In July 2019, All Nippon Airwaysintroduced spectacular-looking new first & business class seatswith barely any lead time, as their first plane with these seats entered service just weeks later.
Continue reading: Review: NEW ANA 777 “The Suite” First Class
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Excellent write up Ben. I’m flying ANA F next month but unfortunately west coast route with the old equipment even without originating in Japan their Japanese dinner looks outstanding. I hope you had some of their premium sake with that food.
The sail like structure is apparently a ventilation tower for the aqua line which passes underneath.
https://goo.gl/maps/kQ7A7CpAggYKihvM8
As for the bridge, it leads to a rest stop, then becomes the tunnel from Chiba prefecture to Tokyo.
https://goo.gl/maps/UBo8MJUM3pUqkv678
Great review! I recently flew the new ANA economy from NRT to JFK, the monitors behind the seats were the best I had seen in any economy cabin, wish they had a wider selection of movies.
Some googling reveals that the road leading to "nowhere" is actually a tunnel, not a ferry port. The sail-looking thing is a ventilation shaft for the tunnel.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Bay_Aqua-Line
The pics show part of the Aqua Line that then becomes submerged. The structure is the ventilation tower.
Also, the airport appears to be JGSDF Camp Kisarazu, a Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force installation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kisarazu_Air_Field
Thanks, I was really looking forward to this review!
A fun side note though: I flew ANA F recently (old product), and just googled the The Ginza products from the amenity kit because they feel so great (particularly the night serum). Believe it or not, the night serum + day moisturizer kit, each 45mL in, retails for an eye watering 180,000 yen or roughly USD 1600!! I can't believe they provide such expensive products in an amenity kit hah. I wish I had used them more sparingly :).
The "bridge leading to a ferry" is the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line, a bridge-tunnel combo that crosses Tokyo Bay. Leaving Tokyo, it starts out as a 4km bridge than becomes a 10 km tunnel.
Don't ANA FAs tell their names? On, say, Qatar Airways, it is guaranteed that an FA will tell you her name as she introduces you to your seat.
The bridge is leading to a tunnel and the next picture, I believe, is an air vent for the tunnel.
Lucky, it’s Kisarazu Air Field (JGSDF - Camp Kisarazu). The other one is Umihotaru parking area on the Tokyo Bay Aqua Line expressway. Cheers.
@Ben both the photos you were wondering about show parts of the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Bay_Aqua-Line
The first picture is where the bridge turns into a tunnel and the second photo is a ventilation tower for the tunnel.
Such a light doesn't sound sustainable. Maybe they should move this a/c to the IAD route
So they still stock the Hibiki 17 and the 21 depending on route. Now we know where the lion's share of the supply is going.
Also a fast way to maximise your ticket's worth!
Wow! Food better than Air France! I've flown the old F twice and wish I had a better opportunity to try the new one.
Whenever I read these first class reviews (here or other blogs), I'd love to know what percent of readers actually find and book more than one award seat on their preferred dates, assuming their vacation travel dates aren't 100% flexible so they take vacation precisely when award inventory opens up and they aren't flying alone. I'd be surprised if a survey revealed anything higher than single digit percentages. To me (sadly) these reviews are just a quick scroll through pretty pictures.
Come on Mega Millions jackpot, so I can just pay cash for this stuff!
The second unidentified picture is a bridge-tunnel combo, the Tokyo Bay Aqua Line, and I think the third picture is a ventilation tower for the tunnel.
Jay - 11 months out on some crap day of the week. That's how I had to roll. (Flying in March, booked in April 2019.)
The likely reason for the half bottles of Krug is that they're significantly less than half the cost of a full bottle. You can often find them for only 50-60 USD versus 150-160 USD for the full bottle.
Doesn't seem like Lucky is a big whisky drinker, so I guess he'll never enjoy the real star of the flight, the Hibiki 21. I'll save the champagne drinking for Salon on JAL F.
Why is everyone asking where the hibiki 21 is? It's on the top right of this page in the menu:
It's small text, but definitely there.
for all you Whiskey drinkers, according to ANA beverage list, Hibiki 21 is only available on TYO to JFK, FRA, LHR routes. other routes have Hibiki 17 just in case you're booking ANA F and expecting Hibiki 21.
Flew the new first suite from JFK-HND and NRT-JFK in November. The finest meal I have had on a flight as well amazing flight attendants and very comfortable seats/beds. Glad that you have had a similar experience.
@Sharp Eye You're misinterpretation what people are asking, and sort of ironic given the name you picked. They're wondering why Lucky didn't try the Hibiki 21 which was available on his flight.
Jorts are jean shorts, I don't think your PJ top was like jean shorts just because it had 3/4 length sleeves 🙂
I know you have to book a roundtrip with ANA using Virgin miles, but do both flights have to be in the same class ? I can only find First one way, and business on the return. Will they let me do it and if they do, how many miles would I be charged ? thanks
Drinking champagne when there is Noguchi Naohiko onboard - pfft
(Only joking, drink what makes you happy)
Soft product doesn't seem like it changed from the old products. The essential question is whether the hard product in F substantially better than J to justify the increase in miles?
@Zymm I saw that too, maybe he meant capri's?
This all looks lovely and I am dying to try it. My issue is that I'd need to be able to book it with only a month or two notice and it seems like that is impossible with only miles. And the cash price is astronomical, how are the chances at buying business and upgrading with miles?
From ORD, ANA F isn’t that hard to book. I’m flying J in 3 weeks (Friday 4 pm departure) and F is still available .
ANA is fantastic. Flew with them in J. Tokyo Haneda is amazing. The wifi at the airport is lightning fast. Hope I can find an opportunity to fly ANA again. The FAs are just genuinely nice. The biggest thing is the wonderful people of Japan. Politeness was born there.
Lucky great review and yes I did say video trip reports are needed but this was good. You did go for the Japanese meal. I love the amount of dishes and options presented.
Wonderful review! The new ANA F products, features, food and drinks look amazing.
What was the seat length, longer than 71" I hope?
Questions is, what stops the US carriers offering such exquisiteness and royalty to F and J class fliers in terms of comfort, food, drinks, features, amenities etc. (like the so many Asian airlines do)?
I flew F on ANA’s A380 HNL-NRT in October and it was almost identical to this. Totally blows the competition out of the water and was superb from start to finish. Kudos to NH!
@lucky The HDMI port in your photo looks like a tag has been added saying "INOP". Am I right in guessing that means the HDMI port has been rendered inoperable? If so that's a shame. I can only imagine hooking up my laptop to watch a couple of my own movies or better yet a nintendo switch to get 12 hours of quality time a good game!
Of course, having only two passengers in first class should guarantee a good service...if not, then something is wrong. You should have had the rest of the champagne for breakfast....I would have.
Hidden on the menu with little fanfare is Hibiki 21 year old whiskey. It sells for around $1,000 a bottle and is excellent. I have a couple every time I fly ANA first.
New seats look amazing though I also enjoyed previous version. Food has always been a strongpoint for them. ANA first easily bests JAL.
Oops. Sorry. I missed the Hibiki comments prior to mine. Last I flew from ORD they had both 21 and 17. Both are very good and hard to find. Amazing that they serve either let alone both!
For my flight IAH-NRT F in February I'd do the same meal plan. Caviar to start and then the Japanese service.
I wouldn't care to watch 90-day Fiance on any size screen although my wife loves the show. FWIW she was a 90-dayer 28 years ago.
For those of us who don't have the miles to spend, the cash fare from JFK or LAX is over $20k RT.
Thinking about trying this at home. Order in an oz. of caviar, some great champagne, Hibiki 21, sushi from the top SD sushi bar, and an in-home Japanese masseuse. I won't have a happy landing like Ben, but I will have a happy ending.
90 Day Fiance!! that's amazing, one of my favorite shows....can you start a blog just about that show???
I flew ANA J seat HND to Okinawa on a 773, man that was a beat up interior. Nothing like this one! Yay for Krug...who needs the stinking whisky?!
Does the larger lavatory still have the drop down "shelf" just above the floor to stand on so you can avoid standing on the lavatory floor while changing into/out of the pj's?
@lucky I would rather your view than using google so can you please post an article about the correct way to consume caviar? I.e typical accoutrements, method, best brands etc. Thanks.
Flying ANA F from ORD in November. Any chance the new product will replace "The Square" by then??
Lucky, i'd love to hear your thoughts on the value of new ANA F over J. e.g. "i'd pay x miles more to fly F". The service in F is so good, but i'm not sure what premium it's worth.
Was there no mattress pad at all for the bed? my old F flight in november had some kind of pad.
Question for the group. How would one book ticket thru Virgin Atlantic Flying Club or the 120k mile r/t award? Call them direct?
Looking forward to the 2020 edition of your top business class and first class products!
Guess you gotta check out Starlux first before you rank, though I'm guessing Starlux (given its A321neo seating configuration) won't make the list.
Is this your first time having the Japanese menu on either ANA or JAL? Looking at your past reviews it seems that you've always ended up choosing the international option, which is surprising since the Japanese option is usually much more interesting (especially with ex. TYO flights). You must be a recent convert to Japanese cuisine 😉
The structure you saw on your approach into Tokyo is the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line, specifically the "Sea Firefly". Its a 24km tunnel/bridge that provides a way to get from one side of the bay to the other without having to go through Tokyo proper. Cuts a 100km drive down to 24km.
The bit specifically is where it transitions from bridge to tunnel and, it being Japan, they put a service station there because its nice to have. Service stations are on a whole different level in Japan compared to the US.
"I was through immigration in no time, and despite not having purchased a ticket in advance, made the 3:35PM bus to the Andaz with time to spare."
Hmm. This particular part of the review hasn't withstood the test of time.
The sailboat looking thing is the ventilation for that tunnel running under the bay is what a flight attendant told me.
The airport in the photo is Kisarazu Air Field, a Japanese (formerly US) defense base.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kisarazu_Air_Field
Tokyo Bay Aqualine - 1/2 tunnel 1/2 bridge - the quick way to drive from Tokyo to Chiba.
And a ventilation shaft for the tunnel section.
Does anyone know if flights from ORD are updated and follow the same format out of JFK with the new layout or is it unique to JFK only as of now as well?
Hi Taka, I was told by ANA to call back in January regarding the updated seats for ORD. I have a flight that I booked for ORD next November and would like to experience ‘The Suite’ as well!
I just booked HND to JFK and I got a notice about pre-booking the meals. I figured it was like Singapore Air's Book the Cook program. To my dismay, I found out that my late night flight (I leave 10:55pm -- NH 160) DOES NOT HAVE the super duper meal this review features. You pick your menu based on route and I noticed the night time route (NH 160) does not have the "Washoku" menu. Instead it just has light fare. The fine print on the main page featuring their dining services also has it written "excluding late night routes". This is outrageous! The price is the same as as the morning NH 110 flight. How can they get away with this disparity?
I wonder if ANA communicated the substitution of (unpublished) tomato in lieu of avocado when serving the "Scallop, mascarpone, and avocado with citrus gelee" from the printed menu. I understand that allergies should always be reported to servers beforehand; I was just wondering how proactive ANA was about communicating the substituted ingredient.
The "Caviar Oscietra" was procured from Princesse d’Isenbourg et Cie
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