Review: ANA 787 Business Class Beijing to Tokyo

It was indeed a rare clear day in Beijing but the woman in the first pic nevertheless has a mask on. Is it a common practice of wearing masks onboard? Maybe she has a cough (or hopes to avoid one!)

Surprising ANA outfitted this 787 for regional service (with chairs not fully reclining) when it's ideal for connecting long haul cities where larger equipment doesn't make sense.

How shocking the food covers were not removed. 😉

I showed my wife and my daughter one of these pictures and told them that in Japan they do not really use a toilet paper. I guess they already saved one roll of paper for our trip in Decmeber 🙂

@Peter, masks in public places has always seemed to be particularly common in Japan, in my experience. Ride the Tokyo metro on any day, regardless of weather or season, and you'll quickly lose count of the number of people wearing masks.

Its pretty common to wear masks in Asian countries specially cities like Beijing, Tokyo etc. due to higher pollution levels. Sometimes I have seen many people just wearing out of habit no matter where they travel.

@Andrew, thanks! I have seen mask-wearing before in Asia and it always makes me think they know something I don't. 😉

With 6 out of 42 seats taken, I am surprised they ran out of a meal option. I would assume they would cater more than 5 "Japanese" meals on Japan's largest airline.

Lucky, I am always impressed by people knowing the aircraft type just by looking at them. Some are obvious (380, 747, 787), but how can you tell the difference between a 777, and a 340 for example?

@Ismael

the 340 has 4 engines. The 777 only has 2. it's the only single level passenger plane to have 4 engines.

The Japanese wear masks to prevent the spread of germs to others. Very polite, if you ask me!

@Ishmael - Telling a 777 from a 340 is easy, as only the 340 has four engines.

Yeah with only 6 passengers, I'm also surprised they ran out of the Japanese option. That steak looked HORRIBLE! I would have asked the flight attendant if it were edible!
Glad to see you finally flew the 787! I'm looking forward to reading more 787 trip reports from you.

@Ismael - A340 = 4 engines while B777 = 2 engines . . . and as for telling the difference b/w a 767 and 777, look at the read (main) landing gear . . . one has 3 sets of wheels on each side while the other has only 2

Odd about the covers for the Western meal though when I flew NRT-HKG or the reverse on ANA regional C the Japanese meals are served with the bento boxes still covered. Perhaps they're following that protocol?

As for the "beef", perhaps it's a China-sourced cow, and China isn't exactly known for steak.

Do you really think the shades not being totally opaque is a flaw? I'd love to have the option of having it dark at my seat but still being able to know when we're flying over beautiful terrain.

For whatever it's worth I flew this same route/plane in early Oct and like Greatmoosy said Japanese meal option was in a nice bento box - no foil cover. Also dessert was served separately.
I also received the most comfortable pillow on a plane I've ever used and think the blankets were different from what you received (odd?).
Interestingly the business class load was pretty much the same low number.

Did this same flight last week. After taking my order the FA returned and asked if I would switch from Japanese to Western menu. I guess I look Western, but no cowboy hat that day. 😉 I politely declined. The bento box-like presentation included covers over everything. Sorry to say but it was quite tasty for an intra-Asia flight. Sorry to hear about the steak, surprising since the Japanese know what a good steak is.

ANZ just announced the first flight of their 789, Auckland to Perth! You should hop on that one 🙂

Lucky - if I can't find NH F out of the US or Europe by now for departure between 11/22 and 11/24, should I give up and find an alternative, or will they release seats closer to departure? I am using USAirways miles, so changing flights after ticketing isn't an option.

@ mangoceviche -- There's definitely a chance space could open up, though ANA is hardly reliable about it. So I'd definitely book a backup. Keep in mind with US Airways you can change flights after ticketing (though there is a $150 fee), you just can't change them after departure.

Did you notice a difference in humidity levels? Supposedly that was also a Dreamliner selling point.

@ SAN Greg -- For such a short flight can't say I really noticed a difference.

If you fly out of Beijing on ANA, you can be pretty certain you can't take off on time. Your plane has to wait and wait while other planes come and go. Some politics in the way.
Anyway, it is wise to prepare yourself for a delay.

Catering out of PEK sucks on any airline.

I don't think the plane was routing around some weather as much as it was routing around North Korea! While the airshow will predict a crows-eye Great Circle route transversing above Pyongyang, I'd be surprised if there was a pilot that would fly that. On a previous flight from Dubai to Osaka, the plane made two very obvious detours to avoid Iran and North Korean airspace!

Interestingly, has anyone been on a flight that has transversed North Korean airspace? The issue of KAL007 comes to mind very vividly here as an example of transversing the 'wrong airpsace', even accidentally.

When you take a long flight on ANA's 787 Dreamliner, LIke the one I took from NRT to SJC. You'll find the cabin way more comfy and u'll appreciate the pressure and the moisture level. All business have direct row access, which I really liked.

@ Lucky - I once used the Malaysia Airlines Chef on Call for my PEK - KUL flight. I ordered a steak, and all I got was a revolting meatloaf...

The routing of Beijing to Japan has always been a strange irregular route due to the airways set and the airspace restrictions set in North Korean airspace, you should find the same when you fly to Seoul that the aircraft route will avoid certain areas.

Just got off a lan 787 from Auckland to Santiago. Business seat 5f. Sound presure 89 db! Constant engine vibration from the rolls Royce engine. I felt the pilot altering the throttle postion to get rid of the vibration after my complaint. I went forward in the cab and sat in row 2 for a while and measured the sound at 81db. I will be avoiding this plane like the plague in future. In industry we have to supply ear protection if exposed to noise greater than 85 db but with this aircraft nothing is supplied. Absolutely terrible. Oh I fiorgot to mention a constant squeaking from the rear bulkhead un unison with the vibration. My "dream" experience certainly was a nightmare!

I flew this same model with ANA and was not impressed. There is zero storage space around you in business class to set anything on. Seats are recliner only. Because I took a late night flight, there was no meal after take off, and they woke us up unreasonably early for breakfast, a grim breakfast at that, the type that leaves you torn between throwing up and just shaking you head. I later flew the same route on a Thai 787 and every aspect of the flight was better, including their lie flat seat. Thai also never overfed us though...

My Oman air Flight from SIN-CAN 3:30 still serve me in 4 course

I flew 4 segments on ANA in business US to Japan to Thailand. All four were Japanese meals, which were incredibly excellent. Never asked to switch my meal, even thought the flights were full.