Premium economy - Finnair vs JAL?

[tdimdad]

If you have flown in PE both on AY and JL, what's your opinion between them? Which one would you prefer for long-haul (Asia - Europe, 12-14 h flight times)?

I'm planning for my end-of-year trip and my primary options ex-Australia (and back) are QF Y (A330) + AY PE (A350) or JL PE+PE (2*B787). The pricing is close enough each other for me to weight them against each other on the quality of the hard & soft products.

 

[encryptededdy]

Do you have oneworld status? One advantage of JL is that you get lounge access on a PE ticket.

I haven't personally flown AY PE, but I have flown JL PE (B787), QF PE (A388 refurbished), NZ PE (B787), and also CX PE (A350), and my general thought is that the CX PE was a little bit cramped width wise. 2-4-2 is only 1 seat narrower than the typical A350 configuration, and while the A350 is a wider aircraft than the 787, I don't think it's wide enough for a whole extra PE seat.

JL 787 PE was a great experience, with the exception of the food being nothing impressive, since it was the same menu as economy except with added Champagne etc. The hard product is absolutely great though, which I suspect is the most important on these long flights. 42" of pitch is class-leading (compared to the 38" on Finnair, and having flown Qantas PE with 38" pitch I can definitely say it's not great). Additionally, 2-3-2 on the 787 is about as wide as PE seats get (except rare cases like China Airlines with 2-3-2 PE on the A350).

 

[tdimdad]

Yes, I'll be going as an OWS, possibly as an OWE (if my future travel plans go through).

I've done both JL B787 and QF A380 PE's last year long haul. While I felt a little more home with the QF seat ergonomics (better leg support?), the overall seat & cabin experience on JL is a lot roomier and nicer. And I just love the service on JL, just up my alley (low key, soft, out of your face but observant & attentive).
The question is how would AY compare to JL (or QF)?

As a side note on JL B787 seats, even Y cabin is perfectly adequate for long-haul because of the space. The seats work well and of the planes I've flown, by far my favourite Y cabin.

 

[AIRwin]

The question is how would AY compare to JL (or QF)?

Which did you end up trying out?

 

[tdimdad]

As it happened, neither. Came across a good Y deal from AY and booked that one. The pricing was pre-pandemic levels (and was gone again in a few days) and I just couldn't resist.

On 3/4 of flights, I had the group of seats (2 or 3) to myself. On SIN-HEL I had a window and there was another pax on the isle seat. On the return trip, HEL-xHKG-SYD, three seats on both legs to yourself is just enough for some fake sleeping.

I'm currently dreaming of a simple RTW later this year and if it happens to include AY PE, I'll report on the experience back here.