Having gotten so geared up over your sightseeing suggestions, we are now working to book our tickets (I'm booking first, and my husband will book through the company accordingly). Which airlines are slam-dunks? Which are hit or miss? Which are to be avoided at all costs? I am considering a United/Northwest flight currently, but have seen a slightly more expensive flight on United/JAL. Also, we're thinking of going early to celebrate New Year's Eve in Tokyo. Any experience on where to stay/be for the big night?

My thanks once again,
Stephanie

I've been very satisfied with JAL, even in Coach. Great service and roomy seats.

But, make sure you are getting a "real" JAL flight not a code-share operated by another airline like American. You can check the JAL site to see if thet are actually JAL flights or are operateed by another airline. They also have some web-only deals on their site.

I dont know where you are flying out of. Since you mentioned Northwest..possibly west coast?
As for me, my favorite is American using the new boeing 777s.
I am a nervous flyer, and the quiet engines and individual video screens help me relax.
I took the flight out of JFK. The flight attendents were the oldest, homeliess group Ive ever seen, but friendly, comforting and professional.
Legroom was great too, and Ive even flown it in some of seatguru.com's worst seats and enjoyed the flight.
Ive flown JAL and it felt like being in an old japanese sci-fi movie showing on a fuzzy screen. Instead of the flight attendents being dinosaurs..the plane was.

i have flow united, japan airsystems, and all nippon airlines(ana)to japan. ichiban(#1)is ana. number 10 is united. like art, united stews are all grandmothers, grouchy, and tired. and most of the are rather portly. my favorite saying is they are are wide as the ailse. i question their ability to assist in time of emergency. i have many freq. flyer miles on united, but use them to fly on ana and singapore air. united is only my very very last resort. very poor food, and service, and i'm flying bus. class. sing air is outstanding. ana is great. sorry about all these negatives about united, but its true. ALL of my associates that fly, and fly united, say united stews are the least caring, sour, tired, and appears to be physically unfit to assist pasengers in an emergency. the stews were not part of the ownership plan, but they are the very ones that have close customer contact. good luck.

United is the worst. Singapore Airlines would be my first choice.

Thanks ever so much for your candid responses. I have often found (particularly when travelling with children) that choosing the wrong airline for a long flight really does get the trip off on the wrong foot.

Cheers,
Stephanie