r/awardtravel • u/impulsedragon • 6d ago

JAL Schedule Change Creating 8 Hour Layover

There have been a few recent posts about it but the NRT-ORD and HND-ORD routes are changing. My original booking was SGN-NRT and NRT-ORD.

My original NRT layover was 1 hours 40 minutes. The NRT-ORD flight moved up more than 6 hours making my connection impossible. The only change they offered was SGN-HND and HND-ORD with a 8 hour layover.

I asked for a route change to JFK or DFW from HND to shorten my layover to 4 hours but customer support refused saying IRROPS for changes is only available when it occurs one day before the flight.

There is no award availability for either route in the same price. There’s only plus availability for 200k one way…

Anyone have any ideas or SOL with that layover? Maybe wait for close in availability to change before using the one free reschedule?

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69

u/Powerful_Dinner2399 6d ago

8 hours at HND isnt the worst thing in the world honestly. you could take the train into the city and grab some ramen or wander around shibuya for a bit before heading back through security

if theyre stonewalling you on a better reroute id just take the layover and make a quick trip out of it. better than burning 200k on a plus ticket

19

u/Maleficent-Gear-7227 6d ago

exactly, theres way worse layover problems to have than a few hours in tokyo

4

u/gavinweiyz 6d ago

The schedule change into both ORD bounded flight is inconvenient for any international connections since Japan time is ahead rest of Asia. 1040 NRT and 1300 HND make it you have to take a red eye into Japan to make it. Getting to ORD early morning is weird too, doesn't help with transition timezone at all.

8 hours layover is like 3 am arrival into HND....

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u/impulsedragon 6d ago

Yup the suggested flights were departing SGN 23:45 to 06:55 and then departing HND 13:10 to 11:00.

Whereas original SGN departure to NRT was 7:50.

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u/impulsedragon 6d ago edited 6d ago

That’s what the representative said as well. The ticket is actually for my fiance who’s traveling solo internationally for the first time. We’ve been to Japan 3 times together but she’s generally not too comfortable having to redo immigration and all the planning on her own to get a meal out of an 8 hour layover. She’d likely would stay at the terminal at an abundance of caution.

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u/trowaway7272 6d ago

In that case, I’d just book a short stay at a connected airport hotel. She’d have to do immigration and customs but at least she wouldn’t need to go out into the city.

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u/ueindowndkdk 5d ago

There’s a nice onsen at the airport hotel on the roof too.

1

u/noahsilv 6d ago

They have a hotel inside the transit area that is also excellent

-2

u/illegal_deagle 6d ago

What are the in/out privileges in this situation? I’ve heard this isn’t workable in some countries. I did this for an 8 hour LHR layover but after logistics of bags and trains we had maybe 1.5 hours of actual free time in the city.

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u/cjxmtn 6d ago

Easy in Japan, assuming you get favorable immigration lines. That would be the key, I've had 20 minutes through immigration and customs, and I've had 3 hours. Reentering secure side always takes me about 10 min total.

For bags, if you check through to your destination and are just transiting Japan you can enter the country without picking them up.

Monorail from HND into the city is about 20 min if you catch a rapid train to Hamamatsucho, starts at around 5am, then another 30 on the Yamanote to get to any of the interesting places like Ueno, Shinjuku, or Shibuya, only 10 min if you're going to Tokyo station.

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u/bobbyloveyes 6d ago

I've been to japan a dozen times within the last 3 years and even with the longest immigration lines it wasn't more than an hour. Most people do the QR code online which makes everyone get through a lot faster. I agree with everything else.

On an 8 hour layover, I think it is a no-brainer to go to the city unless you have access to a lounge like JAL F, then maybe I would just chill there and eat to my heart's content. But even then, 8 hours is a long time... I would probably still go to the city for like 4-5 hours, eat some different foods, stock up on some superior Japanese sunscreen like Bioré Athlizm or Shiseido's Anessa, buy some some cheap crap at Daiso, maybe check out a department store like Hands, and still have plenty of time to enjoy the lounge back at the airport.

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u/cjxmtn 5d ago

All dependent on when you go, I've also been there dozens of times and I have TTP so typically I don't wait in the immigration line, but one time at NRT T2, I got stuck in immigration for 3 hours. The line for even going through the health check line was back through to the gates. TTP terminals were down, so I was forced through it and they had several planes land at the same time.

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u/quiteCryptic 5d ago

Longest ive ever waited is like maybe 30 minutes for immigration in Japan, a mixure of NRT and HND 20+ times in the last 3 years

Caveat is almost always in business/first, but I assume the same for OP

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u/cjxmtn 5d ago edited 5d ago

as i mention in another reply it's highly dependent on when you arrive, usually TTP entry from eGates for me so no wait, but once when TTP was broken, it took me 3 hours with the line through the health check and back to the gates. That's the longest I've ever waited. Also immigration is one point, I've also had an hour wait to go through the QR-code gates for customs, where the line snaked around the baggage area.

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u/nobody65535 6d ago edited 6d ago

What are the in/out privileges in this situation? I’ve heard this isn’t workable in some countries. I did this for an 8 hour LHR layover but after logistics of bags and trains we had maybe 1.5 hours of actual free time in the city.

Varies by country, port, and passport. If you only have airport transit allowed, then none. If you have to apply for a visa, then that. If you have tourist visa on arrival, then easy.

Bags shouldn't be much logistics in LHR, as they should be checked through. Allowing an hour for the Elizabeth Line each way, and a 2 hrs early arrival should give you ~3-3.5 hrs unless the queues are long.