Wow, this came out of left field! ANA recently launched service with the A380, of which they have a total of three on order, and which they plan to fly exclusively between Hawaii and Japan.
However, the airline has just revealed that they’re refreshing their 777 cabins as well, as this plane is the backbone of their fleet.
In this post:
All Nippon Airways’ new 777 cabins
All Nippon Airways has announced that they’re refreshing their 777-300ER cabins on 12 planes. They call the new cabin design an “East Meets West” collaboration, as they’ve worked with architect Kengo Kuma and British designers Acumen.
Let’s take a look at what you can expect from these new cabins.
New ANA 777 First Class — The Suite
ANA will be introducing an all new seat in first class, called The Suite. ANA says that this is inspired by luxury Japanese hotels, and is more spacious than ANA’s previous first class seat. Furthermore, the seat will feature a door, so it will be fully enclosed.
The seat will feature an outrageously large 43″ monitor, which is also the world’s first 4K personal monitor on a commercial airliner.
As is currently the case, the cabin will have eight seats, spread across two rows in a 1-2-1 configuration.
New ANA 777 Business Class — The Room
Perhaps ANA’s biggest improvement comes in business class, where they’re installing a product that they call The Room.
ANA says that this is inspired by modern, multifunctional Japanese living spaces, it features flexible doors for personal privacy that can also be adjusted to share space with travel companions, from dining together to conducting meetings.
The seats will be both forward and rear facing, and ANA says it will offer one of the largest business class seating environments in the world, with a wide sofa that’s double the width of previous seating.
Business class looks absolutely incredible, and reminds me in many ways of Qatar Airways Qsuites.
Business class will feature a total of 64 seats, compared to their current layouts, which feature up to 68 seats. Each seat will have a larger footprint, so they’re actually investing more space in each seat here.
New ANA 777 Premium Economy & Economy
While the biggest changes are in first and business class, ANA is also updating their premium economy and economy. They say that they’ll use new upholstery and will use Japanese patterns that tell a story known as “The Journey,” reflecting guests’ inflight experiences from departure to landing. Whatever that means…
There will also be enhanced touch screen monitors and six way adjustable headrests.
The 777-300ERs do have 10 abreast seating in economy, though. Currently ANA’s fleet is split between offering nine and 10 seats per row in 777 economy, so these planes will feature the tighter seats.
Which flights will feature ANA’s new 777s?
You can expect the first plane with the redesigned seats to fly between Tokyo Haneda and London Heathrow as of August 2, 2019.
This will be on the NH211/212 frequencies, though note that it will only be late August or early September when the route features the new cabins daily.
My take on ANA’s new cabins
These new ANA cabins came out of nowhere. Often airlines will hype business class seats years in advance (I’m looking at you, Lufthansa), while in this case ANA is just providing a few weeks notice for these new seats.
ANA’s new first class seems like a significant improvement over the old one. While ANA has excellent food and service in first class, I’ve always thought that their seats were poorly designed. The new first class looks like a significant improvement, thanks to the fact that the seats are fully enclosed, and the seats aren’t “boxed” in the same way that the old ones were.
The real stunner here is business class, though. ANA is essentially introducing a hybrid between Singapore Airlines’ business class and Qatar Airways’ Qsuites, as they’ll have business class seats that are super wide and have doors. We’ll have to wait until it’s in service to know for sure, but this might just be the world’s best business class seat.
What do you make of ANA’s new cabins?
Once again judging by the pictures is looks like this new business class cabin has larger, wider seats than that of first class.... is that correct?
Just flew from Narita to San Francisco in "The Room". I have flown a *lot* of business class in my career. This is the best business class seat I've ever experienced. Everything about it is great, but at 6'4" the huge differentiator for me is the width. Seat flat, I can actually roll from one side to another and bring my knees up on either side!! Unheard of! Thank you, ANA!
Can we get an update on routes and service for ANA 777? It's unclear to me which routes are flying the new first and business class planes.
Hi Ben. ANA surly made this a great product and finally "released" those missing windows. I hope I can get your opinion on this: If I book with ANA from FRA or LHR to HND July 2020, how sure am I to get these seats?
Great marketing video for the product.
https://youtu.be/QXGRW2oyl7Y
The New ANA J looks like SIA’s J.. a wide business class seat.. but does it mean sleeping flat in some weird angle to a small chubby hole?
wow... i will fly LAX-NRT March 2020... finger crossed lol... but chance is slim though :)
I think it really depends on the product.... just took La Premiere and their lounge at cdg is impeccable not to mention beautifully designed F cabinet. I will gladly take that F any day over J. Same with Emirates F vs J. Love A380 F... shower in the air to me was more than a gimmick. It completely refreshed me before I got off airplane. I do wonder how much BA will improve its F? Their future J look almost look like current F with a door.
You know how doors on Swiss 777-300ER first class works? ANA brought it to business class.
Constant improvement of business class only diminishes the need for first class and making airlines to abandon it, unless someone really have that much disposable cash (or miles) to spend.
I consider the current ANA biz seat on the 788s (Layout 1 on SeatGuru) to be superior to Q-Suites in some way, in particular storage. So this is nothing short of stunning - I think they figured something out here that we will be seeing others follow.
@Julian
The seat does fully recline into a bed, no standing required.
The pnly routes currently served by this config are HND to LHR/JFK and the nightime departure to FRA. Also NRT-JFK. All other routes using 777-300ER to other US destinations and daytime departure to FRA use the other configs. Less Business/More Economy.
@Mark
Not all routes are getting the new design, only those with the 212 seat configuration and currently that's just New York here in the U.S.
I was fortunate enough to find F LAX-NRT and NRT-ORD next May. 115k Virgin Atlantic. Sure hope the new seats come to one of those routes!
@Glenn
We are in agreement entirely. My post was sarcasm aimed at the crowd who love to bash the superiority of the ME3 by claiming they’re killing the US3 by unfair subsidies simply because they invest in being the best and earning our business vs the US3 who would rather line their pockets with a crap product by charging the Champaign price for Pabst. Here is a Japanese airline investing in being among the...
@Glenn
We are in agreement entirely. My post was sarcasm aimed at the crowd who love to bash the superiority of the ME3 by claiming they’re killing the US3 by unfair subsidies simply because they invest in being the best and earning our business vs the US3 who would rather line their pockets with a crap product by charging the Champaign price for Pabst. Here is a Japanese airline investing in being among the best to get the premium fare yet the ME3 bashers and US3 defenders stay muted.
@Nick in Chicago. Why do you assume any airline that is innovative and leading the way with great product is subsidised? ANA and it's main competitor JAL, are certainly not! They are prudently and professionally run, unlike the shils running the US airlines. Also the Japanese would not accept the shi**y service the American public is happy to put up with.
I just flew JFK-NRT two days ago, and what struck me was how underwhelming ANA's business product was. When it was introduced over a decade ago it was one of the best. One pet peeve with the seats that the new seats don't seem to address is the lack of a leg rest that is integrated with the seat. When I am sitting I like to have my legs up. There is no integrated foot...
I just flew JFK-NRT two days ago, and what struck me was how underwhelming ANA's business product was. When it was introduced over a decade ago it was one of the best. One pet peeve with the seats that the new seats don't seem to address is the lack of a leg rest that is integrated with the seat. When I am sitting I like to have my legs up. There is no integrated foot rest to enable this, so you have to shove the seat forward and use the bench that is the end of the bed - there is nothing in between. Also, @Lucky (Ben) will no doubt be disappointed if they don't add air nozzles, though this is not something I care about. Overall I much prefer the Polaris seats.
Lufthansa have been hyping up that business class since 2017, it's now nearly 2 years later so what's changed.
One of their biggest competitors, BA, has unveiled a new business class which looks far better than what is going to arrive over a year later on Lufthansa's 777x. Which for the record still hasn't left the ground.
YUCK! It looks like it was designed by Mike Brady with Carol and Alice's help right down to the "paneling." WAY too brown and dark for me. I am surprised there isn't a huge splash of orange to make it truly disgusting and make me think I am going to a Cleveland Browns game. Maybe some of you are fine with "flying backwards" but to me that's like driving in Ireland on the "wrong" side of the road.
Is it me, or does the J seat look wider than the F seat?
Hmm I have a J flight for ORD-NRT in October and then a F flight NRT-JFK in november. I wonder what the chances of seeing the new product on those flights will be.
Amazing. I have no doubt this was inspired by the Olympics. I actually was going to fly JAL because it's so much better than ANA imo, but no longer with this new seat. Now I have to change my entire awards strategy now.
I'm assuming all routes will be covered by July next year. Flying from LAX here.
My wife and I flew ANA first class last year and it was impressively mediocre (for first class, to be fair). Will the new seats have individual air nozzles? Will there be more storage? Any idea if the lovely new IFE system will have a better selection?
What's the difference between this first class seat to the one on FlyingHonu? Thanks.
LHR-HND return booked for October - fingers crossed will have this in both directions, can't believe how soon they're rolling them out!
According to the news release they'll only be upgrading the aircraft with 212 seats. Currently the only US destination with that configuration is New York.
They already have the new seat map online...
https://www.ana.co.jp/en/us/international/departure/inflight/seatmap/detail/b777_300er_1.html#anchor004
@_ar
Honestly F is not a waste. If you fly a lot J gets boring. Booking a bunch of legs in F on one itinerary can help make a trip less mundane, I also tend to fly F mainly when im with a friend or SO. J just doesnt do it for me, and Im too picky to fly American Carriers period.
It looks like the aft-facing windows seats on the left side and the forward-facing window seats on the right side of Business have the passenger sitting a bit away from the window -- maybe 1.5 feet or so? Not so great for watching the nearby scenery at take-off or landing.
@flyingrohit. ANA has the updated seat map on their site currently. The new business class is pretty easy to identity.
At what point will the screen size start causing light pollution in the cabin. Staring at 43” so close can’t be good either.
Didn't Qatar introduce 4K IFE in economy?
Hope to see this at LAX! Have been pushing off flying ANA because of that ridiculous cubicle first class seat, but now once it’s confirmed I don’t mind redeeming miles for it. Hey lucky, how would you differentiate between the two aircraft on expert flyer just to be safe. Maybe different row numbers or something like that? Because from an expert flyer map, these would look exactly identical in my opinion.
Absolutely stunning. Hope to see this on the JFK-HND route before 2020. Imagine being able to redeem 110k Virgin miles for 1st class r/t. WOW
Spending the extra miles on F class is becoming a waste except for those ultra long haul flights maybe. I don't need low grade caviar and I can afford to buy an expensive bottle of champagne. I'd rather just save the miles for more trips when the hard product is getting so much better in J.
@Brian Wu, How do you know they are using Zodiac (Safran) IFE in economy class? I don't see how they can implement two different IFE vendors on the same aircraft (Panasonic in F and J). Just curious since i work in this industry.
looks insanely nice
Here's to hoping they're on ORD by spring 2020!
No window shades. Will there be electronic blind windows are is that just for the rendering?
This looks like it is a fold over style seat in J similar to SQ. Great for sleeping but will be interesting how comfortable this is to lounge in. Also it’s crazy to look at the seat map and see how small the Y section is on this plane. Vast majority of space is premium cabins with J going 4 rows past the overwing exit.
They MUST be doing all this with the backing of unfair subsidies that are killing the US3 by the day and jeopardizing the majority subcontracted airport cheap jobs!!!
Oh wait....the US3 just prefer to suck for more while the rest of the world earns our international premium business.
Where are you blowhards today now that Delta just announced their financial results? *crickets*
I really hope they bring this product to the US in 2020. I fly Star Alliance to Asia in J or F a few times a year so would love to try this out!
A simple Google search of "ANA 777 economy class" shows that they've switched to 10-abreast on their longhaul fleet long ago.
The 3-4-3 seats is the Recaro CL3710, which is the most comfortable economy class product on the market. They did go cheap on the entertainment system though (Zodiac RAVE, which is wireless)
Hooray!
Only English people will know what I’m talking about, but if anyone has seen the show Celebrity Juice, doesn’t the guy sitting in one of the first class seats look oddly familiar?
If anyone is curious and wants to look up “Celebrity Juice Japanese Businessman” on YouTube, be warned that there is some explicit content.
I'm probably in the minority, but I'll take standard 3-4-3 economy seats any day over ANA's current 2-4-3 shell seats. Yes, I'll miss the unique config, but I won't miss the shell seats.
I flew NRT-IAD in F this past Saturday.
It was lovely, but the crazy window blocking design was most unfortunate. In addition, the new color scheme appears far better. A decided improvement!
they have been configuring 3-4-3 in 77w for some while...
i NEED this on IAD-NRT-IAD in november. It looks amazing. I wonder when they'll publish more info about which flights will get it. I'm sure IAD will be down the list and i'll be stuck in ghetto first class.
Lol their business class is essentially unmodified Zodiac Fusio (QSuites are modified to sacrifice some seat space for storage).
For business class, ANA is using the Safran (formerly Zodiac) Fusio which has actually been on the market for longer than you might think. However, I'm nevertheless impressed with the new business class seat. However, my impression (I could be wrong) is that the business seat will have to flip over to become a bed, and that you have to face at an angle to the screen to have the full length to sleep, which...
For business class, ANA is using the Safran (formerly Zodiac) Fusio which has actually been on the market for longer than you might think. However, I'm nevertheless impressed with the new business class seat. However, my impression (I could be wrong) is that the business seat will have to flip over to become a bed, and that you have to face at an angle to the screen to have the full length to sleep, which are the two problems with SQ's seats. I'd still say that the QSuites have the best business class seat, although this would probably come at a close second.
JFK-NRT and back in F late Feb 2020. Fingers crossed...
Wow! I'm glad that F window seats will not be blocking the windows! This looks great!!! I agree with you it's disappointing that economy will be 3-4-3 rather than the current 3-3-3 seating.
Any word on the schedule of this refurbishment across the entire 777 fleet? When can we expect to see these new seats on US routes? Excited to try out the new product!
Those J seats look superb. Though a seat that good is another nail in the coffin of 1st.
The video uses that cheap marketing trick of showing the Economy seat being used by children — so it looks like there’s masses of legroom.
An old university friend became an actor. He was 5’6”. He was in huge demand for car company adverts, because he made even the most cramped interior look spacious.
...Those J seats look superb. Though a seat that good is another nail in the coffin of 1st.
The video uses that cheap marketing trick of showing the Economy seat being used by children — so it looks like there’s masses of legroom.
An old university friend became an actor. He was 5’6”. He was in huge demand for car company adverts, because he made even the most cramped interior look spacious.
How stupid do these people think we are? Pretty stupid, I guess.
I’m still looking forward to that J seat... :)
Its a minor detail, and may be kind of ludicrous to complain about, but whatever, here I go. I would think the lack of an arm rest on one side of the biz class would be extremely annoying, especially for daytime flights, or for people who stay awake and somewhat upright. At least on SQ, the seat doesn't completely fall away so there is something to put your arm on. I feel like I would...
Its a minor detail, and may be kind of ludicrous to complain about, but whatever, here I go. I would think the lack of an arm rest on one side of the biz class would be extremely annoying, especially for daytime flights, or for people who stay awake and somewhat upright. At least on SQ, the seat doesn't completely fall away so there is something to put your arm on. I feel like I would find myself with my arms folded for long periods of time in this seat which could be super uncomfortable. Sure for laying down or sleeping this has the potential to be a supreme seat, but that small detail would really kill it for me when upright.
Seems like 12 of the 23 planes are being reconfigured. Any news on which other routes are likely / expected to see the reconfigured 77W?
Hoping to see it on JFK-NRT-JFK in early 2019!