JAL Opens Narita-Chicago Route with Boeing 777-300ER featuring First Class

Saturday, May 31, 2025

Japan Airlines (JAL) opened the Tokyo/Narita-Chicago route on May 31. Along with the existing Tokyo/Haneda-Chicago route, this will allow double daily flights between Tokyo and Chicago, capturing demand between Japan and North America, as well as transit demand between Southeast Asia and India to North America.

Operating one round trip per day, JL56 departs from Tokyo/Narita at 6:15 PM and arrives in Chicago at 4:00 PM on the same day. JL55 departs from Chicago at 12:30 PM and arrives in Tokyo/Narita at 3:15 PM the following day.

The aircraft used is a Boeing 777-300ER with a total of 244 seats: 8 in first class, 49 in business class, 40 in premium economy, and 147 in economy class. This is the first time since the temporary Tokyo/Narita-New York JFK route (JL8006/JL8005) operated until May 27, 2023, that the same aircraft has been deployed on a Narita route. First Class is being reinstated on Narita routes for the first time in about two years. As a regular flight, it’s the first in roughly five years and three months since March 28, 2020.

The Tokyo/Narita-Chicago route was previously operated, having launched on April 1, 1983. It initially operated with a stopover in Seattle, using Boeing 747-LR aircraft, with three weekly round trips. It became a nonstop route on April 2, 1986, splitting into Tokyo/Narita-Chicago and Seattle routes. Later, with the increase of international flights at Haneda Airport in 2020, it was transferred to Haneda on March 29 that year. Notably, 12 years before passenger service began, a Douglas DC-8F cargo charter first entered Chicago in 1971.

Initially scheduled to resume on February 15, 2021, the Tokyo/Narita-Chicago route was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a resumption after four years. JAL Narita Airport Branch Deputy Manager Ken Hamada explained, “Chicago is also a hub for our joint business partner American Airlines, providing excellent connectivity to the northeastern U.S.” Business class is expected to see high demand, with “first class occupancy projected at around 60% and business class at about 80%.”

To commemorate the launch at Narita Airport, photos and timetables from the original 1983 opening were displayed, and Deputy Manager Hamada and others handed out commemorative items to passengers. JL56, carrying 3 in first class, 49 in business class, 39 in premium economy, and 144 in economy (a total of 235 passengers), departed from Spot 62 at 6:18 PM and took off at 6:43 PM.

With the opening of the Tokyo/Narita-Chicago route, the Tokyo/Haneda-Chicago route will have a schedule change from June 1. JL9 from Chicago will shift from a daytime to a midnight departure, while JL10 from Tokyo/Haneda will maintain its current schedule.