JAL Is Offering Free Domestic Flights in Japan. Here’s How To Get Yours.

Updated: September 19, 2024, 2:23am CDT

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Get a Free Domestic Flight With JAL
Eligible Countries for This Offer
Final Thoughts

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No, you’re not dreaming. Yes, you can get a free domestic flight within Japan, thanks to Japan Airlines (JAL).

With no end date listed on this offer, the concept is simple: Add a domestic flight to your international flight booking and get it for free.

Here are the rules for this offer and how to get your free domestic flight.

Get a Free Domestic Flight With JAL

Presently, if you add an extra Japan Airlines flight to your itinerary, you’ll pay for it. That’s the way things normally work.

Right now, though, an exciting promotion is offering that domestic flight at no additional charge. However, you need to book it at the same time as your international flight arriving in Japan.

For example, if you’re booking a flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Tokyo (NRT) and then want to travel onward to Osaka (KIX), you’ll need to add your Tokyo-Osaka flight at the time you book the international flight. Otherwise, you won’t qualify for the free domestic flight.

Utilize a free domestic flight to jump to cities like Osaka (Osaka Castle, shown), Fukuoka, Nagoya, Okinawa, and Sapporo. Image Credit: Ehsan Haque

The free domestic flight applies whether you connect immediately (or within 24 hours) to your domestic flight or whether you stop in your first Japanese city for a while. Thus, if your first point of arrival is in Tokyo or Osaka, you have the option to immediately connect to another Japanese city served by JAL or to spend some time in that first city before connecting onward.

In either case, the domestic flight will come at no charge. However, there may be a fee for this stopover, assuming it lasts more than 24 hours. If you’re arriving in Japan from the U.S., Canada, Mexico, or China, you’ll pay a stopover fee of $100 or ¥300.

Bottom Line:

You need to book the free domestic flight at the same time as your international flight to Japan, and that flight must start in an eligible country. You can choose to connect to the free flight on the same day you arrive in Japan or spend time exploring that first city. If you do that, you might pay a stopover fee, depending on where your international flight originated.

Eligible Countries for This Offer

Sadly, not everyone qualifies for this offer.

Departures from the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Thailand, and Singapore are already eligible. On September 19, Australia and New Zealand departures will become eligible, and the offer will extend to departures from Vietnam and the Philippines on September 25. On September 27, the offer wille expand to those originating in Indonesia, India, China, and Taiwan.

At this time, there’s no end date listed for the offer. There’s also no list of other countries that may join the promotion either.

Final Thoughts

To encourage people to explore beyond Japan’s major international hubs, JAL is offering free domestic flights. You need to mind a few rules when booking, but this could be a great way to explore additional parts of Japan without paying for the plane ride to get there.