Japan Airlines Cancellation Policy & Safety Review

This is an independent review from Safe Travel Guide and is not affiliated with Japan Airlines.

Japan Airlines’ cancellation and rebooking policies provide increased ticket flexibility due to Covid-19 on international tickets.

JAL ended free rebooking and cancellation for domestic tickets within Japan following June 30, 2020, after the Japanese government lifted the state of emergency. Domestic ticket changes and cancellations now follow standard fare rules.

If you’ve purchased or plan to purchase an international ticket on Japan Airlines, you’ll be pleased to learn that all international bookings made between June 11, 2020 and September 30, 2020 may be changed free of charge regardless of standard fare rules.

Complete cancellation and rebooking details are available on Japan Airlines website.

For international tickets, it’s important to understand the following details:

1. Changes may be made to any international fare type, including Standard, Saver, Special, and Special Saver fare types.
2. Tickets from Japan to New Caledonia and tickets from Indonesia to Japan are excluded from the international ticket flexibility.
3. For tickets purchased by September 30, the rebooking / change policy is most flexible if you make changes before October 1. For example, a new ticket originally schedule to depart in September 2020 may be changed to depart in November 2020 or later an unlimited number of times if JAL is notified before September 30. The only fees charged for rebooking are any applicable fare differences.

On October 1, 2020 and after, one change to the first leg of the flight itinerary is allowed free of charge, but any subsequent changes to the first or outbound flight will be governed by the ticket’s fare rules. Changes made to second and any subsequent flight legs, including the return flight, are allowed for free an unlimited number of times.

For complete details, please see Japan Airlines web site.

Of course, rebooking and cancellation are different matters. Like most airlines, JAL’s generous flexibility policy following Covid-19 is likely to encourage rebooking over refunds.

If you do want to cancel entirely and receive a refund, you are eligible for a refund without cancellation fees if your ticket meets the conditions below:

• your ticket was issued by Japan Airlines and the ticket number starts with ‘131’
• your ticket was issued on or before June 11, 2020
• your flight was/is scheduled to depart between February 28 and October 31, 2020
• you request your refund on or after September 7, 2020

To apply for a refund, travelers should submit their request on the Japan Airlines web site until 11:59 PM on the day prior to departure. As always, requesting a refund earlier is better.

Some tickets are unable to receive a refund via the JAL website, in which case JAL advises passengers to contact their local JAL office and submit a refund form, available on its web site.

Other frequently asked questions (FAQs) and information regarding changes and cancellations:

• If you’ve requested a refund on JAL’s website, the time for the refund to actually process depends on your original payment method. JAL notes that refunds may take up to 2 months. If you are requesting a refund in JAL airline points, the points are returned once the normal procedure is completed.
• Cancellation fees are the same regardless of when you cancel with Japan Airlines; fees don’t change closer to departure, though we note the requirement to request a refund before 11:59 PM on the date before departure, as noted above.
• Cancellations and refunds for tickets paid for with JAL points may be requested via the Japan Airlines web site.
• Tickets or reservations that have been upgraded can no longer be changed via the web site, so passengers should call JAL international reservations to request changes.