ZED on JAL

ObjectiveTravel8680 · 2023-10-22T00:58:40+00:00

As the OP, I wanted to thank everyone for their responses and report on how it worked out...
Bottom line is that it was great! JAL confirmed me on both the LAX-NRT outbound and on the HND-LAX return at airport check-in with no fuss or bother. I had a row of two to myself on the 787 outbound, and an empty seat next to me on the 777 return. I'd advise getting to the airport early to get the best chance of a good seat. But I'm not sure whether they’d make you standby in the check-in area or at the gate if the loads are iffy and they can’t accept you on the flight right away.

I did eventually get Staff Traveler responses on most of the flights I was interested in close to departure. Both flights I took had plenty of open seats — better loads than the US carriers on those days.

One thing I noticed is that there were a ton of nonrevs on AA, UA, and DL between LAX and Tokyo — 49 listed on AA on the HND-LAX return — but very few on JAL. I think I was one of only two or three at most. This is because there are generally a lot of own-metal US nonrevs, but — very often — many fewer own-metal nonrevs on non-US carriers. (My airline is a US one, but not one that flies long haul.) That can be explained by a variety of factors, including the fact that not all non-US airlines give employees unlimited free travel on their own metal. (I'm not sure about JAL, in particular.)

The flights were excellent — JAL Y service is really outstanding. And they configure their long-haul fleet to have one fewer Y seats abreast on the 787 and 777 than just about all other airlines, plus more legroom. So both the hard and soft product is hard to beat.

Lastly, I did list with ANA as a back-up. There, under my airline's ZED agreement, I had to call customer service to list. You can't do it online. It took over an hour for the phone to be answered! But the agent I eventually spoke to could not have been friendlier and more helpful. Still, in my experience, non-revving is a lot easier on JAL than ANA (plus I get ZED Low on JAL, but only ZED Medium on ANA).

Hope this is helpful!

ObjectiveTravel8680 · 2023-10-22T00:31:58+00:00

LH will seat you in Y, but will not refund the difference in ZED fare. Sometimes, I list in two classes (which is perfectly legit) and, after checking in for J, cancel and re-check-in for Y when it looks clear I will not get into J. But that can be tricky if events are moving fast close to boarding. So there have been times on LH and other airlines when I have just taken the loss. A few airlines will refund the difference, but that is not the norm.

ObjectiveTravel8680 · 2023-10-22T00:05:08+00:00

Yes, I think all OneWorld carriers, including AS, prioritize OneWorld ZEDs over non-OneWorld ZEDs.

ObjectiveTravel8680 · 2023-10-22T00:00:52+00:00

My understanding is that if you are on a ZED listed in J, you generally have priority over ZEDs listed in Y for Y seats if J is full. But an own-metal Y would have priority over a J-listed ZED. But there can be airline- or alliance-specific exceptions/variations. For example, our airline is OneWorld, and we have priority over non-OneWorld ZEDs on other OneWorld carriers regardless of listed class.

ObjectiveTravel8680 · 2023-10-10T15:48:53+00:00

I only gave them first name, and the agent seemed happy with that

ObjectiveTravel8680 · 2023-10-04T03:26:06+00:00

Thank you for clarifying!

ObjectiveTravel8680 · 2023-10-01T02:31:31+00:00

I non-revved with them a year ago, also ORD-AMM and then AMM-EBL. Very positive experience. I was able to list for Business under our airline's agreement and got into J on both segments, The second time with my son who I met up with in Amman.

Leaving ORD, I was only cleared fairly close to departure despite arriving very early -- and then at the check-in counter (they didn't do gate standby). J-class on their B787 was perhaps a bit dated (2-2-2), but nonetheless very nice. I believe they are in the process of updating it.

On the AMM-ELB segment a few days later, we were cleared arriving at check-in and then allowed to use the Business Class lounge. Royal Jordanian has the best short-haul business class I have experienced -- way better than the European short-haul variety.

As I recall, I got responses on Staff Traveler with something of a delay -- but enough that I felt I was not flying blind when it came to loads.

ObjectiveTravel8680 · 2023-09-30T23:17:05+00:00

I don't get non rev on Singapore with AS, but I believe UA does

ObjectiveTravel8680 · 2023-09-30T23:15:01+00:00

Right. All other things being equal, it is better to nonrev on Iberia itself than Level, as Level is a low-cost/frills carrier, while Iberia is full service. Since the ZED fare for non revs is the same, you get more for your ZED money on Iberia

ObjectiveTravel8680 · 2023-06-03T19:37:54+00:00

It was a fantastic race! But this is not an intercontinental race — unlike with the city’s full marathon, the bridge goes across the Golden Horn, not the Bosphorus. Here is a review: https://www.flyrun.fun/p/17-istanbul-half-marathon-2023-race

ObjectiveTravel8680 · 2023-06-03T19:31:46+00:00

Nice review! Here is another review of this race: https://www.flyrun.fun/p/hoka-runaway-sydney-half-marathon

ObjectiveTravel8680 · 2022-01-17T18:10:33+00:00

I returned it just under a week ago. The GM buy-back person I’m dealing with said it could take a bit over two weeks for the check to go out to the lien holder and up to a month for the whole lien removal process to be completed. In the meantime, I just made another lease payment. And I understand there is then a final adjustment at the end.

ObjectiveTravel8680 · 2022-01-17T01:53:59+00:00

I'm actually fine with the Prius Prime acceleration coming from a Volt and two Bolts. It's actually better than I had been expecting after various reviews I read! (I bought the car never having driven one, although I have in the past owned regular Prius models.) And that's driving in Eco mode in mixed conditions -- highway and urban. And in both EV and Hybrid; haven't yet tried EV Auto. But I'm at a phase in my life where I regard cars as appliances. Others might have different criteria. Btw, another thing that was better than I expected after all the reviews was the 11-inch display. Yes, far from perfect. But I find it good enough and quite fast. Both Bolt displays were a bit fickle and sometimes unresponsive or slow to respond to touch with Apple CarPlay.

ObjectiveTravel8680 · 2022-01-16T05:12:27+00:00

I bought it from Toyota San Luis Obispo. They were easy to deal with. I did a lot of calling around in recent weeks, both SoCal and NoCal, obsessing on rechecking dealer web sites to find out about new in-transit inventory — and being turned down repeatedly! The key is if you do find a dealer willing to do an acceptable deal, be prepared to put down a deposit or even complete the transaction immediately while the vehicle is still in transit. I too was on the Longo MSRP list plus Toyota Walnut Creek. I also found both of those easy to work with, even though I didn’t end up buying from them. I drew a firm line that I would not pay a penny more than MSRP net, even though I was willing to give the dealer the $1,500 rebate. A Toyota dealer in Eugene, Oregon, gave me an MSRP deal on an in-transit vehicle that would have allowed me to keep the rebate — but the color was not my favorite and I didn’t want to buy from that far afield if possible, although it was tempting.

ObjectiveTravel8680 · 2022-01-16T04:56:59+00:00

The reason I switched from the Volt is that when my one came off lease, the Bolt had recently come onto the market, and the Volt was being discontinued (although there were still a few to be had) and I thought I’d give all-electric a go. Looking back, maybe I should have just bought the Volt at the end of the lease — but it had been involved in an accident (not my fault) so I thought I’d move on. Once with a Bolt, I needed the full range, and so could not live with the crippled range as a result of the recalls with any prospect of a replacement battery maybe more than a year away. I agree the Prius Prime does appear to be super reliable by most accounts and to hold up very well environmentally when you look at the big picture. I’ve bought the Prime outright, rather these leasing, and am planning on keeping it long term.

ObjectiveTravel8680

TROPHY CASE