Starting from September 11, 2024, JAL revised the way it boards its domestic flights operated by wide-body aircraft based on the results of a study done jointly with Tokyo Institute of Technology, the two organizations announced.
JAL will revise its domestic flight boarding order for A350-900, 767-300ER, 777-300ER, and 787-8 flights as follows:
- Preboarding not changed (all passengers requiring assistance and those traveling with small children)
- Groups 1 and 2 not changed (all passengers traveling in first class and frequent flyer status holders)
- Group 3: All window seat passengers in addition to the current row 40+ and emergency exit seat passengers
- Group 4: All passengers instead of the current row 20+ passengers
- Group 5 eliminated instead of the current all passengers
In addition to changing the boarding order, the airline will also adjust door usage for the aircraft that board through both L1 and L2 doors (i.e. all of the above types except for the 767):
- L1: Economy class passengers sitting on the right side of the aircraft (i.e., F, G, H,J, and K seats) in addition to the current first class and Class J passengers
- L2: Economy class passengers sitting on the left side of the aircraft (i.e. A, B, C, D, and E seats) instead of the current all economy class passengers
JAL and Tokyo Institute of Technology conducted the experiment by installing a 360-degree camera in an A350-900 cabin to monitor passenger movement and then using the acquired data to run approximately 1,000 simulations of full A350-900 flight boarding to find the optimal boarding method.
While at this point JAL only adjusted boarding of wide-body domestic flights, it will consider doing so for narrow-body domestic flights in the future as well. That said, it does not currently have plans to revise the boarding method of its international flights.
ANA already follows a method similar to JAL’s newly introduced one, dividing economy class passengers into three groups – those sitting in window, middle, and aisle seats, respectively, and inviting them to board in that order after preboarding and groups 1 and 2 consisting of frequent flyer status holders and Premium Class passengers.
It also divides the usage of L1 and L2 doors based on the same methodology JAL just introduced.
