Where did you hear this? I have an 80 minute transfer in NRT that's doomed if this is the case...
Received a sms at 5am this morning that my flights to NRT next year had changed. I was on JL772 from SYD-NRT then with a one hour transit, next flight out of NRT was JL68 to SEA. The JL068 flight is the more important than anything else as I have arrangements made meeting others who are flying into SEA that morning, then driving east to Spokane.
So, this text advised that my SYD-NRT (772) has been changed to SYD-HND (JL52) with approximately the same arrival time as 772. As you can see I have no hope in hell of connecting to NRT in an hour, so rang QF as these two were award flights. They were unable to find any flights with award seats that would get me to NRT in time to connect with JL 68 to SEA.
No problem, so asked them to check the day before into HND and I would stay overnight and fly out of NRT the following day as per my booking. Alas, there were no award J seats anywhere in the previous four days. Therefore, I am now booked SYD-BNE-NRT the day prior to that when I was previously booked, have to stay overnight and fly to SEA the following day. The QF assistant (who I might add was doing her best) advised that because the flights had been changed; that I would have to overnight at Tokyo, she would place an entry on the booking advising so.
Q. As an award booking through QF, but on JAL flights, I assume I should contact JAL to determine if they would compensate with hotel accommodation. I don't need to look around Tokyo as I will be back there a month after for just over a week, and my return flight out of Tokyo has already been changed to HND, and that's probably more convenient for me.