Japan Airlines Reviews & Complaint Guide

A phone was left with the wrong family member during boarding, and I expected that to become a mess. The gate agent at E6 stayed calm, coordinated with the people still outside the jet bridge, and got it back before the door closed. That one employee saved the trip from starting badly.

I submitted the refund form after a cancelled Amsterdam Schiphol to Nairobi trip and received a case number right away. After that, nothing was simple. Each call felt like starting over, one agent could not see the previous notes, and the email replies never gave a real date for when the money would be returned.

The best part of this trip happened before boarding. A check-in employee at Mexico City noticed a document mismatch and corrected it before it became a gate problem. The process took extra minutes, but it saved me from a much bigger issue later in the day.

The wheelchair request was on the reservation, but when we reached New York JFK nobody seemed prepared for it. We waited, asked twice, and almost missed the boarding window. Special assistance should not depend on finding the right person at the last minute.

The check-in line at San Francisco was long enough that I expected a disaster. A gate agent near A4 noticed the tight connection on JL398, moved the document check along, and explained exactly where to go next. It was the kind of calm help that makes a stressful airport morning feel manageable.

At gate E6, passengers with bags that had already passed the sizer were suddenly told to check them. The staff sounded annoyed when people asked whether the bags would come out planeside or at baggage claim. I would have packed differently if Japan Airlines had made the rule clear before boarding started.

A minor name correction should not have taken two calls, a fee, and repeating the same passport information again. The second agent eventually fixed it, but the first case note apparently was not visible. I spent more time proving the problem than actually solving it.

We started a vacation with one suitcase missing after Japan Airlines JL509. The desk at CAI took the claim and told us to buy basic clothes, then every phone call after that gave a different answer. The bag finally reached the hotel almost two days later with a broken zipper pull, and the reimbursement offer did not come close to what we spent.

After boarding Japan Airlines JL546, the screen at my seat froze and the crew tried restarting it twice. Then we were told there was a maintenance warning and everyone just sat there without a clear timeline. I understand safety checks, but the communication on May 27, 2026 made the whole cabin feel stuck and ignored.

The flight was not perfect and we did leave late, but the crew kept explaining what they knew. On Japan Airlines JL583, they gave connection updates before landing and reminded passengers which bags would arrive at the regular claim. I can handle a delay much better when the communication is honest.

The delay stretched long enough that passengers were given meal vouchers, but the amount barely covered a sandwich at the airport. I appreciate getting something, but it felt more symbolic than useful when families were stuck waiting for hours with children.

This was a rare travel day where nothing dramatic happened. Japan Airlines JL657 boarded close to the posted 06:15 time, the cabin was clean, and the crew kept the announcements short but useful. I landed at YVR close enough to schedule that my ride did not have to circle the airport.

People at gate C7 were asking normal questions about vouchers, hotel options, and whether the delay would affect connections. The answers kept changing, and one staff member spoke to passengers like they were wasting time. It was the attitude, more than the delay, that made the experience feel so bad.

After the cancellation, passengers were told hotel vouchers would be sent by text. Some people received them, some did not, and the desk could not explain why. By the time I found a room myself, the nearby hotels were much more expensive than they had been earlier in the evening.

I paid extra so our family could sit together, then at the airport the seats had been split anyway. The agent kept pointing to the screen like that answered the problem, even though my receipt showed the seat purchase. On a long JNB-CPT flight, being moved away from a child after paying for seats is not a small inconvenience.

The best part of this trip happened before boarding. A check-in employee at Chicago O'Hare noticed a document mismatch and corrected it before it became a gate problem. The process took extra minutes, but it saved me from a much bigger issue later in the day.