The last Boeing 777-200ER (registration code: JA703J) of Japan Airlines (JAL), which once served as a medium-haul international aircraft, is making its final appearances on domestic routes before its scheduled last flight on November 12. Today, October 30, a rare sight was observed at Haneda Airport’s Terminal 1 where it was parked alongside another international aircraft currently operating on domestic routes, a Boeing 777-300ER.
The 777-200ER model was introduced in August 2002, with a total of 11 aircraft serving Southeast Asian and Honolulu routes. Due to changes in business structure following the COVID-19 pandemic, these aircraft were withdrawn from international service in 2021. Out of the 11, five were repurposed for domestic routes, featuring the same “JAL SKY SUITE III” full-flat seats in a herringbone layout previously used for business class. These seats are now designated as Class J, with the domestic configuration consisting of 26 Class J seats and 286 standard seats, totaling 312 seats. Replacement by Airbus A350-900s has been underway in recent years, and as of May this year, JA703J remains the last operational aircraft of this model on domestic routes.
JA703J was received on February 3, 2003, and has recently been deployed on major domestic routes and special flights. It had been operating on the Tokyo/Haneda to Nagoya/Chubu route, which concluded on October 28. Service ended on that date.
Today, October 30, it was deployed on Tokyo/Haneda to Sapporo/Chitose flights JL505 & 506 and Tokyo/Haneda to Okinawa/Naha flights JL916 & 917. When flight JL506 from Sapporo/Chitose landed at Haneda Airport’s Spot 8 at 12:23 PM, a Boeing 777-300ER (registration code: JA731J) was parked at the adjacent Spot 7, operating flights JL308 & 323 to Fukuoka. The two Boeing 777 models stood side by side at the domestic terminal until 2:23 PM when JA703J departed as JL917.
JA703J will make its final scheduled flight as JAL916 from Okinawa/Naha to Tokyo/Haneda on November 12. After that, an open house will be held at Haneda Airport, with plans for the aircraft to leave Japan on December 12, officially retiring all JAL Boeing 777-200ER aircraft.
Meanwhile, 13 Boeing 777-300ERs are currently in operation, but a countdown to their complete retirement has started, as their successor, the Airbus A350-1000, is expected to make its debut by the end of the year.
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