Low Cost Full Flat Seat! ZIPAIR 787 Dreamliner San Jose to Tokyo Inaugural Flight

Fly on Low-Cost Carrier (LCC) ZIPAIR inaugural flight from Mineta San Jose International (SJC) to Tokyo Narita (NRT) in a low cost (but still quite nice) Full-Flat Seat on board the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. See the celebration at the gate, pre-ordered meal, purchased meals on board, and free satellite wifi (the good and not-so-good). With performance by San Jose Taiko.
0:54 - ZIPAIR Introduction, routes and seats
2:16 - Check-in
2:49 - At the gate
3:33 - Dignitary speeches
5:53 - Ribbon cutting
6:33 - Boarding
7:17 - Full-Flat seat intro
7:54 - Pushback from the gate
9:38 - Takeoff from SJC
10:59 - A close look at the Full-Flat seat
11:49 - Korean BBQ Beef pre-ordered hot meal
12:25 - Inflight shopping
13:14 - Food Menu
13:44 - Purchased food
14:00 - Z_Chocolate
14:11 - Inflight Entertainment
15:25 - Free Inflight Wifi
16:32 - Lie flat on the Full-Flat
17:40 - Dreamliner lavatory with bidet
18:32 - JAL Udon de Sky
19:04 - Approaching Tokyo Narita
19:49 - Landing Tokyo Narita Runway 34L
21:26 - Final thoughts flying low-cost
Music used in this video:
To Weather a Storm - Dan Leborwitz
Look Both Ways - Nathan Moore
New Space Ship - Trevor Garrod
Read All Over - Nathan Moore
Tinker Time - Nathan Moore
Sleepless Aloha - Reed Mathis
Glass - Anno Domini Beats

[@foomp]

As someone who does not care at all about amenities on a plane, be it food or services, the cheap lie-flat option is a REALLY nice option. I'm damn curious about this airline and need to look more into it.

[@syms7a]

Oh you were right behind me at 6:51!! 🤣 It was nice to relive that day, thanks for the video!

[@ifmimow]

I watched the take off and landing portions of video twice because they were so enjoyable and I felt like I was there. I finally realized that you hadn't played loud music with quick edits. Thank you

[@airpicts]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@fastscalp6250]

Now we need a flat seat to Europe.

[@marcuscheng2507]

I will be flying Zipair from on the last week of June 2024!!

[@airpicts]

Enjoy your flight!

[@junshidara7801]

Very nice ! Thanks for putting this all together ☺ //

[@airpicts]

Glad you enjoyed it! It was a fun trip!

[@kayel4487]

Thanks for a thorough review!

[@airpicts]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Altariaba]

Thank you so much for this review!! Very straightforward and informational, appreciate the info.

[@airpicts]

Glad it was helpful!

[@raymaiden958]

Those GE90's really sing!

[@airpicts]

GENx - a derivative of the GE90. But, yes - I agree - great sound!

[@mini_cms]

Thanks Ben for this thorough review. I wish I’d watched your video earlier. I just came back from Japan and my economy plus ticket by United is exactly the same price as your full flat seat 😂

[@airpicts]

Thanks! Well...at least others can benefit from our experiences.

[@planebrosaviation]

I think I might've been on one of the Terminal A parking garages spotting this plane by Terminal B and when it took off.

[@airpicts]

Hey - that's cool!

[@michaelrestivo851]

Nice Ben. So would you fly them to again ? Do you think the san jose route will do well?

[@airpicts]

Thanks Mike! I think SJC would do very well. There is an untapped price-sensitive market across the Pacific that (anecdotally - from multiple people I have talked to) are flying ZIP because: they are cheap, they fly to SJC, and they offer an inexpensive premium seat.

[@rosehuang7234]

Hi Ben I just saw ur video thx for letting people know. Where did u order the ticket? Thx again

[@airpicts]

Hello Rose - I purchased my ticket directly from ZIPAIR: www.zipair.net/en/

[@juliaguan2438]

Nice Review! Thanks and quick question. Was the flight full? And were they very picky about carry-on luggage?

[@airpicts]

Thanks! The flight to Narita was pretty much full, but returning flight back to the U.S. was only about 20% full in Standard but 100% full in Full-Flat. As for carry-on, the staff at check-in at Narita weighed my camera bag backpack (and it was overweight!), but SJC check-in counter did not check my carry-on weight.

[@lalail61]

Hi Ben. Nice video. Thank you for sharing your experience. Did they charge you for the excess weight of your camera bag?

[@airpicts]

Hello Lino. The check-in agent was pretty nice about it. They asked me to take some stuff out of my carry-on and put them in my checked luggage.

[@randolphamos4627]

How can you order food if the internet happened to be not working? Nice, info video, btw.

[@airpicts]

Thanks! Internet to the outside world was not working. But wifi was still working locally on-board the aircraft for food order and in-flight entertainment.

[@min-k2689]

When you came back to SJC, how did the immigration work? I did not see any "immigration" where they check the passport in San Jose airport.

[@airpicts]

There is a sterile corridor at Gates 14-18 that leads to one level below the gate area to the custom and immigration area. Basically the connector between Terminals A and B, you see a lot of wall. On the other side of the wall, is where the sterile area flown downstairs. You see a little of this in my British Airways video near the end: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fH3OZWODbbSagNksi=p2ZbTT0pvVUSA9ZY&t=1183

[@Mkaela90]

You have to book your ticket way in advance if you want full flat.

[@airpicts]

Looks like Full Flat is very popular!

[@Rodelbailarin]

How does it work for ordering perordered meals. Do you pre order before you go on the place or once your on your on board?

[@airpicts]

Hello Jose - go into your reservation on-line to add your order. You can also order your meal at the same time as purchasing your ticket.

[@nateshf9303]

My wife and I brought our own food (and a lot from Tokyo before departing) but we noticed their system of confirming which passengers pre-paid and distributing the food was so time consuming and unorganized.

[@paigengo3109]

How many meals do you get if you purchase the premium?

[@airpicts]

Just one meal - served within the first hour after takeoff.

[@arlenfernandez5580]

Hi Ben my trip It’s April 7 do I have to buy the seat or the give me One on the front desk for free

[@airpicts]

Hi Arlen, looks at 24 hours before departure, the system will assign a seat for you. If you want to choose your own seat, you have to purchase it before 24 hours. Info here: www.zipair.net/en/faq/seat/whenWeCanReserve

[@darth2darth]

Anyone know if you can checkin 2 large luggage if you are willing to pay? Or is 1@23kg is the absolute max?

[@airpicts]

According to their website, you can check up to five pieces of luggage, each one subject to the 14kg, 23kg, or 32kg fee. www.zipair.net/en/service/baggage

[@sofaonasock]

Were the staff wearing gloves for the entire duration of the flight?

[@airpicts]

You know - I can’t remember whether they did during the entire flight, but they certainly wore gloves during customer touchpoints (such as during food delivery).

[@tomkatsu51]

Were there air nozzles above your seat?

[@airpicts]

Very good question! Had to look in my photos to confirm - yes, there were air vents above the seats.

[@B737900ER]

Nice seat, sad inflight meals and entertainment. Lets hope its not the new future standard as predicted by the CEO😅

[@Jenrushesin]

Was it easy to find the zipair terminal in Narita? And to get bags checked through there?

[@airpicts]

Yes! ZIPAIR's check-in counter at Narita is at Terminal 1, North Wing - same area as SkyTeam airlines.

[@stevep4236]

How much did it cost total?

[@airpicts]

Hi Steve - I paid around $2000 roundtrip.

[@ReelLife97]

How many meals do they serve per flight from San Jose to NRT? I wonder how much should I preorder per flight.

[@airpicts]

All pre-ordered meals are served once, right after takeoff. Any subsequent food you want are ordered from the on-board menu. But there is not going to be anything substantial like the pre-order meal. Except for just one hot meal, which is limited in number and sold out later in the flight. I recommend bringing your own food if don’t think the in-flight menu will satisfy you.

[@ReelLife97]

@@airpicts I understand that but I was wondering how much more should I pre-order for hot meals? Maybe 2 more meals (aside from the 1 that comes with the Value package) to make it lunch, dinner and breakfast?

[@airpicts]

Yeah, I guess you can do that. But you get all the meals at the same time early in the flight, so those other ones will be cold by time you are ready to eat. If you go that route, I would choose one more meal and something that could still be good after it cools off.

[@ReelLife97]

@Ben Wang Oh that's weak, they only serve one or more meals once only during your whole flight?! Yeh, I better bring my own food to eat later since they won't serve the extra food u ordered at a later time when it should be hot. Thanks for the info.

[@airpicts]

Yeah, certainly not the best arrangement. Glad to have helped!

[@ericsam2206]

Transfering back to China?

[@airpicts]

Flight connections to/from China.

[@myohai5715]

It's a NO for me. Flight is too long with shitty service like this

[@ifmimow]

I'm not sure how you can get to Japan faster.... start trip in Anchorage Alaska I guess?