ANA vs JAL: Which Japanese Airline Should You Fly?

Pick JAL if you are flying economy or premium economy. Its 787s seat economy 8 across instead of ANA’s 9, its premium economy has about 4 inches more legroom, and every economy ticket includes two free checked bags.

Pick ANA if you want to land at Haneda, the Tokyo airport inside the city: 8 of its 12 US routes go there, against 6 of JAL’s 13. ANA is also the pick for United miles, and it is the higher-rated airline, No. 4 in the world at the 2026 Skytrax awards against JAL’s No. 9.

In business class it is close to a tie, because both fly suites with doors on their newest aircraft. This comparison uses the two airlines’ own seat pages, schedules, bag rules and award charts, plus Cirium’s on-time data, as of September 2026.

Economy seats

This is the biggest difference between the two airlines. On the Boeing 787-9 and 787-8, JAL fits 8 economy seats per row in a 2-4-2 layout, each about 18.9 inches (48 cm) wide with about 33 inches (84 cm) of pitch.

JAL’s own seat page says the 787 “features a more relaxed 8-across seat layout rather than the industry standard 9-across, allowing for an extra 5 cm in seat width.”

ANA flies its 787-8, 787-9 and 787-10 at 9 across, 3-3-3, with 34 inches (86 cm) of pitch. It publishes a width only for the 787-8: 17.2 inches (43.7 cm), except for some seats.

Multiply pitch by width and JAL’s 787 economy seat gives about 625 square inches, ANA’s 585. That is 7% more room, even though ANA’s pitch is about an inch longer.

The gap is similar on the Boeing 777-300ER. JAL seats economy 9 across (3-3-3) at about 18.5 inches (47 cm) wide, while ANA’s refitted 777s, the ones with THE Room business class, seat mostly 10 across (3-4-3) with 34 inches of pitch.

ANA’s older 777 layout lists 9 seats per row, and ANA does not publish a 777 economy width. Its A380 to Honolulu is 10 across on the main deck.

ANA’s economy is still well liked: Skytrax ranked it No. 5 for economy class in 2026. The difference is the hardware, not the service.

Edge: JAL. One fewer seat per row on the 787 and the 777 means a wider seat on both.

Premium economy

JAL’s Sky Premium seat has about 42 inches (107 cm) of pitch on the 777-300ER, the 787 and the A350-1000. It is about 19 inches (48 to 49 cm) wide, in 2-4-2 rows on the 777 and A350 and 2-3-2 on the 787.

ANA’s premium economy has 38 inches (97 cm) of pitch on every type it flies to the US, and 19.3 inches (49 cm) of width where ANA publishes one. Its new 787-9 cabin raises that to 40 inches (101 cm), but those aircraft only start arriving after November 2026.

If you are deciding whether the cabin is worth it at all, our guide to premium economy vs economy runs the numbers on the upgrade.

Edge: JAL. About 4 more inches of legroom than ANA’s current premium economy.

Business and first class

ANA’s flagship business seat is THE Room on the refitted 777-300ER: 64 seats in a 1-2-1 layout, alternating forward and rear facing, each with a door and a 24-inch 4K screen. ANA publishes no width or bed length for it.

JAL’s answer is the Airbus A350-1000: 54 business seats in a 1-2-1 layout behind translucent doors, about 22 inches (56 cm) wide with a 78-inch (198 cm) bed and a 24-inch screen. JAL flies it from Haneda to New York, Dallas-Fort Worth and Los Angeles.

The older seats matter too, because you will not always get the flagship. JAL’s 777 Sky Suite is 2-3-2 with a 74-inch (188 cm) bed and aisle access from every seat, and ANA’s older 787s and 777s use a staggered seat with direct aisle access.

ANA’s next seat, THE Room FX on new 787-9s, has been announced but is not flying yet: ANA said in August 2026 that it will take delivery after November 2026.

“ANA is dedicated to providing the highest level of a customer experience and is investing in the future of the most advanced and comfortable travel with the new ‘THE Room FX’ seat.”

Tomoji Ishii, ANA executive vice president, customer experience, ANA Holdings, June 2025

Edge: Even. Both flagships are 1-2-1 suites with doors, so the aircraft on your route decides it, not the airline.

US routes: Haneda vs Narita

Tokyo has two big airports, and it matters which one you land at. Haneda sits on Tokyo Bay within the city; Narita is in Chiba Prefecture, 37 miles (60 km) from Haneda.

ANA flies 8 US routes from Haneda: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, New York, Houston, Chicago and Honolulu. From Narita it flies 4 more, to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Honolulu.

JAL flies 6 from Haneda (New York JFK, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Honolulu) and 7 from Narita (Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle and Honolulu). It also flies Narita to Guam.

So the city you fly from can decide it. Only JAL flies to Boston, Dallas and San Diego, and only ANA flies to Washington and Houston.

Honolulu is the one route where ANA flies the A380. The Flying Honu has 520 seats, including 73 in premium economy and 8 in first class.

Edge: Split. ANA for Haneda, JAL for more US cities.

Bags, Wi-Fi and price

JAL’s baggage page is simple: on international flights, economy and premium economy passengers check two bags of 50 pounds (23 kg) each, and first and business get three of 70 pounds (32 kg).

ANA’s allowance now depends on the fare. From May 2026 it switched its North America fares to Basic, Value Plus and Full Flex, and Basic includes one checked bag in economy, premium economy and business; the other two include two.

Wi-Fi splits the same way. JAL gives economy and premium economy the first hour free, and first and business unlimited access. ANA gives economy free messaging, but browsing costs $6.95 for 30 minutes or $21.95 for the whole flight, while its first and business passengers get it free.

On price, neither airline is systematically cheaper on the Pacific, and we found no dated study that compares the same routes and dates. Check both, and compare the fares with the same bag allowance: an ANA Basic fare with one bag is not the same product as a JAL fare with two.

Edge: JAL. Two free bags on every economy ticket and a free hour of Wi-Fi.

Miles and alliances

ANA is in Star Alliance and runs a transpacific joint venture with United, so United MileagePlus members earn miles and Premier qualifying credit on eligible ANA flights. Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club also books ANA, listing business class from 52,500 miles from the western US.

JAL is in oneworld and has a Pacific joint business with American. AAdvantage lists JAL awards from the contiguous US to Japan starting at 35,000 miles one way in economy, 60,000 in business and 80,000 in first. Alaska’s Atmos Rewards, which replaced Mileage Plan in August 2025, also books JAL.

The airlines’ own programs work differently. ANA Mileage Club publishes a seasonal chart, 100,000 to 165,000 miles round trip in business between Japan and North America. JAL Mileage Bank prices by itinerary and seat availability, from 55,000 miles one way in business.

Edge: Even. Fly the airline whose partner program you already collect: United for ANA, American or Alaska for JAL.

On-time record and ratings

The two are almost level on punctuality. In Cirium’s 2025 review, ANA arrived on time on 78.88% of 309,998 flights, third in Asia-Pacific, and JAL on 78.25% of 313,410, fifth. Cirium counts a flight as on time if it arrives within 14 minutes 59 seconds of schedule.

The order flipped from the year before, when JAL ranked first in Asia-Pacific at 80.90% and ANA followed at 80.62%.

Both are Skytrax 5-star airlines. At the 2026 World Airline Awards, ANA ranked No. 4 in the world and won World’s Best Airport Services, while JAL ranked No. 9 and came third for airport services.

Edge: ANA. A tie on punctuality, but the higher Skytrax ranking two years running.

Safety

The fairest way to compare safety is the accident record. JAL’s most recent serious accident was on January 2, 2024, when its A350-900 collided with a Japan Coast Guard Dash 8 on landing at Haneda.

All 379 people on the JAL jet got out, with one serious and four minor injuries, according to the Japan Transport Safety Board. Five of the six Coast Guard crew died. The JTSB has published two interim reports and, as of September 2026, no final report.

Both airlines carry older fatal accidents. JAL 123 in 1985 killed 520 of the 524 people aboard, according to the FAA, and ANA 58 in 1971 killed all 162 aboard after a mid-air collision with a Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-86F.

AirlineRatings, a private rating site, put ANA 14th on its safest airlines list for 2026 and left JAL out of its top 25. That is a rating built on its own criteria, not accident data, and it does not show that JAL is unsafe.

Edge: Even. Neither record gives a reason to pick one airline over the other on safety.

Flying within Japan

For visitors, JAL has the clearer offer. Its Japan Explorer Pass sells domestic economy seats to people who live outside Japan and hold an international ticket to and from Japan, and JAL’s US site shows fares from $82 including tax.

ANA’s US site says its Discover Japan Fare, its visitor fare, was discontinued as of May 18, 2026. ANA is still the bigger domestic airline, and from May 19, 2026 it renamed its domestic Premium Class to First Class (Premium Class).

Edge: JAL. For a visitor adding domestic flights, it is the one with a visitor fare on sale.

Who should pick which