Flying to Japan...

eljono

Hi there, I'm going to Japan in March for about six months. I need to book flights and I've doing some research.
I was wondering if anyone had who has previously flown there has any input as to what flight companies are the best/cheapest and any other useful tips or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
eljono

smashey

Flew to Asia quite a few times. Try Air France, KLM or SAS although SAS had the smallest seat pitch.

eljono

Sorry, what do you mean by "seat pitch"?
Do you know roughly how long a flight takes?

smashey

Seat pitch is basically leg room and as I am 6' 5" this matters! The flight to Japan will take 12 - 14 hours non-stop.

eljono

Ok, thanks. I see why that'd matter so much when travelling for 12-14 hours, especially in your case. Do they show films on board or anything?
A friend told me that when you fly to Japan from here, you go over the Arctic. Anyone know if there's truth in that?

vasch_ro

not quite as high as the artic over siberia etc in the artic circle
flew KLM recently , they had loads of movies just pick what ever you want
I watched lord of the rings back to back !

eljono

What should I expect to pay for a ticket? Is it better to go one way and buy a return ticket over there or get the return ticket initially?

Rcuomo

my sis went to japan last summer, she spent around 1000euro on the ticket thru klm i think...

just out of curiousity what are you doing in japan for 6 months...i've always wanted to go...im jeaous!

eljono

I'm going on Co-op for college. I'm looking forward to it but my Japanese is pretty ock so I'd say I'll be lost for the first two weeks or so (hopefully not longer than that).

luckat

I flew last spring, paid about €700 or €750 return with Air France, booked through Rathgar Travel. I also bought travel insurance, which cost something like an extra €60, and it really wasn't worth it - a Sunday Business Post article later alerted me to the fact that I could have got better insurance for about €16 by shopping around rather than taking what the travel agent offered me.

If you're going to have any chance to travel around a bit within Japan, also get the Japan Rail Pass, which you can *only* buy outside Japan. It starts at around €200, as far as I remember, and allows you free travel on all Japan Rail trains (most long-distance and some short-distance trains) for its valid period. Rail travel is dear in Japan, so it's a good bargain. http://www.japanrailpass.net/

They do show films on board, though not enough for 16 hours, and you have to kind of jump in wherever the film is, rather than being able to start it at the beginning - so you see a lot of half-films and quarter-films. Get one of those blow-up neck pillow thingies. Also bring a pair of thick, soft socks and a pair of slippers for the plane, makes a huge difference.

eljono

Cheers luckat, that's some good advice.