Just got in to Japan yesterday and flew JAL. I am from the US where planes are generally very cold, and so I dressed pretty warm, with long pants, a hoodie, tall socks. I ditched the hoodie Immediately. There are no personal fans, like US planes have, and they must have been heating the cabin pretty aggressively. It was so hot I couldn't sleep, and I resorted to periodically pouring water on my socks, arms, neck, and face. I met up with two other couples who also flew JAL, and one of them said it was so hot it made them feel sick, and the other said they were freezing. On the way back, I will wear shorts and bring long pants in my carry on just in case it is cold.
by syreeninsapphire
35 comments
Yeh it’s notoriously warm for non Asians on JAL/ANA. Westerners like it to be a little cold while Asians (Japanese) tend to like the aircraft’s warm. It’s a cultural thing.
Oh, I am from Europe and always have a different feeling. I am cold throughout the flight, and only at the start the plane seems too warm.
A different take on this is American airlines are **way too cold**. After flying JAL, ANA, and Cathy flying on Delta was freezing. Not sure why people accept those temps.
oof this sucks to hear, I hate hot planes
I had the same experience last year on JAL. Our whole family was miserable except me – because I brought a portable fan.
I flew back to Japan this year and flew in Singapore airlines. It wasn’t cold on the flight but also wasn’t Hot. It was a good medium. Still recommend a fan though.
Augh. I need the fan to help with my motion sickness. Without the air flow to feel like I’m moving I’d be miserable.
I love cold cabins once reaching cruising altitude. Regardless of where your origin and final destination are, always bring closed toed shoes, high socks, comfy pants, and a hoodie as part of your flying attire.
Asian people in general tend to have less body fat than their American counterparts so the Asian airlines cater towards their main customer base.
Yeah JAL keeps their cabins on the warm side. Flew them in 2019 and was kind of prepared from reading/watching reviews of the biz class. I just did jeans and a tshirt and while warm I was fine.
Interesting, I was freezing on my recent JAL flight. Americans seem to use a lot of fans/air conditioning while I’m from a country that doesn’t use those much so maybe that’s why it was different for me.
Did you say anything to the flight crew?
Flew Zip Air this summer, seemed a tad cool but not cold, so the warm cabin thing doesn’t apply universally to all Japanese/Asian airlines.
That’s a good heads-up. People say how great JAL is, but I would HATE to be hot for that many hours!!!!
I flew JAL back in May and the flight to Japan from London was so hot that I got dehydrated and felt really sick and lightheaded 😠physically couldn’t sleep properly and I had a huge headache and I’m not one to get motion/car sick
The JAL flight home was nice and cool though and was a lot more pleasant 😂 I also wondered why long haul flights don’t have the little ACs like domestic or short haul flights have 😠but it was my first time flying so I was clueless
You just reminded me how hot and long the queue was at Tokyo Haneda Airport to get through passport control
It took nearly 2 hours because they only had 3 people checking the arrival of at least 2 long haul flights.
Then on the way back home, the bag drop queue took over an hour and halfway through it, the staff member just left her post… we had to make a fuss, as Brits. It was agony. Security also had a huge queue and despite arriving over 3 hours early, we nearly missed our flight.
Honestly, Haneda airport sucked.
I used to catch a lot of night buses between Tokyo and Osaka. I’d usually find them absolutely sweltering when I jumped on, then by halfway through the night it would be freezing. It didn’t matter the season, it was always the same story, I learnt to pack appropriately for the bus. 🙂
Well shit, flying with them in a couple months and I haaaaaaate the heat. I run super hot already. Guess I’ll be sure to wear some shorts under my sweatpants or something so I can quickly take them off if it’s hot as fuck
I’ve flown ANA and it’s the same thing. They do not have a general AC for the cabin but no personal fan that you can control.
I think you’ll notice that Japanese people tend to prefer warmer temps. You may be the only person wearing just a t-shirt in the spring or fall, and definitely during the winter.
Airplane temperatures are at best random uncontrolled and impossible to predict. I don’t know if it’s the crew setting it that way or just that plane or the direction of the wind, but after hundreds of flights I’ve found no pattern.
Zip off trousers that convert to shorts and layers are my solution, then I’m able to deal with most anything, unless it’s too too hot and then l just suffer or ask the crew.
For reference, Japanese taxis typically have the temp set to 26C.
Are we able to bring portable fans? I tend to run hot during my monthly women duties (which is unfortunate for me)
I flew with ANA, same thing, entire cabin was hot and warm.
It’s a whole thing with Japan. Inside buildings, and on trains and busses will also be warm/hot.
I keep hearing this about JAL! I even happened upon a Trek Trendy YouTube video the other day, and he had the same complaint. I get dressed for the arctic on all my flights, so I would be extremely uncomfortable if I wasn’t warned.
I’m so sorry! There is nothing worse than being too hot in a place you can’t escape the heat.
All of my Post COVID transcontinental 9-16hr flights on Air Fiji, Qantas, ANA, JAL and Asiana have all been hot… Qantas was terrible it made me nauseous and sick for the last 6 hours. even my husband who loves 100F saunas and baths said it was hot on our last flight that he couldnt sleep so it’s not just me. not sure if fuel costs is causing this. Domestic flights within US have been normal (cold-ish)
Same with our ANA flight last year. It was early spring so I was dressed in warm layers, but after 5 hours I was just way too hot and took off what I could for the remaining 8 hours. When being crammed into a tight row of 4, a little aircon or at least a fan would have been delightfull. Next year we plan to visit in fall, I’ll probably be wearing shorts and a T-shirt instead of my typical layers.
I agree! I’m always so hot flying ANA to/from the US! I’m Asian American if that makes a difference 😅
Wait till you go anywhere indoor in the winter, they blast the heat everywhere
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I think I was on that same flight and yeah, a lot hotter than I was expecting! Here I am in a sweater and sweats and compression socks. Didn’t even bother opening the baggie with the blanket lol!
Now this makes me nervous. I’m going to Japan in late March 2025. I have claustrophobia that has gotten worse as I get older.
The last few flights I’ve taken have made my phobia kick in, but I can usually play mind games to calm me down.
What usually freaks me out is if the A/C or fans are off and the air is stuffy in the plane. As soon as the A/C kicks on I feel much better. This happened on my last flight and I almost stood up and freaked out in front of everyone. My son was desperately trying to get me to calm down and people were looking at me. I’m convinced I am suffocating. Thank God the crew turned the air on and it helped me feel better.
I’m going to Japan with a large group and they haven’t made the flight reservations yet, so I have no idea who we are flying with.
If I have to be on a hot flight for 14 hours, I will seriously lose my mind and might have to consider getting some Xanax or something from my doctor before I go.
Does anyone else know if airlines like Delta or any others from the US keep the cabin hot on flights going to Asia?
Shit… this is concerning.
Wow that’s wow weird. I got in on Zipair yesterday which is under JAL. And the airplane is cool and each seats has its own dedicated ac fan. But yea, I took my hoodie off as well. I guess we need to dress like we are going to Hawaii to be comfortable 😛
The ANA 777s with The Room usually have air nozzles, which is unusual for Japanese airlines. When I last flew in the Room, I had to actually use the blanket, lol.
Im surprised to hear this, I was recently on all nippon airways and I was freezing !
Just FYI, if it’s incredibly hot, you can ask them to cool the AC down a bit.