JAL and Hato Bus Mark Boeing 777’s 30th Anniversary with Special Tour

Hato Bus and the Japan Airlines (JAL) Group held a one-day special tour on September 22, titled “Boeing 777 30th Anniversary: JAL SKY MUSEUM Tour and JAL International Business Class In-Flight Meal Lunch,” commemorating the 30th anniversary of JAL’s Boeing 777 aircraft entering service.

JAL’s Boeing 777 entered service in 1996 and marks its 30th anniversary this year. The 777-300ERs that have operated on long-haul international routes are currently being progressively replaced by Airbus A350-1000 aircraft. In addition to an international business-class in-flight meal and an aviation class led by active pilots, the tour offered an opportunity to view a retired 777-300ER up close.

The tour was planned by Shohei Hosokawa and others from JAL’s 777 Flight Crew Department at its Operations Headquarters. The initiative stemmed from their desire both to celebrate the 777’s 30th anniversary and to give customers an opportunity to bid farewell to the retiring aircraft.

Hosokawa himself had been a fan of the 777 since before joining JAL. When he previously visited the JAL SKY MUSEUM, he said he felt frustrated that retired aircraft disappeared from view without notice. This time, the sale schedule for 777-300ER JA733J, which retired in May, was delayed from the original plan, prompting the team to consider using it for an event. JAL brought the proposal to Hato Bus at the end of July, and the tour was realized in the short span of about two months.

This was the fourth collaborative tour by the two companies. It followed the “Haneda Airport Best View Drive Special Edition” in November 2025, a cabin attendant experience in January this year, and a sustainable tour around Narita Airport that began in April. The tour cost 35,000 yen per person and drew 41 participants from across Japan. According to Hato Bus, it went on sale on September 8 and was fully booked by the morning of September 11.

The tour departed from the Marunouchi South Exit of Tokyo Station at 11:20 a.m. and first headed to the JAL Royal Catering Haneda Factory in the new maintenance area at Haneda Airport. Transportation was provided by a new Isuzu Gala coach that Hato Bus had introduced in August.

Lunch at the factory featured meals served in JAL business class on short-haul international routes. The appetizers were salmon blini-style, marinated cuttlefish and Japanese scallops, and roasted duck salad. The main course was a Japanese Kurobuta pork and Japanese Black beef hamburger steak with garlic tomato sauce. In addition to bread and fresh fruit, a Japanese pear, mascarpone, and cream cheese mousse served in business class on JAL’s South Korea routes was offered as dessert. Participants enjoyed lunch while listening to explanations from the staff responsible for in-flight meals.

After lunch, Captain Hideaki Mase and First Officer Ryota Shimoda from the 777 Flight Crew Department conducted an “aviation class.” Through quizzes and other activities, they introduced the work of pilots, the features of the 777, and actual flight operations.

The group then moved to JAL SKY MUSEUM, a visitor facility at Haneda Airport, to tour the exhibition area and hangar. The highlight of the tour was the public viewing of JA733J, which is undergoing maintenance in preparation for sale.

JA733J ended its commercial service as JL9 from Chicago to Tokyo/Haneda on May 16 local time, arriving in Japan on May 17. Since entering service, it accumulated 90,314 hours and 45 minutes of flight time and 10,465 cycles. Retirement maintenance is currently underway in a hangar, and the aircraft has become entirely white after the “JAPAN AIRLINES” logo on the fuselage and the Tsurumaru crane emblem on the tail were removed. Its engines and landing gear had also been removed.

Captain Junichi Adachi of the 777 Flight Crew Department, who explained the aircraft in the hangar, shared his feelings upon seeing the now-white JA733J: “These are aircraft we have flown with for many years, so it is truly sad—it feels as if she is being sent off as a bride in white.” At the same time, he said of the participants looking up at the aircraft from close range, “I believe they were able to experience its overwhelming presence.” He was pleased to share the opportunity for visitors to see the 777 from a perspective similar to that of pilots conducting their pre-flight external inspections.