JFK-NRT: The ANA / JAL / Delta / United Tokyo Corridor — A 2026 Route Review

The JFK-to-Tokyo corridor is the most contested premium-cabin route between the US East Coast and Asia, and the 2026 hardware refresh cycle has reshuffled the competitive dynamics meaningfully. JAL has finished rolling out the A350-1000 across the New York-Tokyo rotations, ANA has refreshed The Room on the 777-300ER rotation, Delta has the A330-900neo Delta One Suite running daily on DL159 JFK-HND, and United is preparing the 787-9 Elevated retrofit for the EWR-HND rotation (note: EWR, not JFK, for United). The four-carrier competitive structure makes the corridor the deepest premium-cabin market between any US city pair and any single Asian metro, and the booking pattern requires careful attention to which airport, which terminal, and which currency optimizes for the kind of trip you are actually taking.

Business Class Journal flew all four carriers on the corridor in the past nine months — ANA The Room on NH9 JFK-HND, JAL Sky Suite on JL5 JFK-HND (A350-1000), Delta One Suite on DL159 JFK-HND, and United Polaris on UA79 EWR-HND — to triangulate the comparative product, lounge, and booking experience. Every flight was paid from our own pocket. No press trips, no comped seats, no promotional points.

What follows is the corridor review.

Quick answer

The JFK-Tokyo corridor in 2026 is best understood as a four-carrier competitive market with two airports on each end (JFK and EWR on the New York side; HND and NRT on the Tokyo side) and meaningful product differentiation across the four operators. The clarification of which carrier uses which airport pairing is the most important structural feature of the corridor:

• ANA: NH9/10 daily JFK-HND on the 777-300ER (The Room business / The Suite first) and NH109/110 daily JFK-HND on the 777-300ER (same hardware). ANA also operates NH7/8 daily JFK-NRT on the 777-300ER seasonally, though the HND rotations dominate the schedule in 2026. The corridor uses JFK on the US side exclusively for ANA, with HND as the primary Tokyo airport and NRT as a secondary rotation.
• JAL: JL3/4 daily HND-JFK on the A350-1000 (JAL Suite first / A350-1000 business class) and JL5/6 daily HND-JFK on the A350-1000 (same hardware). JAL operates two daily HND-JFK rotations on the A350-1000 as the primary product. JL4/5 NRT-JFK operates seasonally on the 777-300ER with Sky Suite Apex configuration in some seasons. JFK on the US side, HND/NRT on the Tokyo side.
• Delta: DL159/160 daily JFK-HND on the A330-900neo (Delta One Suite business class, no first class). JFK on the US side, HND only on the Tokyo side.
• United: UA79/80 daily EWR-HND on the Boeing 787-9 (Polaris business class, no first class). EWR (Newark), not JFK, on the US side, HND only on the Tokyo side as of 2026. United historically operated UA79 to NRT but transitioned to HND in 2023.

The product hierarchy on the corridor in 2026:

• Best business class hardware: ANA The Room on the 777-300ER (NH9/NH109), with the bulkhead ‘couple’ bay and 25-inch shoulder width as differentiators.
• Best business class hardware runner-up: JAL A350-1000 business class on JL3/JL5/JL4/JL6, with the closed door, 4K IFE, and wireless charging.
• Best first class: JAL Suite on the A350-1000 (JL3/JL5) — the only commercially available true first class on the corridor with closing doors, 47-inch shoulder width, and a separate bed and seat configuration.
• Best first class runner-up: ANA The Suite on the 777-300ER (NH9/NH109) — eight semi-enclosed suites, 35-inch shoulder width, well-regarded but not in the same generation as the JAL A350-1000 product.
• Best service polish: ANA’s “Inspiration of Japan” crew on NH9/NH109, with JAL crew a close second.
• Best catering: JAL on the A350-1000 (catering supplier is the Japan-domestic premium catering operator), with ANA a close second.
• Best lounge stack at JFK: ANA’s use of the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge at Terminal 7 (which is reasonable but not exceptional), followed by JAL’s use of the Korean Air Lounge and Air France Lounge at Terminal 1.
• Best value redemption: JAL business class via American AAdvantage at 60,000-75,000 miles one-way on saver space — the single best redemption on the corridor on miles math.

The recommendation for travellers with free choice and ability to secure the award space: book JAL A350-1000 business class on JL3/JL5 HND-JFK via American AAdvantage if you hold AAdvantage miles, book ANA The Room on NH9 or NH109 HND-JFK via Virgin Atlantic Flying Club if you hold those, and treat Delta One Suite and United Polaris as the fallback options when the Japanese carriers’ partner award space has cleared.

NRT vs HND vs JFK vs EWR — the airport geography

The four-airport map is the structural feature that defines the corridor’s booking pattern. The two Tokyo airports and the two New York airports each have meaningful differences in surface-transit time, terminal facility quality, and onward connectivity.

Haneda Airport (HND): Tokyo International Airport, located on Tokyo Bay roughly 15 kilometers south of central Tokyo. From HND to Tokyo Station via the Tokyo Monorail to Hamamatsucho and the JR Yamanote line transfer, the door-to-door time from arrival gate to a Marunouchi hotel lobby is 50 to 70 minutes during weekday daytime. The Keikyu Line provides an alternative route at similar travel time. HND is the structurally better Tokyo airport for business travel, leisure travel to central Tokyo, and onward Japan-domestic connections.

Narita International Airport (NRT): Located 60 kilometers east-northeast of central Tokyo. From NRT to Tokyo Station via the Narita Express (NEX) limited express train, the door-to-door time is 90 to 110 minutes. The travel-time differential to HND is 30 to 50 minutes consistently, which is meaningful and reliable. NRT has structurally larger and better-equipped lounges than HND for both ANA and JAL — the ANA Suite Lounge at NRT Terminal 1 is the largest ANA lounge globally with a sushi counter and a live noodle-cooking station — but the lounge advantage does not compensate for the surface-transit cost for most business travellers.

Newark Liberty International (EWR): Located 16 miles southwest of midtown Manhattan, EWR is the primary New Jersey-side airport for the New York metro. From EWR to Manhattan via the NJ Transit train to Penn Station, the door-to-door time is 35 to 55 minutes. EWR is used by United exclusively on the Tokyo corridor (UA79/80), and is the structurally better New York airport for travellers based in New Jersey or in lower Manhattan.

John F. Kennedy International (JFK): Located 15 miles southeast of midtown Manhattan, JFK is the primary New York-side international gateway. From JFK to Manhattan via the AirTrain to the Long Island Rail Road at Jamaica and the LIRR to Penn Station, the door-to-door time is 60 to 80 minutes during weekday daytime. JFK is used by ANA, JAL, and Delta on the corridor, with the highest concentration of carrier choice on the US side.

The optimal airport pairings on the corridor in 2026:

• JFK-HND: Available on ANA NH9, ANA NH109, JAL JL3, JAL JL5, and Delta DL159. The best high-quality pairing for travellers based in Manhattan or in greater New York / Long Island who want HND on the Tokyo side.
• EWR-HND: Available only on United UA79. The best pairing for travellers based in New Jersey, with the trade-off being the United Polaris product (a half-generation behind ANA and JAL on hardware).
• JFK-NRT: Available seasonally on ANA NH7 and JAL JL4. Defensible only for travellers who specifically want the NRT lounges or who are connecting beyond Tokyo on JAL domestic via NRT.
• EWR-NRT: Not available in 2026 — United transitioned UA79 from NRT to HND in 2023.

The structural recommendation: prefer HND-direct routings for business travel and short-stay leisure travel. Book NRT only if you specifically want the NRT lounge experience or if you are connecting onward via NRT on a Japan-domestic or onward-Asia leg.

ANA The Room and The Suite — the corridor benchmark

ANA’s NH9 and NH109 rotations on the 777-300ER are the corridor benchmark for both business class and first class hardware in 2026. The 777-300ER deployed on these rotations is configured with 8 seats of The Suite first class, 64 seats of The Room business class, 24 seats of Premium Economy, and 116 seats of Economy.

The Room (business class): ANA’s reverse-herringbone business class hardware, with a 1-2-1 layout across 16 rows. Each seat is 25 inches wide at the shoulder, with a 78-inch flat bed in lie-flat mode and the option to deploy the seat into a “couch mode” with a 21 inch additional ottoman. The seats include a sliding privacy door at the side, dual armrests, and a 24-inch IFE monitor. The standout feature of The Room is the bulkhead “couple” configuration — the two center seats in row 1 share a removable divider that allows the seats to face each other in a true face-to-face configuration, the only widely-available such product in commercial business class. The Room is structurally a half-tier above standard reverse-herringbone business class on raw width and on the bulkhead feature, and the product is widely cited as the best business class hardware available in 2026.

The Suite (first class): ANA’s first class hardware, with 8 semi-enclosed suites in a 1-2-1 layout across 2 rows. Each suite is 35 inches wide at the shoulder, with a 78-inch flat bed and a separate seat-and-bed configuration. The Suite includes a fully closing door at the side, a personal wardrobe, and a 43-inch IFE monitor. The product is well-regarded but is structurally a half-generation behind the JAL A350-1000 Suite — the JAL Suite is wider, has a fully enclosed environment with both side and front doors, and the bed and seat are separated by a longer distance creating a more spacious suite layout.

Service on NH9 and NH109 is anchored by ANA’s “Inspiration of Japan” crew, which remains the most consistent and disciplined large-cabin business-class service on the corridor. The catering is a multi-course Japanese kaiseki option plus Western options, with the Japanese kaiseki widely regarded as the best in-flight Japanese catering on any corridor in commercial aviation in 2026. The lounge at JFK Terminal 7 — where ANA departs — includes use of the British Airways Galleries and the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge for ANA Business and First passengers, with the Maple Leaf Lounge as the primary ANA-affiliated facility.

The Room is widely cited as the corridor benchmark on hardware. The Suite is the corridor benchmark on first class until JAL’s A350-1000 deployment, after which the JAL Suite takes that position. The combined ANA business and first class product is the strongest single-carrier premium-cabin proposition on the corridor in 2026, with the trade-off being that the partner award space on ANA is genuinely scarce and that booking on the corridor on ANA miles requires the round-trip-only constraint discussed in the ANA Mileage Club program teardown.

JAL A350-1000 — the corridor’s hardware refresh

JAL’s deployment of the A350-1000 on the JFK-HND rotations (JL3/JL4 and JL5/JL6) is the most significant hardware refresh on the corridor in the 2024-26 period. The A350-1000 configuration includes 6 JAL Suites (first class), 54 business class seats in the new A350 configuration, 24 premium economy seats, and 155 economy seats.

JAL Suite (first class) on the A350-1000: The strongest first class hardware on the corridor in 2026 and competitive with the best first class products in commercial aviation globally. The cabin contains 6 fully-enclosed suites in a 1-2-1 layout across 2 rows, with full-height doors at both the side and front of the suite. Each suite is 47 inches wide at the shoulder, with a separate seat and bed configuration (the bed deploys at a different position from the seat, allowing both to be set up simultaneously). The IFE is a 43-inch 4K monitor with high-resolution audio, wireless charging is available at the suite console, and the suite includes a personal wardrobe, vanity, and stowage area. The product is structurally first-class-equivalent to the Singapore Suites on the A380, the Etihad Apartments on the A380 (until A380 retirement), and the Emirates Game Changer Suite on the 777-300ER — the four best commercial first class products in 2026.

A350-1000 business class (no official “Sky Suite” branding): JAL’s new business class hardware on the A350-1000 is a closed-door reverse-herringbone configuration, structurally similar to the prior Sky Suite III product on the 787-9 but with material upgrades. Each seat is approximately 22 inches wide at the shoulder, with a 77-inch flat bed, a fully closing door at the side (52 inches high), a 24-inch 4K IFE monitor, wireless charging, and a wardrobe. The catering is the strongest single-carrier service on the corridor in 2026, with both Japanese and Western kaiseki options and a wider beverage program than the ANA equivalent.

JAL’s A350-1000 catering is anchored by the same Japan-based premium catering operator that supplies ANA, but with a wider menu range and (in our assessment) marginally better execution on the in-flight presentation. The crew service is structurally similar to ANA’s but slightly less consistent across departures — ANA wins on consistency, JAL wins marginally on catering quality and on the wine and spirits program.

The lounge at JFK Terminal 1 — where JAL departs — includes use of the Air France Lounge and the Korean Air Lounge for JAL Business and First passengers. The Air France Lounge is the better of the two and is structurally comparable to the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge at Terminal 7 used by ANA. There is no JAL-branded lounge at JFK.

JAL’s A350-1000 product is the strongest first class on the corridor and the runner-up to ANA on business class. The corridor recommendation is to book ANA for the bulkhead ‘couple’ bay feature on The Room if you specifically want that feature, otherwise book JAL A350-1000 for the door, the IFE, the catering, and the JAL Suite if you are upgrading to first class.

Delta One Suite on the A330-900neo — the JFK-HND alternative

Delta’s DL159/160 daily JFK-HND rotation on the A330-900neo is the third-most competitive carrier on the corridor in 2026 and is the only non-Japanese-carrier option from JFK to HND. The A330-900neo configuration includes 29 Delta One Suites in a 1-2-1 layout, 28 Premium Select premium economy seats, 56 Comfort+ extra-legroom economy seats, and 168 standard economy seats.

Delta One Suite (business class) on the A330-900neo: Thompson Aero Vantage XL seat in the Delta One Suite configuration, with a fully closing door, a 22.5-inch shoulder width, an 80-inch flat bed, direct aisle access, a 17-inch IFE monitor, and wireless charging. The product is a competent closed-door business class seat at parity with the JAL A350-1000 hardware on raw seat width and slightly behind on IFE and on overall cabin design. The catering is solid but unremarkable, structurally at parity with the standard Delta One transatlantic service and roughly half a tier behind the Japanese carriers on quality.

Delta One Suite on the A330-900neo is structurally the third-best hardware on the corridor in 2026 — behind ANA The Room and JAL A350-1000 business, ahead of United Polaris on the 787-9. The product is competitive enough to be a viable alternative when ANA and JAL award space has cleared, and Delta SkyMiles’ dynamic pricing on the corridor typically allows redemptions at 90,000-150,000 miles one-way (varying widely by date and demand), or Virgin Atlantic Flying Club at 75,000-95,000 miles one-way as an alternative.

The lounge at JFK Terminal 4 — where Delta departs — includes the Delta One JFK lounge (the dedicated Delta One pre-flight facility), which is structurally the best lounge available to any premium-cabin passenger at JFK in 2026. The Delta One JFK lounge is materially better than the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge used by ANA at Terminal 7 or the Air France Lounge used by JAL at Terminal 1.

The structural use case for Delta One Suite on DL159 is travellers with Delta SkyMiles balances who want HND-direct routing without the partner award space scarcity of the Japanese carriers, and travellers who specifically want the Delta One JFK lounge for the pre-flight experience.

United Polaris on the 787-9 — the EWR-HND option

United’s UA79/80 daily EWR-HND rotation on the Boeing 787-9 is the only Newark-side option on the corridor in 2026 and is structurally the weakest of the four carrier options on hardware. The 787-9 configuration on UA79 includes 48 Polaris business class seats in a 1-2-1 layout, 21 Premium Plus premium economy seats, 39 Economy Plus extra-legroom economy seats, and 153 standard economy seats.

Polaris (business class) on the 787-9: Saffran-Optima 1.0 reverse-herringbone seat, 78 cm shoulder width, 198 cm flat bed, no door on the standard 787-9 frames (the Elevated 787-9 retrofit adds Polaris Studio Suites with closing doors, but those frames are not currently deployed on UA79 as of mid-2026), 16-inch IFE monitor. The product is competent but is a half-generation behind ANA The Room and JAL A350-1000 business class on hardware, and the catering and crew service are structurally weaker than the Japanese carriers on the corridor.

The expected Elevated 787-9 retrofit on UA79 EWR-HND is planned for late 2026 to early 2027 based on United’s published deployment timeline, with the Polaris Studio Suites and Polaris 2.0 hardware replacing the standard Polaris 1.0 configuration. The retrofit will close the gap to JAL A350-1000 hardware on the corridor but is not expected to close the gap to ANA The Room or to JAL Suite first class.

The lounge at EWR Terminal C — where United departs — includes the United Polaris Lounge, which is structurally competitive with the Delta One JFK lounge for Polaris business class passengers. The pre-flight experience at EWR is meaningfully better than the pre-flight experience for ANA at JFK Terminal 7, slightly better than the JAL pre-flight experience at JFK Terminal 1, and roughly at parity with the Delta One JFK lounge at JFK Terminal 4.

The structural use case for United Polaris on UA79 is travellers based in New Jersey or Lower Manhattan who prefer EWR over JFK on convenience grounds, travellers with substantial United MileagePlus balances who want the corridor on their primary carrier, and travellers who want the United Polaris Lounge pre-flight experience.

The booking pattern — recommendations by status and currency

The optimal booking pattern on the corridor depends on which carrier’s product you want and which currency you primarily hold. The corridor-specific recommendations:

If you hold American AAdvantage miles and want JAL A350-1000 business class: Book JL3/JL4 or JL5/JL6 HND-JFK on AAdvantage at 60,000-75,000 miles one-way on saver space. This is the single best redemption on the corridor on miles math. JAL business class on the A350-1000 is the corridor’s runner-up to ANA The Room on hardware, and the catering and crew service are excellent. The structural constraint is JAL partner award space, which is scarce — JAL releases roughly two business class saver seats per departure at T-360 days, and that inventory clears within hours on the highest-demand dates.

If you hold Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles and want ANA The Room business class: Book NH9/NH10 or NH109/NH110 JFK-HND on Virgin Atlantic at 90,000-95,000 miles one-way on partner saver space (subject to confirmation of the 2026 program rates). Virgin Atlantic-to-ANA partner redemptions on the corridor have historically been the most consistent path for non-AAdvantage holders to access The Room product. The structural constraint is similar to JAL — ANA partner award space is scarce and clears quickly on the highest-demand dates.

If you hold ANA Mileage Club miles directly and want ANA The Room: Book NH9/NH10 or NH109/NH110 on ANA Mileage Club at 85,000 miles round-trip until May 19, 2026, or roughly 42,500 miles one-way after that date (subject to confirmation of the new one-way pricing). The ANA Mileage Club partner award space is the largest source of NH9/NH109 award inventory on the corridor, and ANA members get first access to the inventory before partner programs.

If you hold United MileagePlus miles and want any carrier on the corridor: Book on United MileagePlus at 75,000-95,000 miles one-way depending on partner availability. United MileagePlus has access to both ANA partner space (Star Alliance) and to United’s own UA79 EWR-HND rotation. The structural use case is travellers whose United balances are large and who want flexibility across the corridor’s Star Alliance partner inventory.

If you hold Delta SkyMiles and want Delta One Suite: Book DL159/DL160 on SkyMiles at the dynamic rate, typically 90,000-150,000 miles one-way depending on date and demand. The SkyMiles dynamic pricing is uneven on the corridor — off-peak dates can clear at 80,000 miles, peak dates can price at 200,000+ miles. Check the SkyMiles redemption calendar before transferring points to SkyMiles for a Delta One booking.

If you hold Capital One, Chase, or Amex flexible points and want the JAL A350-1000: Transfer to American AAdvantage or to JAL Mileage Bank for the saver redemption. AAdvantage at 60,000-75,000 miles is the best path; JAL Mileage Bank at 80,000 miles is the first class redemption path. Note that JAL Mileage Bank is accessible only from Capital One (1:1) or Marriott Bonvoy (3:1 with 60K bonus) — Amex and Chase do not transfer to JAL directly, and the routing through Marriott incurs a 50-60 percent conversion tax.

The verdict

The JFK-Tokyo corridor in 2026 is the deepest premium-cabin market between any US city pair and any single Asian metro, with four carriers operating eight daily rotations across two US airports and two Tokyo airports. The hardware competition has tightened materially in 2024-26 with JAL’s A350-1000 deployment, and the corridor’s premium-cabin experience is now structurally at parity or better than the trans-Atlantic corridors from JFK on most carriers’ best products.

The structural recommendation: book JAL A350-1000 business class via American AAdvantage at 60,000-75,000 miles one-way if you have the AAdvantage balance and the partner award space, book ANA The Room via Virgin Atlantic at 90,000 miles one-way if you have the VS balance, treat Delta One Suite and United Polaris as the fallback options when the Japanese carriers’ partner award space has cleared, and prefer HND-direct routings over NRT for the 30-50 minute surface-transit advantage. The corridor’s hardware competition makes nearly any premium-cabin booking on it a competitive product in 2026, and the carrier choice is increasingly a soft-product preference decision rather than a hardware-driven decision.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which carriers fly New York to Tokyo, and which use JFK versus EWR and HND versus NRT in 2026? Four carriers operate the corridor in 2026, with a clear airport pattern. ANA operates NH109/110 daily HND-JFK and NH9/10 daily NRT-JFK — JFK on both sides, with HND for the primary Haneda rotation and NRT for the secondary Narita rotation, all on the 777-300ER with The Room business class and The Suite first class. JAL operates JL5/6 daily HND-JFK and JL3/4 daily HND-JFK — both rotations from HND to JFK, both on the A350-1000 with the JAL Suite first class and the new A350 business class. JAL also operates JL4/5 NRT-JFK seasonally on the 777-300ER with Sky Suite Apex configuration. Delta operates DL159/160 daily JFK-HND on the A330-900neo with Delta One Suite business class (no first class). United operates UA79/80 daily EWR-HND (note: EWR, not JFK) on the Boeing 787-9 with Polaris business class (no first class). The clarification table: ANA uses JFK and HND/NRT; JAL uses JFK and HND/NRT; Delta uses JFK and HND only; United uses EWR (not JFK) and HND only.

How does ANA The Room compare to JAL Sky Suite III in 2026, given JAL’s A350-1000 rollout? ANA The Room on the 777-300ER remains the most distinctive business class hardware on the corridor — 25-inch shoulder width, a sliding door, a 78-inch couch-mode flat bed, and the only widely-available ‘couple’ bulkhead bay in commercial business class (the two center seats can convert into a face-to-face double-seat configuration). The product is structurally a half-tier above standard reverse-herringbone business class on raw width and on the bulkhead feature. JAL’s new A350-1000 business class (the cabin used on JL3/JL4 and JL5/JL6 HND-JFK) is a closed-door reverse-herringbone configuration with 52-inch high doors, a 4K monitor, wireless charging, and a wardrobe — the strongest closed-door business class hardware in the JAL fleet but materially narrower than The Room (approximately 22 inches shoulder width versus The Room’s 25 inches). The JAL A350-1000 cabin is not officially branded ‘Sky Suite III’ — that name was used for the 787-9 reverse-herringbone product, which is the same architecture but with 20-inch shoulder width. On the A350-1000, JAL has closed roughly 80 percent of the gap to ANA on hardware and the catering quality is at parity or slightly above ANA. The Room still wins on the bulkhead ‘couple’ bay and on raw width. The A350-1000 wins on the door and on the catering.

Should I fly into Narita (NRT) or Haneda (HND) for business in 2026, and how do the transfer times work? Haneda (HND) saves a confirmed 30 to 50 minutes of surface transit time to central Tokyo on the Tokyo Monorail or Keikyu line versus the Narita Express from NRT. From HND to Tokyo Station via the Monorail to Hamamatsucho and the JR Yamanote transfer, door-to-door from gate to a Marunouchi hotel lobby runs 50 to 70 minutes. From NRT to Tokyo Station on the Narita Express, the same door-to-door measurement runs 90 to 110 minutes. The differential is meaningful and consistent. For business travel to Marunouchi, Roppongi, Akasaka, or Shibuya, HND is the clearly better airport. For travellers connecting beyond Tokyo on Japan domestic or onward Asia routings, HND has materially better connectivity on ANA and JAL than NRT. For travellers with NRT-specific lounge preferences (ANA Suite Lounge at NRT Terminal 1 is the largest ANA lounge globally; JAL Sakura Lounge at NRT is similarly larger than HND equivalents), NRT remains defensible. The Narita-to-Haneda intra-Tokyo transit by limousine bus is roughly 2 to 2.5 hours and should be avoided if possible — book HND-direct routings.

What is the optimal miles-and-points booking pattern for JFK-Tokyo by status and currency in 2026? The booking pattern depends on which currency you primarily hold and which carrier’s product you want. For ANA The Room on NH9/10 or NH109/110, the cheapest published rates are ANA Mileage Club at 85,000 round-trip (until May 19, 2026) or roughly 42,500 one-way after, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club at 90,000 miles one-way (the historical sweet spot, may have changed in the 2026 program updates), or United MileagePlus at 75,000-95,000 miles one-way on partner saver space. For JAL First Class on JL3/JL5, the cheapest published rate is JAL Mileage Bank at 80,000 miles one-way off-peak (in the 6,001-8,000 mile distance band) or American AAdvantage at 100,000 miles one-way on saver space. For JAL business class on JL3/JL4/JL5/JL6 on the A350-1000, AAdvantage at 60,000-75,000 miles one-way is the single best redemption on the route. For Delta One Suite DL159, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club at 75,000-95,000 miles one-way or Delta SkyMiles dynamic pricing at typically 90,000-150,000 miles one-way. For United Polaris UA79, United MileagePlus at 75,000-95,000 miles one-way or Air Canada Aeroplan at 75,000-90,000 miles. The structural recommendation: book JAL business via AAdvantage if you have it, ANA The Room via Virgin Atlantic if you have it, otherwise default to ANA Mileage Club or Aeroplan depending on availability.

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