I recently flew San Francisco to Narita, and Narita to Sydney, on Japan Airlines.
There's a weird quirk with their food selection that some people might find of interest if flying with JAL.
I looked at the meal selection pre-flight and saw there was the Japanese selection and the Western selection.
I don't eat any seafood which rules out a lot of Japanese food for me, so the Japanese meal was out, and the Western meal was in.
As to the Western meal, the options were fish or steak, or the ability to select a "non-beef Western meal". (additionally there were all the special meals such as vegetarian, low carb etc), but the "non-beef Western meal" was an actual option to select alongside the fish, and the beef.
Obviously the fish was out, and I find beef on a long haul flight can be pretty heavy, so I chose the "non-beef Western meal" for both flights, assuming it would be chicken (or perhaps pork).
WRONG. The "non-beef Western meal" was fish on both flights. I don't know if it was just the same fish option as was in the standard meal "fish", or if it was a special fish meal, but obviously I rejected it.
Moral to the story: if flying JAL, and you don't want seafood, you'll have no choice but beef (unless you go for one of the other super special meals such as vegetarian, low carb etc).
FYI - it is the same on ANA, and I have the exact same dining preferences as you. I opted for vegetarian meals on all flights. The Japanese meal featured an extensive assortment of seafood while western options was a pasta or a beef or fish. Due to late night departure etc and wanting simplicity over something heavy the vegetarian pick was a winner, plus ANA have a substantial IPPUDO vegan ramen as a snack option which I had and would have chosen that for my main if given the option.
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Feedback on two recent Japan Airlines flights
traveller99
traveller99
Member since 18 Nov 2015
Total posts 117
I recently flew San Francisco to Narita, and Narita to Sydney, on Japan Airlines.
There's a weird quirk with their food selection that some people might find of interest if flying with JAL.
I looked at the meal selection pre-flight and saw there was the Japanese selection and the Western selection.
I don't eat any seafood which rules out a lot of Japanese food for me, so the Japanese meal was out, and the Western meal was in.
As to the Western meal, the options were fish or steak, or the ability to select a "non-beef Western meal". (additionally there were all the special meals such as vegetarian, low carb etc), but the "non-beef Western meal" was an actual option to select alongside the fish, and the beef.
Obviously the fish was out, and I find beef on a long haul flight can be pretty heavy, so I chose the "non-beef Western meal" for both flights, assuming it would be chicken (or perhaps pork).
WRONG. The "non-beef Western meal" was fish on both flights. I don't know if it was just the same fish option as was in the standard meal "fish", or if it was a special fish meal, but obviously I rejected it.
Moral to the story: if flying JAL, and you don't want seafood, you'll have no choice but beef (unless you go for one of the other super special meals such as vegetarian, low carb etc).
sid
sid
Member since 07 Jan 2011
Total posts 206
Thanks for the report. What did you end up eating in the end?
traveller99
traveller99
Member since 18 Nov 2015
Total posts 117
I took the beef on the first flight, and just went to sleep on the second flight.
Dan22
Dan22
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 07 Aug 2013
Total posts 166
FYI - it is the same on ANA, and I have the exact same dining preferences as you. I opted for vegetarian meals on all flights. The Japanese meal featured an extensive assortment of seafood while western options was a pasta or a beef or fish. Due to late night departure etc and wanting simplicity over something heavy the vegetarian pick was a winner, plus ANA have a substantial IPPUDO vegan ramen as a snack option which I had and would have chosen that for my main if given the option.