Woah: Japan Airlines Adds First Class To Helsinki

Intro

Earlier this morning, I happened to be browsing a trip to Bangkok and somehow looked at flying JAL First Class from Tokyo to London. On the American Airlines search page, an interesting option presented itself: JAL First Class from Haneda to Helsinki (and then BA onward to London). I had to do a double take since I couldn't quite believe my eyes when I saw it.

What's going on?

The Details

Usually, when Japan Airlines adds a new route with First Class, you will see every travel blogger and news source talking about it. Look at Dallas and their A350 as an example. However, after doing some research, the only piece of news that I found was a Facebook post by the Helsinki Airport reading the following:

Japan Airlines has added First Class flights to Helsinki: WOW!

As it reads, this is the first time in decades that Helsinki offers first-class flights, quite remarkable.

Previously, this route was operated 4x weekly by a 787-8, and it seems to be a straight swap with the following schedule:

J47: Tokyo (HND)-Helsinki (HEL) departing 7:50 am and arriving at 3:10 pm

JL48: Helsinki (HEL)-Tokyo (HND) departing 5:55 pm and arriving at 2:10 pm (+1 day)

Why Helsinki?

Over the past few years, we have seen Japan Airlines take delivery of some A350s, freeing up certain 777s that used to fly to the likes of Dallas, New York, and London. This means that Japan Airlines has had to find additional routes to fly First Class which typically aren't flown.

I wonder how the yields are...

But the question still remains as to why Helsinki? Of course, it is known that Helsinki is the base of a fellow Oneworld carrier, Finnair, but other than that I would have seen Helsinki as a last resort. Heck, the rest of the world hasn't flown a First Class there for decades!

Upgrading a route from a 787-8 to a 777-300ER is quite the leap, but Japan Airlines must be seeing something in the route otherwise they wouldn't have added it. With this addition, it means that all three JAL routes out of Haneda to Europe will all feature First Class.

But the question is: why not Sydney instead which is currently operated by a 787?

Oh, by the way, award space on the outbound is plentiful!

Final Thoughts

Japan Airlines has launched its latest First Class expansion and it is one which many people might call "completely out of the blue". Up until October 2025, Japan Airlines will be flying 4x weekly from Tokyo Haneda to Helsinki with a 777-300ER featuring First Class. I am honestly a little spellbound by this.