How to find cheap(er) air fare to Japan from the US?

[Tony Galiani]

Just got an e-mail from American Airlines as they are offering a Fall sale to Japan.  Economy starts around US$930 and Premium Economy is all over the place from about $2625 to over $5K.  Plugging in my dates of travel, I found one PE fare for that low price (outbound via Chicago on JAL metal and return via DFW on American) but all the rest were higher.  So, as usual, I good deal might be found but it will take some trolling.

Cheers,

Tony

[Kingmeow]

Interesting data point Tony on AA's "sale".  I guess inflation is still around with PE starting at $2625 to $5k (yikes! - I rather go Business then!).  Seems we pulled the trigger at the right time with United at $2150, non-stop.

[Tony Galiani]

Just checked and my current routing to Osaka in October in PE is now over $7K.  Almost triple the cost I paid.  There were some routings in the US$2500 range but very few.  Air Canada via Toronto being one of them.  Glad I purchased mine when I did as well.

In and out of Tokyo still has some decent fares but I really wanted to fly into Osaka on this trip.  And based on my recent travels, any PE pricing in the $2K range is probably the best you are likely to find.

Ciao,

Tony

[kuro68000]

Don't Chinese operators fly to the US, or do you just not want to use one?

 

Recently they were doing London to Tokyo for about 1/3rd the price of ANA and JAL, via Beijing. Even though you had to stop over, it ended up taking about the same time because they can go the shorter Siberian route.

 

Next time I might try it. If it was only a few hundred bucks I'd stick with ANA and JAL, but it's nearly £1000 when they have a sale on.

[Kingmeow]

Wow, $7k for PE!  I can't imagine what Business class will cost!  😲

[Tony Galiani]

@Kingmeow - I saw Business class circa $12K!  But it constantly changes - I flew to Greece last summer for about $4K.  Today one price, tomorrow totally different - a constant up and down.

 

@mojo - There are some Chinese operators flying to the US.  Not necessarily a big fan plus I would still have to fly somewhere to connect and that is not always easy.  For example, if I connect at JFK, I have to go through security at my home airport and then again at JFK since the international terminal used by most of the foreign airlines is separate so means another trip through security.  Maybe they will eventually bring the airport into the 21st Century but I am not holding my breath.

Plus of course I have been sucked into the airline status game.  I haven't actively tried to achieve status but having it does make life easier.  Returning from Germany with bags to be checked I was able to use a fast lane to drop off my bags with a very short wait.

 

BTW - I assume most travelers know about this but just in case .... if you are a US citizen returning after a trip, you can use the Mobile Passport Control app to speed through customs.  Not as good as Global Entry but it is free which is nice.  I enter my info on the return flight and then hit Send after we arrive and I have a phone connection.  The MCP line is always shorter and quicker than the regular lines for Passport Control.

 

Ciao,

Tony

[Kingmeow]

Yeah @Tony Galiani I think the stock market fluctuates less than airfares!!!!  😲  That's why we always check even AFTER buying our tickets, just in case the fares drop.  It does happen.  On our recent (only last month) trip to Italy/Greece for our Mediterranean cruise, my wife checked the airfare about a month before we were to leave.  We bought the tickets about 3 months out.  Low and behold the prices were $500 cheaper for the same flight, same seats, same everything!  Immediate call to United and got our money back in the form of a credit.

 

Money refund would be better but with a credit, it expires in a year.  They are not stupid.  That's a small partial reason why we are heading back out to Japan in October.  We figured where are we to go in the cold months before the credit expires in March?  We've been to the Caribbean many times and South America doesn't really interest us.

[Tony Galiani]

Now Delta is getting in on the act.  Just got a sale message for US$930 round trip in Basic Economy to Japan.  Didn't bother to go in and look at the other fare categories but this may be a good time to search for fares for the Fall if anyone is still thinking about a trip there.

Tony

[chadbag]

I wish I was able to go to Japan this Fall...   Those prices are not bad all things considered.  I fly lowly economy (not basic) as I don't want to afford PE.  I did fly PE once to Sweden but it was not something I paid directly for (it was included in our Sweden delivery VOlovo purchase [which was cheaper than buying the car through our local dealer]).

 

I just did a sample round trip SLC to OSA (any Osala area airport) on Delta and AA.  Cheapest main cabin on Delta was over $2200.  Cheapest on American was $975 for Basic, $1175 for main cabin (and premium meaning Business or First was $9000+).  

 

Checking Chase Ultimate Rewards for the same schedule the cheapest was Air Canada at $1269 basic / $1349 standard.  AL their connections sucked and were 10 hours longer.  I'm surprised the AA fares didn't show up on Chase.  We've used them in the past and gotten AA.  But their provider has changed sometime in the last year or so and maybe that's why I have not seen a lot of the US majors there.  Maybe I have to call them.

 

We can't go this year but I wanted to compare.  

[kuro68000]

When comparing flights, do you look at the baggage allowances? Or are they all pretty much the same?

 

Two suitcases up to 23kg each seems to be the standard for all UK-Japan flights, plus carry on.

 

And how about leg room and seat width?

 

I've found the seats on JAL and ANA to be better for comfort too.

[chadbag]

5 hours ago, mojo said:

When comparing flights, do you look at the baggage allowances? Or are they all pretty much the same?

 

Two suitcases up to 23kg each seems to be the standard for all UK-Japan flights, plus carry on.

 

And how about leg room and seat width?

 

I've found the seats on JAL and ANA to be better for comfort too.

 

You need to.  The US based airlines have broken with the standard and usually only have one included checked bag, while the asian airlines all have two.  The US airlines used to have the same two (since that was what the market did).  And the US airlines have started to run "Basic Economy" as well which has none.  They used to not run "Basic Economy" to Japan.

 

For us the checked luggage is important as we always have two per person if we can since we always buy a ton of crap.

 

ETA: the foreign airlines tend to have more seat room as well.  Both width and pitch.  But remember some of your "domestic" flights might be code shar on the ANA or JAL planes so at least then you get the perhaps cheaper fare but the same width and pitch (but still only the domestic fare's baggage allowance)

 

Edited August 14 by chadbag

[Kingmeow]

10 hours ago, mojo said:

When comparing flights, do you look at the baggage allowances? Or are they all pretty much the same?

 

Two suitcases up to 23kg each seems to be the standard for all UK-Japan flights, plus carry on.

 

And how about leg room and seat width?

 

I've found the seats on JAL and ANA to be better for comfort too.

 

My experience with United is that you get 2 checked for Premium Economy and Business.  I *think* Regular Economy too but am not sure.  I don't know about other US airlines.

 

We don't pay much attention to this as we have been traveling for years with just carry on's, even on long trips that last 2 weeks.  Our friends call us crazy, we call it efficient!  We've never had any delays due to luggage or any lost luggage.  🤣🤣🤣

 

Last year we went to Japan for 2 weeks, this year Portugal, Italy/Greece (with a cruise thrown in), Bahamas (cruise), all with just a carry on each.  😎  But 3 weeks in Japan this October may change all that although my wife still insists on carry on only and buy luggage IF we need to coming back (she doesn't know my model train plan 😈).

 

At least with United, they don't seem to weigh or measure any of your carry on's.  I've seen monstrosity of carry on's brought on to the plane with nary a peep from any flight attendants or gate agents.  US folks tend to go overboard about "personal rights".  🙄  Yet when we flew TAP Portugal, they wheeled in a portable scale to the gate and weighed EVERY SINGLE piece of carry on going onboard the plane.  They also check dimensions too!  They had police standing next to the scale and surprisingly there were no arguments when anything violates the standards.  😄

 

I can't comment on leg room but I've heard JAP and ANA has about one inch more (than United).

[cteno4]

Airports with big duty free malls tend to be the worst at enforcing carryon weight and size restrictions. When flying thru Heathrow years a go we got a series of very draconian emails before our flight that flying out of Heathrow we were only allowed one small personal carryon with very small size and weight restrictions and no overhead compartment use. No options if too big at gate but leave it behind and over weight leave stuff behind. I couldn’t figure out what was going on until we walked thru the huge duty free mall there and most of the plane loaded with folks coming on with enormous duty free bags which apparently were exempt from this. They filled every nook and cranny with duty free crap. Ran into this again to a lighter degree a couple of times later.

 

jeff

[chadbag]

1 hour ago, Kingmeow said:

I *think* Regular Economy too but am not sure. 

 

You're right (at the moment).  United currently shows 2 checked in economy to Japan on a smaple trip I looked up on their website.  We flew with them several years ago and it was 1 (and 2 on the trip before that).  I think they've been trying both but lose business to the asian carriers who offer two.

 

 

[kuro68000]

13 hours ago, Kingmeow said:

We don't pay much attention to this as we have been traveling for years with just carry on's, even on long trips that last 2 weeks.  Our friends call us crazy, we call it efficient!  We've never had any delays due to luggage or any lost luggage.  🤣🤣🤣

 

That's a good way to do it. I take a suitcase because I want to buy stuff, but over the years I've managed to reduce the amount of stuff I take to the bare minimum and even a medium case ends up being half empty on the way out.

 

 

13 hours ago, Kingmeow said:

At least with United, they don't seem to weigh or measure any of your carry on's.  I've seen monstrosity of carry on's brought on to the plane with nary a peep from any flight attendants or gate agents.  US folks tend to go overboard about "personal rights".  🙄  Yet when we flew TAP Portugal, they wheeled in a portable scale to the gate and weighed EVERY SINGLE piece of carry on going onboard the plane.  They also check dimensions too!  They had police standing next to the scale and surprisingly there were no arguments when anything violates the standards.  😄

 

European airlines have gone like that on a lot of routes. We have a lot of low-cost carriers who strictly enforce the rules, and sometimes even cheat. For example, they say the bag can be a certain size, but the device they use to measure it is made of metal tubing with rounded corners, so it's actually slightly less than what their website says.

 

People try to get around it by wearing 5 layers of clothing and stuffing their giant pockets with underwear. Since they don't weigh passengers, inner pockets are an option to carry heavy stuff. They even make special clothing for it, e.g. Scottevest.

 

Fortunately there is none of that nonsense with ANA/JAL. They do have a maximum weight though, which is 45kg for all bags combined. So given you get 2x23kg for free, unless it's a space issue then it's not really worth buying any more. I do wonder about customs if you had 3-4 bags too. Never been stopped but maybe that would be.

[Tony Galiani]

To add to the notes above:

JAL and ANA both provide extra leg room in Economy - 33 inches and 34 inches respectively.

 

We rarely check a bag but do under certain circumstances.  Such as when my wife broke her arm in Greece and I did not want to deal with bags while helping her.  Or last week when her cousin gave her three jars of homemade jam which we had(!) to take home.

For our Japan trips, we take carry-ons - I posted a picture of my compact set up in my February trip report - but bring a folded up travel bag that expands to a decent size so we can bring goodies back.  Depending on which class of service I am flying (since sometimes we are in the first row and sometimes in the last row) we will check it or carry it on.  As @Kingmeow noted, United and some of other legacy carriers can be a bit more laissez faire about an extra bag.

 

When flying Economy, try to get a seat at the very back on the sides.  Check the seat plans on aerolopa.com and you will see that they last rows are often only two seats (rather than the typical three) and, due to the curve of the plane's tail, often have extra leg room.  And you can lift up the seat arms to get them out of the way for a bit more comfort - though this only works if you are a couple!

 

And a suggestion for @Kingmeow - you can do carry-ons for three weeks as many hotels have a laundry room and it is not that expensive to do your own laundry.  IIRC, Tokyo Stay has some rooms with a washing machine in the room - at least the one in Shinjuku did.

And a very important tip - when doing your own laundry - don't push the Green button!  (My washing misadventure explained in previous trip report!)

 

Ciao,

Tony

[Kingmeow]

3 hours ago, mojo said:

European airlines have gone like that on a lot of routes. We have a lot of low-cost carriers who strictly enforce the rules, and sometimes even cheat. For example, they say the bag can be a certain size, but the device they use to measure it is made of metal tubing with rounded corners, so it's actually slightly less than what their website says.

 

TAP Portugal uses something of a novelty that I haven' seen before.  They fabricate a cardboard box to the max dimensions but there is no bottom.  There's a handle on top with which the agent then just drops over your luggage.  Can't cover it completely and it's a no go.

 

Quote

People try to get around it by wearing 5 layers of clothing and stuffing their giant pockets with underwear. Since they don't weigh passengers, inner pockets are an option to carry heavy stuff. They even make special clothing for it, e.g. Scottevest.

 

A fisherman's vest does wonders!  As a photographer and back in the days when I shoot with gigantic lenses which weigh like rocks, a fisherman's vest was perfect.  Those lenses can add a lot of weight to the overall weight and you don't really want to check expensive lenses!

[Kingmeow]

1 hour ago, Tony Galiani said:

And a suggestion for @Kingmeow - you can do carry-ons for three weeks as many hotels have a laundry room and it is not that expensive to do your own laundry.  IIRC, Tokyo Stay has some rooms with a washing machine in the room - at least the one in Shinjuku did.

And a very important tip - when doing your own laundry - don't push the Green button!  (My washing misadventure explained in previous trip report!)

 

Yes, we did laundry in Kyoto on our last trip.  Washing was free but oddly drying costs money but only a few hundred yens.  Why would anyone want to wash and not dry, especially when staying in a hotel?

 

I vaguely recall you mentioned the Green Button but now I can't find that post, even with a Forum Search.  So what happens when you press the green button again?  🙂

[chadbag]

4 hours ago, mojo said:

. I do wonder about customs if you had 3-4 bags too. Never been stopped but maybe that would be.

 

I've never seen a customs department that has cared how many bags.   They just want to know if alcohol, over the free limit, etc.

 

[Tony Galiani]

@Kingmeow - the green button rinses the machine with fresh water. It does not start the dryer!  So if you've done a wash / dry cycle and your clothes need extra drying, you really, really do not want to push that button - or you end up having to redo everything and with damp clothes hung up all over your hotel room ....

Good thing I have a sense of humor ....

Tony

[Kingmeow]

Ah!  Got it!  Just say NO to Green!  😄  We will definitely be doing laundry, somewhere!, during our 3 week trip.  I really can't imagine carry-on for 3 weeks without washing anything!!!!!  💩😖

[chadbag]

16 minutes ago, Kingmeow said:

Ah!  Got it!  Just say NO to Green!  😄  We will definitely be doing laundry, somewhere!, during our 3 week trip.  I really can't imagine carry-on for 3 weeks without washing anything!!!!!  💩😖

 

This is why I'm glad we have family and a home base,  We've done laundry a few times at hotels when on a longer excursion but we usually make shorter excusrions (just a few days at a time) so we get laundry done by my Sis-IL or my wife at her sister's house, our home base...

 

But yes, it's good to find hotels that have laundry machines available. You can always do under clothes etc in the sink and dry over night in a pinch.  We've done that a few times.

 

[kuro68000]

7 hours ago, Kingmeow said:

A fisherman's vest does wonders!  As a photographer and back in the days when I shoot with gigantic lenses which weigh like rocks, a fisherman's vest was perfect.  Those lenses can add a lot of weight to the overall weight and you don't really want to check expensive lenses!

 

I'm looking at running jackets with detachable sleeves. Light and breathable so I won't get too hot. As long as they have big pockets that should do the trick.

 

 

7 hours ago, Kingmeow said:

Yes, we did laundry in Kyoto on our last trip.  Washing was free but oddly drying costs money but only a few hundred yens.  Why would anyone want to wash and not dry, especially when staying in a hotel?

 

Do they have somewhere to hang your clothes to dry? The one I stays at lets you hang your stuff out for free, you only need to pay for the drier if you want it fast.

 

Personally I'd pay for a laundry service, just give them a bag of dirty clothes and get them back clean and dry.

 

 

6 hours ago, chadbag said:

I've never seen a customs department that has cared how many bags.   They just want to know if alcohol, over the free limit, etc.

 

In my experience there is rarely anyone manning customs when coming back into the UK. The only time I've seen people there was when there were flights coming in from the US. There was one guy with three cases that they appeared to have stopped, but I didn't pay much attention. Could have been for any reason really.

 

The weight limit is the issue really. Sometimes I think about replacing my backpack with a 3rd carry-on size case, but the hotel I stay at has small rooms and having a backpack I can fold down really helps.

[chadbag]

I got stopped randomly in Munich a long long time ago,  They would monitor you as you walked through the GREEN portal (nothing to declare) and randomly pull people for an inspection.  I guess I looked suspicious as I had been in the US for a month and a half "on vacation" while getting my last university class done so I could graduate (1/2 semester accelerated class) and had stocked up on hobby supplies (back then it was RC planes) as well as my own radio equipment I'd taken to the US so I had proabbly more cases than they thought I looked like I should have.  They asked me a few questions, inspected the cases, and sent me on my way.

 

This was all pre 9/11 (early 90s) and on the way to the US for the above mentioned trip I had my transmitter radio in a carry on.  The German security guy saw it and didn't know what it was (and it obviously looked suspicious).  However, his compatriot officer must have been an R/C pilot as he recognized it, and told the guy it was OK and they let me through.

 

 

[Kingmeow]

R/C pilot here also.  Still flying.  🙂  I can't imagine with the current transmitters with a billion switches and levers, if TSA doesn't know, it would be REALLY suspicious!

 

For those with (US) Global Entry, do they tend to stop people less?

 

@Tony Galiani No place to hang wet laundry though the room was huge in Kyoto.