is far from cutting-edge by any means. With business class laid out in a 2-2-2 configuration, it becomes one of the most dense 3-class 767-300s (ER) in the world. However, considering these are only deployed on domestic flights, I think JAL has done quite a nice job here all around. With efficient boarding, free wifi, and a small drinks service; it's a fantastic way to get from Point A to Point B. I would happily fly in Business again, although, an upgrade to First is only 69$, and that comes with First Class Lounge access.
Russia Series
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