Japan Airlines has teamed up with Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan to offer its international long-haul passengers what may be the best economy class meal available, in the form of two pieces of the Colonel’s finest.

The collaboration has been named “AIR KENTUCKY” (JAL’s caps) and will see passengers offered a drumstick, a boneless chicken breast fillet, a special flatbread, a cup of coleslaw and some lettuce leaves.

JAL suggests passengers could enjoy the meal “as it is” or, for the adventurous, “as a sandwich by sandwiching the fresh lettuce leaves and fragrant fillet in the bread, and topping it off with special mayonnaise.

The KFC deal is not a desperate cost-cutting move. Instead, JAL insists “KFC is widely popular in Japan particularly during the Christmas season.” The decision to offer in-flight KFC therefore represents the airline’s effort to “bring customers a festive cheer onboard”. There may be other such offerings in the wings (pardon the pun), as the airline also promises it will “continue to offer innovative, quality services in the New Year.”

The specially-commissioned packaging for Japan Airlines' AIR KENTUCKY meal

The promotion commences on December 1st 2012 and runs until February 28th, 2013. Passengers in economy and premium economy classes on from Tokyo Narita airport to New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, London, Paris and Frankfurt will be the lucky recipients of the lardy lunch. ®