Japan Airlines (JAL)

JAL

Japan Airlines — oneworld member

Tokyo HND · NRT
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Japan Airlines (JAL) Boeing 787-9
Photo (resized and cropped): 4300streetcar / CC BY 4.0

Company

Founded 1 August 1951. Alliance: oneworld (joined April 2007). Flight crew as of 31 March 2026: 2,510 (Japan Airlines only, excluding those on leave). Base after training: Haneda, Narita and other airports.

Aircraft in service
234 aircraft
Routes
211 routes
Average age of flight crew
43.1 years
Annual passengers
46,242,888
Company details7 facts · Fleet · Sources
Founded
1 August 1951
Alliance
oneworldjoined April 2007
Aircraft in service
234 aircraftJAL Group total, including ZIPAIR Tokyo and Spring Japan but not Jetstar Japan · 31 March 2026
Routes
211 routesJAL Group domestic and international routes combined · 31 March 2026
Flight crew
2,510Japan Airlines only, excluding those on leave · 31 March 2026
Average age of flight crew
43.1 yearsFY2025
Annual passengers
46,242,888revenue passengers of the JAL Group full-service carrier (international and domestic combined) · FY2025

Fleet13 types · 31 March 2026

  • A350-90017 aircraft
  • A350-100011 aircraft
  • B787-922 aircraft
  • B787-831 aircraft
  • B777-300ER9 aircraft
  • B767-300ER27 aircraft
  • B737-80062 aircraft
  • A321ceo (freighter)3 aircraft
  • E17018 aircraft
  • E19014 aircraft
  • DHC-8-400 Cargo Combi5 aircraft
  • ATR 42-60013 aircraft
  • ATR 72-6002 aircraft

SourcesJapan Airlines, “Company Overview”Japan Airlines, “JAL History: the 2000s”Japan Airlines, “Number of aircraft”Japan Airlines, “Number of routes”“JAL Group Safety Report FY2025”Japan Airlines, “JAL Group ESG Data”Japan Airlines, Annual Securities Report for the 77th fiscal year (April 2025 – March 2026)

Pay

Taxed (Japan)

Japan Airlines (JAL) Captain, median pay

$161K

Japan Airlines (JAL) First Officer, median pay

$102K

Median of pay submitted by members

Submitted payREAL PAY

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Pay published by the airline

  • Japan Airlines (JAL), Flight crew trainee (on joining)

    ≈$1.6K

starting pay, monthly

Who it covers, what’s included, and when
Captain
Median of the annual pay members have submitted (latest entry per person, to the nearest ¥10,000).As of: Counted 31 October 2026
First Officer
Median of the annual pay members have submitted (latest entry per person, to the nearest ¥10,000).As of: Counted 31 October 2026
  • The trainee figure is the starting monthly pay for a flight-crew trainee, not a figure for captains or first officers. Anyone who holds or has held a commercial pilot license cannot apply to the airline’s own ab-initio cadet program.
  • About 50 places are offered for FY2027 across graduate and career intake, with around ten days off a month once flying.

SourcesJapan Airlines Co., Ltd. (JAL recruitment site), “Flight crew trainee (company-trained pilot) recruitment requirements”The pay section says “as of 27 March 2026” · checked 29 September 2026PILOT VALUE, “REAL PAY (pay submitted by members)”Counted 31 October 2026 · checked 31 October 2026

Jobs

Airline’s careers page
Planned intake
About 50 in total, new graduates and mid-career hires combinedab initio cadets · requirements for 2027 entry
Starting pay
$1.7Knew-graduate ab initio cadets; not captain or first officer pay · 27 March 2026
Applications openCompany-wide policy
In stages from 10:00 on 1 March 2026JAL Group recruitment for 2027 entry
Applying as an ab initio cadet
Not open to anyone who holds, or has ever held, a commercial pilot licenserequirements for 2027 entry
Licensed pilot hiring
Selection for flight crew trainees is held from time to time; ask your current flight school for detailsfor commercial pilot license holders; the careers site lists no requirements for experienced captains or first officers · requirements for 2027 entry
Sources2

Japan Airlines careers site, “Requirements by role: Pilot (new graduates)”checked 4 October 2026Japan Airlines news release, “JAL Group opens new-graduate recruitment for 2027 entry”checked 4 October 2026

Duty

Days off

10 a month, as a rule

once on the line · requirements for 2027 entry

  • Working hoursVariable working hours set by the flying schedule
  • Training locationJapan, and Phoenix, Arizona, in the United States

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Benefits

Bonus

Three times a year (summer, year-end and end of the fiscal year)

FY2024 actual

  • Company housing and dormitoriesCompany housing and dormitory scheme available
  • Staff travelStaff travel scheme

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Destinations & layovers

BaseTokyo HND · NRT View on Google Maps

Some destinationsGrouped by region, not by popularity

65 airportsOfficial destinations

Sourcesbasis · conditions · date
Conditions
  • Destinations of Japan Airlines’ own flights (international from the official operating plan, domestic from the official timetable). Airports served only by group airlines, codeshare-only airports and suspended airports are not included.
  • These are the airline’s destinations across its whole network. It does not show which aircraft types or bases fly there, or whether crews lay over.
  • Sorted by region (cities with a photo first), not by popularity or number of flights.
Airports not listed
  • Suspended (until 27 March 2027)Doha
  • Suspended (no plan to resume has been announced)Moscow · Vladivostok
  • Flown only by a group airline (HAC) and a partner (FDA)Sapporo Okadama
  • Flown only by a group airline (HAC)Rishiri · Nakashibetsu · Okushiri
  • Flown only by group airlines (J-AIR, HAC)Akita
  • Flown only by a group airline (J-AIR) and a partner (FDA)Hanamaki · Yamagata · Sendai · Niigata
  • Codeshare flights by a partner (FDA) onlyMatsumoto · Shizuoka · Nagoya Komaki · Kobe
  • Flown only by a group airline (JAC)Tajima · Tanegashima · Yakushima · Kikai · Okinoerabu
  • Flown only by group airlines (J-AIR, JAC)Oki · Tokunoshima
  • Flown only by a group airline (J-AIR)Yamaguchi Ube
  • Codeshare flights by a partner (ORC) onlyTsushima · Iki · Goto Fukue
  • Codeshare flights by a partner (AMX) onlyAmakusa
  • Flown only by group airlines (JAC, RAC)Yoron
  • Flown only by a group airline (RAC)Kitadaito · Minamidaito · Tarama · Yonaguni
  • Flown only by group airlines (JTA, RAC)Kumejima
  • JAL’s own flights run until 24 October 2026 (after that, group airlines only)Miyako · Ishigaki
As of
Checked in official sources on 8 October 2026
Photo credits48

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Roster10 questions
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Upgrade to captain4 questions
Training and career8 questions
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