ANA – All Nippon Airways

ANA All Nippon Airways, Business Class (The Room) – Boeing B 777-300: Tokyo Haneda to London Heathrow

Getting to Haneda Airport from Shinjuku

I haven’t been in Japan long enough to get jetlag, which is good because it means that when I leave my hotel in Shinjuku just before six in the morning, I’m actually feeling rather bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

To get from Shinjuku to Haneda airport by public transport, you can either catch an airport bus from the bus terminus at Shinjuku, or you can take a train and then the monorail – which is what I do. First, I take the Yamanote JR Line to Hamamatsucho. The nice thing about the Yamanote is that it runs in a circle. So even if you catch a train going the wrong way, you’ll still get there in the end.

From Hamamatsucho I catch the Tokyo Monorail from one floor up to take me to Haneda. The train’s first stop at the airport is Terminal 3, which is from where the international flights leave. The ticket is JPY700 for a oneway from Shinjuku to Haneda.

Check-in

ANA checks in on rows C, D and E. If you’re in Business Class and not using the check-in kiosks, head for row C. But be warned… The Japanese are incredibly polite, but also incredibly complicated. It takes me 20 minues to reach the head of the queue, mainly because the check-in agents spend a lot of time doing utterly useless things. For example, they label a suitcase on the conveyor belt. Next they open the security screen, check twice that there is nothing stuck in the conveyor belt, and then push the button for the belt to start moving and the suitcase to move forward to the main belt. Once the suitcase is gone, they close the screen, again checking that nothing has managed to get stuck anywhere. Mindfullness is one thing, but this just really very inefficient and very frustrating. I mean, it’s not as though lives hang in the balance by leaving the screen for the main conveyor belt open.

The check-in agent checks me in to Heathrow and then informs me that she cannot check me in for the last leg, because ANA has no check-in interline agreement in place with BA…

After check-in comes security, which again seems way more complicated in how it’s organised than it need be. But eventually, I manage, I’m through security and passport control.

The ANA Business Class Lounge

At Haneda airport ANA has a First Class lounge and the Business and Star Gold lounge. The views from the lounge are excellent. Too bad the place is crawling with people and there’s hardly any place to sit.

The lounge has an interesting selection of hot and cold Western and Japanese food items available from a buffet. The selection is good, but you need a bit of patience…

The entrance to the lounge is opposite gate 110, which also happens to be my gate for London.

Boarding

Boarding is by zones and a very orderly and quiet process. It looks as though it’s going to be a full flight.

Our departure is scheduled for 09:25. However, there’s a bit of a hold up because of something related to having to check the hold luggage. By the time we push back, we running an hour late.

The Room

ANA’s Boeing B 777-300 fleet has The Room Business Class seat installed. The main feature of the seat is a side panel that can be raised and a sliding door for more privacy. The door isn’t very high, though. The unevenly numbered seats are rear-facing and closer to the window, whereas the evenly-numbered seats are forward-facing and closer to the aisle.

The big advantage of this seat is that it is quite spacious. Other than that though, I have to say that it’s one of the more uncomfortable seats I’ve ever experienced, especially given that our flight time to London today is going to be 14 hours. First of all, the seat is very low above the ground. With my feet flat on the floor, the angle of my thighs to my torso is about 45 degrees and not very comfortable. The seatback is fully flat and offers zero back support.

I am 184 cm tall, which is pretty average for a male adult. Even so, it’s impossible for me to stretch out fully with the seat extended to a bed. The best results are achieved by lying at an angle, but even then it is not a comfortable surface to sleep on.

As far as I’m concerned, the seat’s only redeeming feature is that it gives me a comfortable and unobstructed view of the wing and the engine. The size of those things…

The Service

There are two Western cabin crew on this flight. One of them is male. The rest of the cabin crew are female. Service begins on the ground with the distribution of the welcome drinks. On offer are sparkling wine and orange juice. The cabin crew kindly oblige me with a still water instead.

After an hour of more or less incessant announcements in both Japanese and English, none of which make any sense, we’re finally ready to push. As we taxi out to our runway, we pass a whole line up of aircraft that look as though they have not been active in quite a while, including this B 787 with both its engines missing.

You can say what you like, but the B 777-300 is a total beast. Even heavily laden for a 14 hour leg across both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans the acceleration is impressive. Our climb out takes us in a zig-zag route over Tokyo toward Narita, from where we start our Pacific crossing.

Our routing today takes us up north along the Kamchatka peninsula. We then cross the Bering strait and make a beeline for Greenland, then Iceland and eventually Scotland. As we fly over the Northpole, it’s fascinating to watch the compass on screen gradually adjust.

The Meal – First Service

As on the outbound flight, I decide to go with the Japanese option.

The planned amuse bouche has been swapped and replaced with a special Japanese New Year dish of dried fish and something. It’s not very good and rather bland.

To be perfectly honest, the meal is incredibly boring and very bland. Essentially, it’s soy sauce with a variety of different veggies, meat or fish that all taste of, well… soy sauce and not much else.

The only remarkable thing about this meal is the stupendous chocolate mousse, which is rich, creamy and sumptuous.

The Meal – Inflight Snacking

ANA has a wide selection of snacks available in case you get the hungries on such a long flight, of which I try the delectable fondant biscuits, the vanilla ice cream, the fruit, the cheese plate and the IPPUDO plant-based ramen. If I’d known earlier, I think I would have skipped the main meal and just had the ramen.

The ramen can be spiced up with a small red sachet of red chilli paste, which is lovely!

The Meal – Second Service

Two hours out of Heathrow, the second meal service starts, and again I go for the Japanese option. Perhaps a note for vegetarians: ANA is really not very good with non-meat dishes. If you don’t want to go hungry, I would strongly recommend ordering a special meal ahead.

As expected, the second service tastes a lot like soy sauce. I have a coffee and a fondant biscuit for dessert just to make sure I’m not suffering from a sudden loss of taste.

Arrival into Heathrow

We make landfall over Scotland and fly down the length of the UK to make an approach from the East. Our final decent brings us in right over London and the West End. It’s a spectacular view that just never gets old!

Despite our departure delay of one hour, we land in Heathrow exactly on time, at 15:25. Our flight comes to an end at the satellite terminal 2B. I now have two hours to make my connection from Terminal 5.

Conclusion – The Verdict

Meh…! That was a bit of a let down, from the mess at check-in and the crowds in the lounge to the very bland food on the plane and the uncomfortable seat, this was not a pleasant experience with ANA. I seriously think I’m going to have to see a chiropractor when I get back. The flight’s redeeming features were a) the crew, which were all just so nice and friendly, and b) the fact that the flight was operated by a Boeing B 777-300. I mean, have you seen the size of those engines…!? Other than that, I wouldn’t actively avoid ANA in future, but I definitely won’t go out of my way to fly with them either.

ANA All Nippon Airways, Business Class – Boeing B 787-9: Frankfurt to Tokyo Haneda

Transfer in Frankfurt

The bus that picked us up at our aircraft arriving from Amsterdam ejects me somewhere deep in the bowels of the A concourse of Frankfurt airport, and I still need to make my way through the underworld and the passage of doom that connects the A and B concourses at Frankfurt airport and go through passport control. There is a guy with a sign for the ANA flight standing there as I enter the building, which I consider a good sign. He gives me instructions for how to reach the B concourse and tells me there is enough time. They have advised the gate ahead and they are holding the flight for me and the three other passengers coming off the Amsterdam flight. Frankfurt is very busy, so that by the time I finally reach the gate, the flight is already in the final stages of boarding. So no photos of the outside of the aircraft. It’s dark outside anyway…

The Cabin

On the B 787-9 ANA does not offer a First Class cabin. Instead, the Business class cabin is divided in two sections. There are two different cabin configurations on the B 787-9 that operate internationally. On my bird, row 8 is the bulkead row in the rear Business Class cabin. The aircraft is configured in a staggered 1 + 2 + 1 layout. The evenly numbered seats are window seats and offer a bit more privacy. The unevenly numbered seats are aisle seats, which are also nice – but a little less private. In addition, there are no middle seats on row 8, which makes my seat feel even more secluded and cosy. The proximity of the seat to the galley is not an issue during the flight.

The seat is a bit strange is that while there is ample space to place things, there is no storage space in the sense of a small bin that can be closed.

The IFE can be operated either by touch screen or by remote control. The screen is close enough for me to be able to use the touch screen functionality comfortably. Not that it really matters, because I only use the moving map to track our progress, and not much else.

The foot well is a good size, so that I am able to move and turn comfortably despite my size 10 feet.

Amenities

At my seat when I board is a nice comfortable memory foam pillow, a soft blanket with an opening to place your feet, a thin but very useful mattress, a pair of slippers, the earphones (Sony) and the vanity kit.

The vanity kit contains a toothbrush and toothpaste, eye shades, ear plugs, lip balm and yuzu facial mist (…??). There are more dental kits and mouth wash available in the lavatories.

The Service

The service on the ground begins with either orange juice or champagne for a welcome drink, which are served American-style from plastic cups. I ask for a bottle of still water instead.

The refreshing towels are now pre-packaged, which I’m guessing is a Covid-related move.

The flight begins with a string of seemingly endless short films: first comes the safety on board video, followed by a video about the hygene measures on board and a PhD-worthy treatise on air circulation on a modern airliners, and then another video on how to prevent the spreading of Covid.

The Meal – First Service

For the main service, there are three options to choose from – two international choices (beef or fish) and one Japanese option, which is what I have.

To drink I have a glass of sparkling water and something that is referred to on the menu as Kabusu, which is a signature soft drink made of citrus fruit for ANA. It’s very sweet, but also very tasty.

On the right is the foie gras amuse bouche. I’ll really never be a fan…

The Japanese meal is very tasty. It’s also nicely presented. The simmered beef (top left) looks kind of strange but tastes very good.

The main course is served with Gohan (rice), miso soup and pickels.

My only complaint about the meal service is that it simply takes too long. We were airborne by 21h05. It then takes over two hours to get the meal service done. By the time I finish with the main course, I’m just so tired that I decide to skip dessert. Instead, I go change into a pair of shorts, make up the bead and go off to Noddy land.

The Meal – Second Service

And what a trip it is to Noddy land! At some point during the night I begin to stir. I cautiously lift the lid of my eye shades to find the cabin brightly lit. At first I figure it’s the obnoxious mother seated on row 9, who has been pestering the poor crew ever since she stepped aboard the aircraft with Satan’s spawn in Frankfurt. Although to be fair, the kid is really cute and rather well behaved. It’s just a shame the same cannot be said for his mother.

I digress. I take a look at my watch and that’s when I realise the cabin is lit up because they’ve started with the breakfast service. We have 90 minutes to run to Handea, which means that I slept nearly eight hours solid without a murmur. Not bad. So, I quickly change back into my street clothes while the cabin crew bring me an orange juice and coffee.

For the second service there are also three options – Japanese, International and Continental. I go with the international meal.

The meal consists of a frittata, bacon and grilled veg.

A small bowl of fruit.

And pastries from the bread basket, served with butter and jam.

Arrival into Haneda

By the time we land in Haneda at 17:40 it’s already dark outside. I step off the plane and prepare to do a lot of waiting while I get processed to be able to enter the country. Much to my surprise though, the whole process doesn’t actually take that long, if you’re prepared. Basically, you will need three QR codes: the immigration form, the customs form and the COVID declaration form. A link to complete the forms was sent to me a few weeks before departure from ANA.

Getting from Haneda to Shinjuku

In Tokyo I’ll be staying in Shinjuku. I first take the monorail from the airport to Hamamtsucho, which takes roughly 20 minutes. There I connect to the Yamanote line, which takes another 30 minutes to reach Shinjuku. A oneway tickets costs Y500. The ticket vending machines accept cash only.

Conclusion

B***h momma aside, I rather enjoyed this flight with ANA. I think what really struck me, was just how noisy the Boeing B 787-9 was. Admittedly, that might also have been because I was sitting right next to the engine. Other than that, the seat was very comfortable and private. I don’t think I’ve ever slept so well and so long on a plane!

All Nippon Airways, Premium Class – B 767-300: Ishigaki to Tokyo Haneda

I’ve decided to try a new format for my trip reports. Rather than waffling on about my own personal experience, I figured it might make more sense to provide some hands-on information instead. Let me know what you think!

And a happy new year, by the way.

Getting to the Airport

In Ishigaki I stayed at the ANA Intercontinental Resort. There are two options to get from the resort to the airport. A taxi will take approximately 20 minutes to make the journey and costs roughly 2’500 Japanese Yen.

Alternatively, there is also the bus line 10, which in fact stops right in front of the hotel on its way to the airport. The journey by bus will take roughly 20 to 30 minutes and costs 430 Japanese Yen.

Check-in

Online check-in does not appear to be available on the ANA domestic website. There is, however, an iPhone app which would, theoretically, allow you to check-in. But it seems that bookings for domestic flights that were purchased abroad or not purchased directly with ANA are not eligible for any type of remote check-in. This also means there’s no advanced seat selection, unless of course you call ANA directly.

Ishigaki is a nice little airport.

There are six ANA check-in counters at the airport, three of which are for passengers with checked bags. The other three are for passengers with cabin luggage only and also serve as ticketing counters. There is no dedicated Premium Class counter.

What Ishigaki airport also has, is a very nice open air observation deck on the second floor.

Airside

There are no lounges at Ishigaki airport. At least though there is a mini food court adjacent to the ANA check-in area where you can get some tasty Japanese food or a Starbucks coffee.

Departures are also on the second floor.

Boarding

Boarding for domestic flights is always very efficient, orderly and quick. A fully loaded Boeing B 767-300 is boarded in just under 15 minutes.

The Cabin

ANA operates a variety of different cabin configurations and seats in its Premium Class cabins. It helps if you know what aircraft type you’re travelling on, although even then there appear to be differences within the same fleet type.

Further information about the seats and configuration can be found here. Please note however, that there are no detailed seat maps on the ANA domestic website and seatguru provides no information about ANA’s domestic configuration.

The Boeing B 767-300 are kept in good shape, for sure. But their IFE is somewhat antiquated and consists of a limited number of audio channels and one video channel. Films are showed on a big screen mounted on the cabin bulkhead. On this particular flight they’re showing a documentary about the Boeing B 747-400SD in ANA service. The aircraft will be leaving the fleet with the start of the summer schedule on 29 March 2014.

Amenities

ANA provides every passenger with a blanket and slippers (available on international flights too). Additionally, pillows, eye shades and ear plugs are available upon request.

The Meal

The ANA domestic website gives a lot of useful information about the kind of service and food on offer on flights that have a Premium Class service. Flights with departures between 13:01 and 16:59 are served a light meal, which has an afternoon tea theme and is branded as Premium SABO. The meal consists basically of a variety of sweets and savouries.

Further information can be obtained here. There is also a menu in every seat pocket of the Premium Class cabin.

Arrival

ANA operates from Terminal 2 in Haneda.

Getting into Town

Haneda is the first, original Tokyo airport. Narita was built much later. To get into central Tokyo the most reliable option is to take the monorail from the basement of the airport to Hamamatsucho, which is the terminus station of the train.

At Hamamatsucho you can transfer to the JR Yamanote line, which draws a circle around Tokyo and connects most of the important locations. Shinjuku and Tokyo Station are both served by the JR Yamanote line and the Narita Express and are only a few stops away from Hamamatsucho. So having a hotel in close proximity to one of these two stations is very convenient. I normally stay in the Shinjuku area because it’s quite lively by day and by night. Tokyo proper is mostly a business district and once the offices close, it gets rather quiet and, well – a bit boring.

You can buy combined tickets for the monorail and JR lines at the ticket machines for the monorail in Haneda. If you’re not sure about the ticket price, simply get the cheapest ticket there is, which is 600 Yen. There are fare adjustment machines at every station for you to top up your ticket.

Epilogue

In the meantime the miles for the outbound leg to Ishigaki have been credited to my Senator account. Premium Class is treated as First Class and subsequently yields 3684 miles, which is quite substantial for Miles & More these days, especially given the cuts they’ve made in an attempt to cause maximum irritation at minimum advantage – even to themselves…

All Nippon Airways, Business Class – Boeing B 767 – 300: Haneda to Ishigaki

Getting to the Airport

My last post left off with me arriving in Narita from Heathrow yesterday. I then had to make my way to Haneda, from where my flight to Ishigaki leaves todays, where I would also spend the night.

There are three ways to reach Haneda airport from Narita using public transport. First, there is the limousine bus service – not sure where the limousine bit comes in – which runs regularly between the two airports. This can however, be a bit of a wild card. Theoretically the journey time should be around 90 minutes. But traffic in the Tokyo area can be quite bad, significantly increasing the time to make the journey.

The second option is of course the famous Narita Express, which runs to Shinjuku and Tokyo station and takes a little less than an hour to make the journey to Tokyo station. From there you have to change to a JR Yamanote line train to Hamamatsucho, where you connect to the Haneda monorail service. The Narita Express is certainly the most comfortable way to get into Tokyo, with reserved seating on every train – but obviously with luggage having to change trains twice may be a bit cumbersome.

And then, finally, there is also the Kaisei line, which runs a direct train from Narita to Haneda in 92 minutes. The direct trains run every 30 minutes or so but are not near as comfortable as the Narita Express.

In Haneda I’m staying at the Excel Haneda Airport Hotel for the night, which has some really brilliant views of the apron and the runway (see below). Access to the hotel is via Terminal D2.

The Boeing 747-400 will leave the ANA fleet on 29. March 2014.

Airline: All Nippon Airways
Aircraft: Boeing B 767-300
Cabin: Premier Class (Business Class)
Seat: 1H
From: Haneda
To: Ishigaki
Date: 29. December 2013
Departure: 11:30
Arrival: 15:00

I’m assuming that most of you will not know where Ishigaki is, which is why I’m adding a map pf the journey so far – courtesy of the Great Circle Mapper.

Check-in

I exit the hotel at the far end of the departure concourse. The terminal is crawling with people. This is after all, the main holiday season in Japan. There are people everywhere, with long queues. But in typically Japanese fashion, the queues are orderly and move along efficiently and swiftly.

There is a segregated check-in area for status card holders and passengers travelling on one of ANA’s Premier Class services, with direct access to security. The queues here are much shorter and the staff take their time to actually help you repack your stuff once you’re through security. If only it were always like this! Once you exit security, there is an escalator on your right leading up one floor to the ANA lounge.

The Lounge

The ANA lounge is large and spacious, with plenty of seating options. Of course I follow my impulse, which is so much nicer than to call it a compulsion, to take a seat by the window where I can watch the action on the ramp, but I quickly change my mind. First of all, once you’re seated you can’t see the action outside anyway. Secondly, the seating area by the windows is markedly hotter than the rest of the lounge. It’s like a sauna.

Boarding

The flight today is completely full. Boarding a flight in Japan is usually quite interesting to watch, and today’s flight does not appear to be any different in that respect. The first boarding announcement is for passengers with reduced mobility, and passengers travelling with children. Next it’s the Star Alliance members and passengers in Premier Class.

Boarding starts at 11:20, only 10 minutes ahead of our scheduled departure time, and I’m seriously wondering how much longer we’ll be on the ground here in Haneda. But when push comes to shove the Japanese will make that extra effort to achieve a group objective and much to my surprise, at 11:30 everyone is seated and the doors close for an on time departure to Ishigaki.

Take-off is from runway 23. As soon as we’re airborne, we do a sharp right turn to point us in a southerly direction. It’s a lovely day here in the Tokyo area and our route takes us nearly exactly above Fuji. Unfortunately though, I’m unable to take any decent photos. I’m on the aisle seat and the guy by the window keeps leaning forward to get a better view.

The Cabin

There’s something very retro about this bird. The overhead bins are still of the original
B 767 variety and have not been replace with the new B 777 style ones. The seat is comfortable enough, but there is no individual IFE and the seat controls are mechanic rather than electric.

The seating configuration is 2 – 1 – 2, with the designation AB for the row of two on the left, D for the single seat and HJ for the row of two on the right side of the aircraft.

Every passenger has a blanket and a pair of slippers at his seat. Pillows are also available on request.

The Crew

There are two cabin crew working in Business Class this morning. One is the middle-aged maître de. Very stern and competent. And then there is a charming young lady, who is very personable and witty.

The Meal

The meal is very tasty and very Japanese. It’s a two layered bento box with a variety of dishes, mostly fish, vegetables and rice. There is a menu in the box, but that is only in Japanese. So I can’t really tell you exactly what it is you can see in the pictures. Miso soup is served with the meal. To drink I have a cup of Perrier.

And then to conclude the meal I have a cup of Starbuck’s branded coffee and a chocolate fondant biscuit that is so divine I have to ask for a second one.

ANA’s premium meal concept on domestic flights is quite simple, but it serves its purpose well – the bento box and miso are rather nice.

For the rest of the flight I listen to my own music. Throughout the flight the crew pass through the cabin regularly to ensure that passengers are comfortable and to check if any one needs anything.

One hour out of Ishigaki there is another drinks service, which is accompanied by a basket with savoury and sweet snacks.

Arrival

As I already mentioned, it was a lovely day when we departed from Haneda this morning. Unfortunately though I can’t really say the same about Ishigaki. It’s definitely warmer, but that’s about it. It’s quite windy and it’s raining – perfect weather to lounge around inside and read a good book or two. Which is, I think, what I shall do until the weather clears.

All Nippon Airways, Business Class – B 777-300: Tokyo Narita to Frankfurt

Introduction

Welcome to my last flight of 2012, the 112^th flight of the whole year. This review covers my journey from Tokyo’s Narita airport to Frankfurt on 31 December 2012.

I arrived in Tokyo the previous night on a Japan Airlines flight from Sapporo. I spend the night at the Century Southern Tower Hotel in Shinjuku, in close proximity to Shinjuku station and with rooms overlooking the tracks.

From: Tokyo Narita
To: Frankfurt
Airline: ANA – All Nippon Airways
Aircraft: B 777-300
Cabin: Business Class
Seat: 15A, window, left side
Date: 31. 12. 2012

Getting to the Airport

I leave the hotel at around 08h00 in the morning. The next direct Narita Express train from Shinjuku will not be leaving until 09h39, so instead I hop on a Chuo Line train bound for Tokyo station and grab the Narita Express from there at 09h00. The journey from Tokyo proper to Narita’s Terminal 1, ANA’s home, takes 58 minutes to complete.

This here marks the location of the doors of each carriage. It's amazing how accurate the signs are! — This here marks the location of the doors of each carriage. It’s amazing how accurate the signs are!

My train rushes into the station on time.

Check-in

ANA has a dedicated row of counters reserved exclusively for Star Gold members. As I arrive the place is deserted and there are about five check-in agents waiting to assist me with the check-in process.

This picture was taken before I went through security.

The Lounge

The ANA lounges are located near gate 52, from where my flight will be leaving later on. The Star Gold lounge is enormous and offers a variety of different seating options. Needless to say I choose a seat by the window overlooking the action on the ramp.

There is a good selection of hot and cold dishes and drinks. The soft drinks are dispensed from a machine – what else?

And here are some of the views outside. The Singapore Airlines pushed back on time and even started all engines. But after it had been standing on the taxiway for about 20 minutes, the aircraft rolled onto the stand again instead of departing. It was still there when my flight left.

Boarding

Boarding starts exactly on time and is a well organised and orderly affair. First passengers with children or in need of assistance are boarded and then it’s the First and Business Class passengers.

The load in Business Class on the flight is very light today, with none of the seats between the two aisles occupied.

The Cabin

The cabin on this bird reminds me a lot of the Cathay Pacific Business Class set up in that the seating configuration offers a considerable degree of privacy in a 1 – 2 – 1 configuration.

I think this picture shows well how private the seat is.

The video screen is quite large actually.

Amenities

When I arrive at my seat, there is already a pair of Sony earphones there, together with slippers, a large blue pillow and a large and very soft blanket. Before we depart I am also handed a thick blue cardigan in case I start to feel cold.

The Crew

The cabin crew are polite and efficient. With the light load in Business Class today they take their time with the passengers, making sure everybody feels welcome. They are personable and give you the impression of really enjoying their job!

For a welcome drink there is a choice of sparkling wine or cold green tea. I take the latter. For safety reasons the drinks must be served in plastic cups while we’re still on the ground.

And then we’re off!

Once we are airborne, service begins with the distribution of cypress scented hot towels.

There are no vanity kits on this flight. But after the meal the crew set up a basket with a variety of items in the rear Business Class galley: moisturising facial masks, ear plugs, toothbrushes, eye masks and a few other items of which I’m not quite sure what they’re supposed to do.

The Meal

First the table is set and the menus are distributed. And then the experience begins.

Amuse Bouche

For an amuse bouche there is a small plate with a combination of Japanese and Western dishes: a small item made of pancetta and cream cheese stacked in layers. It comes with a olive filled with sardine paste and a Japanese style salted plum; cheese pastry sticks and a small dish of Tofu with Wasabi; soy beans and jelly.

To drink I have a glass of plum wine and a Perrier with lemon.

What I particularly like about the ANA meal service is that they do not use trays at all. Your table is set when they bring you the first course. The cabin attendant places a small side plate with two different types of bread on my table. With that she also places two small dish on the table: one with butter and olive oil in it and the other with ground pepper and sea salt.

First Course

Chicken, scallop and mushroom terrine with a bean salad and grilled bell pepper; pickled onions, cucumber and radish with truffle scented salt and olive oil.

The taste is excellent. The scallop and the chicken go well together, the pickles perfectly adding flavour, together with an ever so subtle hint of the truffle.

Main Course

Sautéed tilefish with a yuzu-citron chilli paste flavoured vinaigrette, pancetta, Japanese mustard spinach and new potatoes.

It is a very unusual combination of flavours that works surprisingly well. The salty pancetta gives the chunky tilefish a lot of extra flavour and the citrus sauce is simply divine.

Dessert

Camembert and Roquefort cheese with dried apricots and prunes, with fig bread.

And then it comes, the grand finale. This must be, without a doubt, the best dessert I have ever had on a plane. It is simply divine, with an amazing combination of textures and flavours that harmonise so elegantly that you forget you’re actually eating on a plane and not in a restaurant: a velvety smooth milk chocolate cream infused with pieces of praliné puff pastry, slices of thin milk chocolate with caramelised hazelnut pieces and hazelnut flavoured shortbread.

To finish off the meal I have a cup of coffee. The meal is over and yet the cabin crew continue their relentless onslaught on my taste buds: with the coffee I am served a chocolate praliné that seems harmless enough to look at. But then I bite into it and the sublime taste of rich chocolate, Early Grey tea and bergamot explodes on my palate.

The attendant brings me a bottle of water and then slowly the lights go out – and so do I. The seat is perhaps a tad too narrow, but only just and I still manage to have a very decent and comfortable sleep of about five hours.

When I awake I’m feeling peckish and we’ve still got another four hours to go to Frankfurt. A flight attendant notices me looking at the menu. But instead of approaching my seat directly, she walks past me towards the rear of the cabin and stops a short distance away where she can keep an eye on me unnoticed. As soon as I look up from the menu she appears, seemingly out of nowhere to take my order. Simply outstanding service!

So I order myself a bowl of Ramen in a spicy broth with spring onion. There is also a little sachet of something – it’s all in Japanese – which I decide to open and add to my soup, despite not quite knowing what it is. At a glance I assume it’s shredded radish or something. By the time I realise it’s garlic it’s already too late. The soup really is very tasty.

About two hours out of Frankfurt the cabin slowly comes to life again, window shades go up as the bleary-eyed passengers cast a surreptitious glance out the window to check the view outside: clouds as far as the eye can see. At least there are some pretty crystals forming on the outer layer of the window.

The flight attendant arrives and asks me if I’ll be having the Western or Japanese second meal. I opt for the Western meal – apparently a creation by the Mandarin Oriental in Tokyo – and it is yet another delectable and delightful meal, an array of unusual combinations of tastes.

The Second Service

First course

Juniper berry flavoured beef consommé with red wine and Kyoto carrot cream and a basil and garlic pesto.

Main Course

Parmesan scented cereal cake with smoked salmon and braised endive.

Dessert

Mandarin and pomegranate mousse.

The meal is served with a selection from the breadbasket and a small dish of butter and black pepper savoured blood orange jam.

To finish the meal I have another cup of coffee.

Arrival

After a flying time of 11 hours and 15 minutes our flight draws to a close as we land on the southernmost of the three parallel runways in Frankfurt. A part of the Lufthansa wide-body fleet has been parked up for the holidays. The sight reminds me a bit of when the Swissair fleet was grounded ahead of bankruptcy.

The next aircraft to come in behind us is the Japan Airlines flight from Tokyo – we beat them by about 5 minutes!

Immigration is a breeze and before long I’m already checking in to the Hilton at Frankfurt airport. I’ll probably sleep through the New Year, but that’s okay really. It’s what I usually end up doing anyway.

Conclusion

Well that was fun! My experience with ANA is a truly enjoyable and remarkable one. I found the cabin crew to be very courteous and attentive and very charming in their handling of the passengers. They had a good sense of humour and no request ever seemed to be too much for them. There was a young couple travelling with a little girl of maybe three years of age and it was truly heartwarming to watch the cabin crew do their utmost to keep the child entertained so her parents could get a rest.

The food on this flight was outstanding and certainly surpassed the meal I had in Lufthansa First Class on my way to Japan in terms of quality, taste and presentation.

I like very much what ANA has done with the Business Class cabin. The seat is comfortable and offers a high degree of privacy. My only complaint is that perhaps the seat is just a bit too narrow, but not to a degree where it prevents you from sleeping.

This has been a memorable experience and a fun trip. Tomorrow I will have my first trip in the new year, a short hop from Frankfurt back to Basel. Then three weeks later I’ll be off to Montreal again, this time however, on a Speedbird.

ANA – All Nippon Airways, Economy Class – B 737-800: Tokyo Narita to Sapporo Chitose

Introduction

I’ve just arrived in Japan on the Lufthansa A 380 service from Frankfurt. I’m the first passenger to reach immigration and find the place completely deserted. As a result, I’m through passport control in no time. I head one floor down, go through customs and quickly find myself landside again. I am connecting to a domestic ANA flight in Narita and the process could hardly be easier!

From: Tokyo Narita
To: Sapporo Chitose
Airline: ANA All Nippon Airways
Aircraft: B737-800
Cabin: Economy Class
Seat: 24A, window, left side
Date: 27. 12. 2012

Check-in

Check-in for ANA domestic flights at Narita is on the same level as international arrivals, just a short distance from where passengers exit customs. There is a dedicated counter for ANA’s top tier and Star Alliance Gold members and the young lady working the counter is, as usual, polite and efficient.

The Lounge

A bit further on from the check-in counters is the ANA International Arrivals Lounge, which doubles as the domestic departure lounge. The lounge is functional more than anything else. It has wifi, shower facilities and a quiet zone with day rooms. Foodwise however, it’s a bit of a wasteland. There are close to no food options and all drinks, cold and warm, are only available from one of those instant machines.

Boarding

The gates in the domestic part of the terminal have letters, rather than numbers. My flight is boarding from gate A, which appears to be one of the few domestic gates that gives you direct access to the aircraft.

The boarding process is a neat and orderly manner. Our flight is delayed by only 15 minutes and the ground crew cannot stop apologizing for the inconvenience.

The flight is nearly completely full, with only single empty seats here and there.

The Cabin

The cabin on this bird is Economy Class only. The aircraft looks very well kept and neat. More over, I am amazed by how clean the windows are. Do they actually clean these every day? Leg space is surprisingly good and the seat is comfortable enough for the 85 minutes hop to Hokkaido.

The Crew

The cabin crew is made up of four female attendants. It’s fascinating to see how much more seriously this crew take their jobs compared to the flight attendants I’m used to in Europe. First of all, when they pass through the cabin doing the safety check, these ladies even make sure that every overhead locker is properly closed, checking each one individually. Later on during the flight it is interesting to see that the crew remain in the cabin even once the drinks service is over, chatting to passengers or playing with the many children on board today’s flight.

Departure is from the same runway on which I landed a few hours previously with the A 380. On our way to the runway I even spot my first ever ‘live’ B 787 and I am quite surprised by how small the bird is in real life.

Take-off is the complete opposite of what the A 380 treated me to the day before. Our little B 737 demonstrates some impressive acceleration as we go thundering down the runway.

Once we’re airborne we continue on more or less the same heading for about 15 minutes. Our routing and the clear sky provide some excellent views of mount Fuji, visible right behind our left aileron.

The Meal

Strictly speaking, there is none. Catering on this flight consists of just a drink, with a small selection of tea, coffee and a few soft drinks. I have a cup of apple juice and then, for the rest of the flight I just sit back and watch the beautiful winter scenery down below.

Arrival

Our arrival route into Chitose airport is a circuitous one, with many left and right turns before we are finally lined up with the runway.

As we taxi off the active runway I am surprised to find that the taxiways have only been partially cleared of snow and in fact we are rolling over large patches of ice. There is snow everywhere, and heaps of the stuff!

My flight arrives at 12h15. I still have about two hours to wait before my transfer picks me up to take me to the Niseko Ski Resort. Jetlag always makes me hungry, so I head up to the third floor where there is a large food court and treat myself to a large bowl of nice, warm and chewy Udon noodles and an Onigiri.

By the time I’m in the car on my way to Niseko I’m exhausted. The journey from the airport to Niseko is slightly more than two hours. I nod off to sleep as we leave the terminal and only wake up as we come to a halt outside my hotel, the Kimamaya.

Conclusion

ANA gave a solid performance on this flight today. Given the short duration of the flight, there was hardly any opportunity for the airline to excel really. Even so, the professionalism displayed by the crew leaves you with the feeling of a great experience and having been well taken care of. I like!

ANA Air Nippon, Economy Class – B 767-300: Fukuoka to Naha, Okinawa

Introduction

In the previous post I take a short hop across the Yellow Sea from Seoul in South Korea to Fukuoka in Japan.

I spend the day seeing the sights of Fukuoka before heading back to the airport in the late afternoon. Fukuoka is by far not the most interesting city in Japan from a tourist perspective. But the city is very nice and the people of Fukuoka are certainly among the nicest I’ve encountered on my many trips to Japan!

Date: 28 May 2012
From: Fukuoka
To: Naha, Okinawa
Airline: Air Nippon for ANA
Aircraft: Boeing B 767-300
Class: Economy Class
Seat: 22H, aisle

Getting to the Airport

At around 16h00 I decide it is time to head for the airport. I still have loads of time to kill until my 18h30 departure. But I am simply too exhausted from all the walking to do anything else. It is a ten minutes walk to Hakata Station, from where I catch the Metro line number 1 for the two stops to the airport. With a journey time of only five minutes, this must really be the airport closest to any city centre I have ever visited.

Check-in

Check-in at one of the self-service devices is out of the question for me, as I have none of the information required to avail myself of the service.

So I head over to a check-in counter, where a friendly check-in agent welcomes me. She takes my passport and starts hammering away at the keyboard. After about five minutes of typing, she asks to see my e-ticket number, types some more and eventually informs me that I have 22H, an aisle seat on the right side of the plane on a row of two. She then proceeds to print my first boarding card for this flight. This one is green.

From check-in I head one floor up to security. You pick up a basket and place all your belongings into that. Before you put your things on the conveyor belt, you must scan your boarding pass. Subsequently the machine will print a second boarding card. This one is white and printed on flimsy cashier receipt type paper. Nobody wants to see it, so I’m not sure what it’s for.

The Lounge

There is even a domestic ANA lounge here. It is surprisingly large and beautifully finished in what I would refer to as Japanese minimalist design. It is very nice. Food options are limited to packets of Japanese crackers and the drinks selection is limited. But is serves its purpose and the sofas are comfortable enough.

Cold spinach juice. I think I’m going to be sick.

Boarding

About thirty minutes before departure I figure boarding is about to begin, so I leave the lounge and make my way to the gate.

Boarding is somewhat cumbersome, to say the least. What ever happened to Japanese high-tech and efficiency? There are four attendants staffing the counter and to be honest, I do not think they are quite sure what they are all supposed to be doing there either. One girl is making the announcements, to which all of them bow, while another shows us how to put the boarding pass on the scanner using an oversized cardboard model of the scanner and a huge plastic boarding pass. To watch her one might easily think she is playing to an audience of kindergarten kiddies. Another one wheels a sign to the front of the gate and flips it from ‘service’ to ‘pre-boarding’, to ‘premium boarding’ before eventually an announcement is made that general boarding has started and the corresponding sign is flipped to ‘general boarding’. As I pass the gate and scan my green boarding card, a third one is issued, this time a pink one, which is subsequently handed to me by one of the four gate attendants. What on earth is the point of having self-service boarding anyway, and what’s with the three boarding passes in different shapes and sizes?

But apart from all this, like everything in Japan, boarding a plane is an orderly affair. Standing by the entrance to the plane, there is another ANA employee, this time one of the James-Bond-You-Only-Live-Twice-With-A-Crash-Helmet-On variety, holding up a sign that explains which seat numbers are on which aisle.

The Cabin

The cabin looks well maintained. Only the old angular overhead bins betray the real age of the aircraft. The distribution of passengers in the cabin is strange. The forward Economy Class cabin is packed, while the rear Economy Class section is only full in the front part. Towards the back there are much less passengers and there are quite a few rows in between the two aisles that are empty.

Later on, as soon as the fasten seat belt sign is turned off after take-off, I walk towards the back of the plane, originally with the intention of going to the loo. That is when I spot 36A, a window on the left side of the aircraft and above all, behind the wing. So I quickly return to my original seat, grab my belongings and change seats. Brilliant, total bliss in fact!

The airport is quite busy at this time of day. We taxi to the threshold of the active runway where we wait for an arriving Hawaiian Airlines B 767-300 before it is our turn to line up and depart.

The Crew

There is not really very much to say about this flight in terms of service. The crew seem pleasant enough and take their job, especially the safety bit, very seriously. No more, no less.

The Meal

Catering on this flight consists of drinks only. Luckily I bought myself a couple of sandwiches on my way to the gate. There is also a menu with buy on board items. But when the cabin attendant reaches my row, it turns out there is no food for purchase at all in Economy Class on this flight. But at least the drinks are for free. I am not quite sure what to make of all this, but thanks for the free apple juice anyway.

Arrival

I spend the rest of the flight watching the lovely views outside until eventually the sun sets and we are surrounded by darkness.

By the time we are approaching Naha it is nearly 20h00 and pitch dark. Further more, the crew do not dim the lights for arrival, despite the darkness outside, making photos perfectly impossible.

Naha airport is a mid-sized facility with a large domestic terminal and a minute international one.

In the arrivals hall there are these containers for you to dump your baggage tags.

Getting into Town

Well, strictly speaking I am not going into town. I am heading for Manza Beach, about a one hour’s drive away from the airport. During the low season, now, the last bus leaves Naha airport for Manza at 15h00, long before my flight had even left Fukuoka. So I have no other choice but to pay the EUR 70 for a taxi.

Conclusion

This concludes this review. I like the ANA brand and I like the Japanese way of doing things. The aircraft on this flight is in mint condition and the service provided by the staff is faultless. However, I also have to say that I am somewhat taken aback by how complicated and cumbersome flying domestic in Japan is. Three boarding passes is simply pointless, as is having a pro forma automated boarding process if you have to show your boarding pass and passport to an attendant again anyway.

Epilogue

I spend a nice couple of days in Manza, either reading or lounging by the beach. The Manza Beach Intercontinental Hotel is a pleasant place to stay. It’s also an interesting experience to watch Japanese tourists on their home turf.