Welcome to my first trip report for 2026!
Introduction
This was not any ordinary flight, it was an emotional flight for all those involved with this comapny for the past 2 years. On this day, 29th March 2026, it marked the end of the airline's low cost operation and both JA801A (BKK flight) and this aircraft, JA803A were the last aircraft to fly on this day and this means the end of the contribution this airline given to aviation with many travellers were transported to Japan and to the 3 destinations it flew to. The last time I flew on such an occasional flight was on board Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-400 farewell flight! That was really a memory to remember as a lot of aviation enthusiasts were on board and some of them were like me, did a turn around. Well for me, there is no turn around flight, instead I would be taking this last flight from Singapore to Tokyo and made plans to do some domestic flights in Tokyo and meet some good friends during my time there. After that I would fly back to Singapore with another low cost carrier but personally this airline's standard doesn't match up with Air Japan, for that, you have to stay tuned to find out more in one of my upcoming trip reports.
About 3 months before this date, during my last overseas trip in London, it was only then I decided to go for this trip, hoping to be able to experience something different from a normal flight. I was hoping for a water cannon salute possibly after the arrival at Tokyo Narita. For Water Cannon salute, usually that is done for special occasion, is this considered as one? Maybe but my gut feeling was that there wouldn't be one for this last flight. Perhaps they reserve this celebration for happier occasion? Perhaps so but whatever it is, it depends on the airline management. So did we receive an water cannon salute on this flight? Do read on to find out.
About Air Japan
Air Japan is a subsidiary of ANA Group (Parent of All Nippon Airways) founded in 1990 (World Air Network) and was initially operated as a charter airline. It became a scheduled airline 10 years later and operated flights on behalf for ANA. It was only in 2022 when the parent airline established Air Japan and a couple of yerars later, this airline took delivery of 2 Boeing 787-8 and a 3rd joining the fleet just a few months before the airline ceased operation. This fleet featured it's own livery and are fitted in a one-class, 324 high density configuration. The airline started operation in February 2024, operating routes to Bangkok (BKK), Seoul (ICN) and Singapore (SIN). There were plans to operate to more routes and more aircraft to be delivered ot the airline but that didn't materialise and instead the airline made an offical announcement to suspend all flight operations of this airline. The last flight departing from Bangkok and Singapore would take place on the 29th March while for the last flight departing out of Seoul would take place a day earlier.
For Air Japan Co., Ltd, this company will continue to operate and operate flights on behalf of All Nippon Airways using their aircraft and for the 3 Boeing 787-8 under Air Japan, they will be re-configured and transferred to ANA. For the staff working for this airline, they will be reassigned within the ANA group.
My booking
Website's version
The 3 different types of fares - listing down the advantages of each tier.
The different colour codes representing the seat availibility with different prices or not available.
Since I sat at seat 2A and 2K on my previou flights, I decided to choose the standard window seats. At that time of booking, there were not many window seats left.
Initially I picked seat 22A but later on I changed to seat 23A due to the better window alignment with the seat.
Mobile website version
The mobile version works well too.
A few more window seats opened in this second cabin of the aircraft just a few days before departure.
On the day of departure
It was a surreal feeling to see this check-in counter screen display as the airline only operated for 2 years.
After 15 minutes of waiting, I received my boarding pass. I chat with the ground staff, sadly there is no farewell ceremony held at the gate area.
I did a check on which aircraft was flying me to Tokyo NRT. The honour went to JA803A. JA801A was on its way to Bangkok while JA802A had finished its flight schedule (ICN-NRT was the last flight for this aircraft). This aircraft (JA802A) was the latest aircraft to join the fleet, it joined about a few months before the last day of the airline's operation.
The airport interior of terminal 2
The digital image of the waterfall
Chocolate, anyone?
Man City was leading 3-0 against Man Utd in the women' professional league game.
The airport tarmac at terminal 2 was undergoing upgrading with construction going on.
I settle for a meal over here.
I had a the fishball rice noodles which comes with fish cake and a bowl of soup.
It is nice to see a Jeju flight flying to Batam. I might try that route one day.
Singapore Airlines' Lounges are located on the upper level.
The mini garden never fails to impress the passengers.
It was time to head over to the gate.
Gate F50 was chosen for this last departure of Air Japan.
To connect to terminal 1 or 3, you can take the skytrain over but for terminal 4, you have to take the airport bus which is located near the Terminal 2 Transit area (near transfer lounge F).
This is the gate area, one has to pass through security to enter the holding room for flights departing in Terminal 1, 2 and 3. It is extremely troublesome especially when you need to use the toilet.
This is JA803A! Unfortunately this is the best view I can get about this aircraft.
USB Charging ports are available at random seats.
Most of the passengers were Japanese, heading home.
There was a long queue of passengers waiting to refill their water bottles.
My last time boarding an Air Japan flight
An aerobridge with transparent windows would be nice for this occasion.
Here is the moment! About to step on board JA803A.
I decided to board the aircraft from the first door.
The friendly crew greeted us in a true Japanese style.
My ride: JA803A
Photo: Tokyo Spotter
Flight route: SIN-NRT
Distance: About 5,349km
Average Flight Time: 6 hours
Airlines flying on this route: Scoot, Singapore Airlines, ANA, Japan Airlines and Zipair
My seat: 23A (Aerolopa.com)
Date: 29th March 2026
Airline: Air Japan
Flight: NQ4 (Last flight)
Route: SIN-NRT
Aircraft: Boeing 787-8
Registeration: JA803A
Seat: 23A
Terminal: 2 (SIN)
Gate: F50
Load: 100%
Flight Time: 6 hours (On average)
Actual Flight Time: 5 hours 54 minutes
Boarding: 0027
Push Back: 0058
Take Off: 0114
Schedule Arrival: 0840
Actual Arrival: 0812
Departure Runway: 02C
Departure Weather: Clear
Arrival Runway: 34R
Arrival Gate: 57B
Arrival Weather: Partially Cloudy
My experience
From the gate, an announcement were made about this last flight and the usual farewell speeches and I saw a couple of Japanese people watching while the passengers were boarding, I believe they are representatives from the company but whatever it is, this last flight was kept low profile as there was no farewell message from the company's CEO or anything to commemorate this last flight.
Once on board, I notice the cabin was a bit stuffy but it was better after taking off. The Captain only came on the speaker after take off and he did mention about the last flight and the weather on route. The meal service would start only after we were clear of the turbulent area and then the seat belt sign was turned off. Since the flight departure took off around 0114 hours, it was sleeping time for most of us.
The crew mentioned about the meal service taking place shortly after the seat belt sign was turned off, for this, I would have preferred them to give us an option (online) on when would we like our meal to be served, give us 2 or 3 specific timing would be ideal so that some of us can sleep and wake up about 2 hours before landing and we can consumed them then. Anyway, the seat belt sign was turned off not long after take off and my sushi box came after. I wasn't so hungry but yet I finished it off quickly because it was that good! For the flight, it was smooth for most parts except for one part when the aircraft experienced sharp jolts and the seat belt sign was turned on and the crew returned back to their seats. Luckily that didn't last long. I managed to grab some rest but didn't really sleep well as I kept waking up due to the background noise. Another thing I need to mention is we were given a last flight certification card and a sticker as a souvenier.
Once landed, it was a long taxi to the gate and sadly, no water cannon salute for this occasion. There were a few of us stayed on board a bit longer to take photos of the cabin and interact with the cabin crew, it was a bittersweet moment for all of us. I am glad that Air Japan's crew would be transferred within the ANA group and I wish them all the best! After walking out of the aircraft, the airline's staff were waiting at the aerobridge, witnessing the last batch of passengers exiting the aircraft and thanking us for flying with them. Thanks for the memories, Air Japan!
I managed to catch sight of all 3 Air Japan's Boeing 787-8 as they were parking side by side. This would probably be my last sight of these aircraft, the next time I see them, they would probably be painted in ANA's livery.
Cabin photos
As this is a high density configured aircraft, there is no galley between the first and second section and second and third section of the economy class.
For the standard seats, they have a legroom space of 32 inches.
Each seat has an adjustable headrest and has a seat width of 17.1 inches.
There are 6 lavatories installed on this aircraft's configuration.
There are other keen travellers also taking some photos
I find these seats to be quite comfortable and a waste for them to remove and dispose them. (Hopefully not)
Cabin view photos
The seats of the last row of each section can recline.
The spacious overhead compartment can store more things compared to the older generation aircraft.
The 3-3-3 configuration on the Boeing 787 is certainly not popular among travellers!
The electronic dimmed windows were not locked on our flight.
One last look of the cabin
More photos of my seat
I certainly like the design of the seat.
This was my seat, 23A
The front view of my seat
Legroom space at 32 inches is pretty generous for a low cost carrier.
Front view from my seat
This is how the seat in front looks like when it is fully reclined.
Last look of my seat
This is the Safran Z110i slimline seat.
A selfie of myself before disembarking JA803A aircraft.
What's provided for each passenger?
Certificate and sticker of the last flight
Inflight menu
Wifi Guide
Inflight wifi advertisment
Safety card
Disposal bag
Inflight meal
The meal you pre-order comes with a bottle of water. If you are seated from row 1 to 9, you are given a complimentary drink.
A good selection of sushi - always a fan of it.
Inflight entertainment (Wifi)
The inflight details
WiFi Charges
Pointless to pay for the 24 hours plan considering there are no more flights after this.
Window view photos (Take off to Landing)
The view of outside at the gate of departure. (Sorry for the poor quality)
We reached the threshold, all ready for take off.
Enjoying every minute of the flight in this beautiful weather.
The wing of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner
Can you see a mountain from far? That is Mount Fuji!
A closer view of Mount Fuji
At this point, we started our descent into Tokyo.
Hardly any clouds nearby, we were blessed with such good weather, a fitting end to flight NQ4.
We deviated a bit to maintain safe distance from other aircraft and usually we need to join the queue (for landing and taking off) especially at heavy traffic airports.
On final approach onto runway 34R.
Our aircraft was in landing configuration. The pilots have the checklist to follow to make sure that the aircraft is properly configured.
We flew through some low clouds.
If you are flying to NRT, I recommend sitting on the left side of the aircraft, you may get both the Mount Fuji (Depending on weather) and airport view during landing (Depending on runway in used).
Do you recognise the operator of that Airbus A321?
We touched down about 17 minutes ahead of schedule.
Slowing down to taxi speed as I looked back and reflect my past flights with Air Japan.
The taxi to our assigned gate took a while but I don't think anyone on board mind.
We were parked at gate 57B and with that, the last flight of NQ4 came to an end.
My flight summary
(Thanks to Flighty and Flightradar24)
This is JA803A, thanks for the ride!
The airline and airport staff thanked us for flying with the airline during our disembarkment.
It was an emotional walk towards the immigration.
This is Air Japan's entire fleet. (JA801A, JA802A and JA803A)
While walking towards the immigration, I recalled some of my fond memories of Air Japan. You can check out my previous trip reports of these airlines over here.
Trip 1: SIN-NRT (Click
here)Trip 2: NRT-SIN (Click
here)
I like how the Japanese airport staff arranged the luggage in such an organised manner.
The baggage belt for our flight, I waited less than 10 minutes before my luggage came out.
My thoughts The final flight of Air Japan wasn't marked by ceremony or a grand farewell on this Singapore to Tokyo Narita flight. There were announcements and only a few aviation fans were on board, I suppose more of them were on board the Tokyo to Bangkok flight because they had a ceremony on that flight.
As the aircraft lifted off into the skies for the last time under the Air Japan name, there was a subtle weight in the moment, it is not easy to say goodbye especially to a decent airline. I had flown with defunct airlines such as V Air, Transasia, Far Eastern Airlines (Taiwanese) but their situation are different, they went bankrupt due to financial reasons. For Air Japan, the airline would still continue to operate but under a different strategy and sadly, we won't see this airline's livery in the near future.
Now that I have flown the airline on its last flight, a fleeting chapter in aviation, now complete. There is a story to tell among aviation enthusiasts about this airline and along with others and I am happy that to be one of the million of passengers that have been part of this airline's history.
What do I like about this airline?
- Delicious meals (Japanese style)
- Affordable airfare
- USB type A and C Sockets are available
- 3 types of fares (easy to understand)
- Wifi is available
- Comfortable leather seats
- Managed by an established company (ANA Group)
Hope you enjoy this flight review and as always, the journey continues - see you in my next blog post!
Those that are new to my blog, do feel free to check out my past trip reports. I am always looking ways to improve my trip reports, so if you have any feedback, please drop a comment or send me an email.
Coming up next: Off to visit my folks in London with a new airline: Saudia (Part 1: SIN-JED)
Have a good one!
Charles Ryan
