I’m on a mini-review trip at the moment, and this morning I flew ZIPAIR’s Full Flat premium seat from Tokyo Narita to Seoul Incheon. The ZIPAIR flight was by far the best-timed in order for me to catch my next itinerary, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try the world’s only reverse herringbone, lie-flat economy class seat (if you can call it that).
ZIPAIR’s full-flat premium product is interesting – the seat itself is a standard lie-flat product, though the soft product is unlike anything I’ve seen before. You can’t even buy a proper pillow on these flights (and you buy a blanket that you can take home), and there’s no catering unless you buy-on-board, though every passenger gets complimentary unlimited WiFi access. Also, although ZIPAIR is a full Japan Airlines subsidiary, it’s not part of Oneworld, though you can credit ZIPAIR flights to ZIPAIR Miles (which are exchangeable with Japan Airlines Mileage Bank miles).
ZIPAIR 787 Full Flat Ground Experience
ZIPAIR is possibly the only airline where you’ll get a lie-flat seat in the air, but no differentiation with the ground experience in the ground. You get no priority security and no lounge access.
Unlike in past, you do now get priority boarding of some sort – ZIPAIR boards their planes back-to-front, and rows 1-5 (the Full Flat seats) are invited to board alongside rows 45-57. Do note that all of the seats on the right aisle board through the Full Flat cabin, so you’ll have much more foot traffic during boarding if you’re seated on the right side (this reminded me of Emirates premium economy, where a very similar system was used for boarding in economy). This didn’t bug me, but if both seats in your preferred row are available, you might want to consider this as a deciding factor.
ZIPAIR Boarding Process
ZIPAIR 787 Full Flat Cabin and Seat
ZIPAIR exclusively operates 787-8s across its route network, and sometimes operates long flights to and from the U.S. (the longest ZIPAIR flight is from Houston to Tokyo, and lasts 13h 50m westbound). While most of the aircraft is laid out in a standard 3-3-3 configuration, the forward cabin between doors L1 and L2 sport 18 full-flat, reverse herringbone seats.
There are low-cost airlines that have a premium cabin, and some of these airlines even have lie-flat seats. However, the only airline to offer a premium lie-flat configuration with direct aisle access that I know of is JetBlue, and JetBlue treats their premium cabin as a “true” premium product. I’ve never heard of a configuration before where you get a reverse herringbone seat with direct aisle access, but economy class service.
ZIPAIR 787 Full Flat Premium Cabin
The airline didn’t even install individual entertainment screens at seats, so this is probably also the only reverse herringbone business class product out there with no individual TV screen at each seat.
ZIPAIR 787 Full Flat Premium Cabin
Otherwise, these are very standard reverse herringbone seats, perhaps leaning towards the less pimped out ones. There’s not much storage for anything during takeoff and landing – there’s a handy side pouch that you can only use during cruising, and you’re also welcome to put a smaller laptop in the literature pocket. You’ll find a universal 110V power port and USB-A charging, though not a USB-C port or wireless charging of any sort.
ZIPAIR 787 Full Flat Premium Cabin Seat 5K
For contrast, the standard economy seats are very similar to what you’d otherwise find on a 787, though you will find adjustable headrests and USB ports at these seats.
ZIPAIR 787 Standard Cabin
This setup is so unique, and practical in many ways. I’d say ZIPAIR’s pricing across the board for this product is roughly similar to what you’d find in premium economy (perhaps slightly more on longhaul flights), and having a lie-flat seat is such a value-add. Of course you can’t expect the same perks as you would on a full-service airline in premium economy or business class, though the reverse herringbone seat is a major value add for many people.
ZIPAIR 787 Full Flat Cabin Amenities
While you’ll be lying flat when booking this cabin, don’t expect to be in plush bedding. ZIPAIR doesn’t offer any amenities as standard in this cabin – you can’t even purchase a proper pillow. I shelled out 2,500 JPY (£12.49/HK$132) for an amenity set, and while this was more than enough for my short 2h 30m flight (I only bought it for the review), you might find the blow-up pillow and blanket a bit scant for a longer flight. The plus side is that you get to keep all of this stuff, and they even give you a little bag to keep your blanket in.
ZIPAIR 787 Full Flat Premium Cabin Amenity Set
If you don’t buy an amenity set, you’re on your own, even on longer flights – probably worth thinking about if you own a neck pillow and are packing for a ZIPAIR flight.
ZIPAIR 787 Full Flat Premium Cabin Bed
ZIPAIR 787 Full Flat Cabin Buy-On-Board Service
As you’d expect by this point, you don’t get a meal when flying in ZIPAIR’s full-flat cabin, unless you purchase one from the buy-on-board menu. I wanted to try something out, and went for a simple soba with tempura batter bits.
A box probably wouldn’t have been my vessel of choice (even if disposable) for a meal like this, though seaweed, tempura bits, tsuyu and wasabi were provided, as well as chopsticks and a fork. I can imagine this meal not being the easiest to eat in one of the standard economy seats.
ZIPAIR 787 Full Flat Premium Cabin Meal
If you do want a proper meal you’ll have to pre-order – you can buy on board on ZIPAIR, though the selection is much more limited.
ZIPAIR 787 Full Flat Cabin Entertainment and WiFi
While none of ZIPAIR’s seats have inflight entertainment screens, they are one of the few airlines to offer fleetwide complimentary WiFi. This is available to all passengers, not just in business class.
WiFi measured a very acceptable 4.46 Mbps down and 5.58 Mbps up on my flight, and I was even able to upload photos onto The Alviator. I mean, you can also use the WiFi portal to stream one of the ten complimentary movies on offer (all of which are pretty good to be fair), though otherwise I’d recommend browsing onboard your ZIPAIR flight.
ZIPAIR 787 Entertainment Selection
Conclusion: ZIPAIR’s 787 Full Flat Cabin
I flew ZIPAIR’s Full Flat cabin today, and it was an interesting experience. I don’t think there’s any other airline on the market at the moment that offers a business class-style seat of this caliber, while providing no other amenities or differentiation from the standard ultra low-cost carrier product whatsoever. I’m looking forward to writing a full review, though I’m not sure what I’m meant to compare this product to.
Have you flown ZIPAIR’s Full Flat cabin before? How does it compare to other airlines’ low-cost premium products?