Aloha from Honolulu, as I’m on the return portion of our winter ski trip to Niseko. I just flew All Nippon Airways’ Airbus A380 first class, on the all too fast 6hr20min flight from Tokyo Narita (NRT) to Honolulu (HNL). For what it’s worth, I booked this for 57,500 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points, which I acquired with a 30% transfer bonus — jackpot!
This product has been on my to-do list for so long, and I’m glad I finally had the chance to give it a try. It’s also pretty cool, because this was the last A380 first class product in the world that I hadn’t yet flown (including both current and past operators of the plane), so I can finally check that box.
My flight in ANA’s first class was absolutely lovely, with the typical level of perfection you expect from the airline. My only complaint is that this short overnight flight is way too short to fully enjoy. In this post I want to share some initial thoughts, and then soon I’ll have a full review.
In this post:
ANA’s A380 fleet is cool & quirky
The backstory of All Nippon Airways’ A380 fleet fascinates me. The airline never ordered these planes directly. Instead, Japanese carrier Skymark Airlines ordered these years back, and when the carrier filed for bankruptcy protection, ANA agreed to take them over, as part of a larger deal.
ANA has just three A380s, and they’re the world’s only themed A380s that operate a single route. These planes are known as the “Flying Honu,” and their design is inspired by Hawaiian sea turtles. The three planes exclusively fly between Tokyo Narita (NRT) and Honolulu (HNL). Seriously, how damn cool is this A380 livery? Each A380 is in a different color, so these planes sure do stand out. I’ve never seen so many people at an airport photograph a plane.
It’s cute how the airline has customized the experience so much around a particular market, with passengers getting Flying Honu stickers, and boarding music even being Hawaiian.
I can’t help but wonder just how much money ANA hemorrhages with these planes. The fleet utilization is awful (the three planes operate a total of 11x weekly frequencies), and also, demand between Japan and Hawaii is way down post-pandemic, largely due to the weak Japanese Yen (since this market is primarily targeted at the Japan point-of-sale).
I don’t know how many people were on my flight, but I’ve seen regional jet gate areas with more people. And the wildest part is that another A380 was departing less than an hour earlier. I’m surprised ANA hasn’t decided to repurpose these planes, and put them on a different route.
ANA’s A380 first class is comfortable and private
All Nippon Airways’ A380 first class is excellent. It’s nearly identical to the carrier’s new(ish) Boeing 777-300ER first class. First class is on the upper deck, with a total of eight seats, spread across two rows, in a 1-2-1 configuration.
There are more cutting edge hard products out there, but this is ultimately very good. The seats are comfortable, functionally designed, and private. Of course there’s also such a joy to flying the A380 in general, given what a quiet plane it is.
The airline has huge high definition entertainment monitors in first class, which make it easy to enjoy the (limited) entertainment selection. Wi-Fi is also complimentary for first class passengers.
ANA doesn’t have much in the way of special A380 amenities, though there are two large lavatories at the front of the cabin, by the staircase. They’re the biggest lavatories you’ll find in ANA’s fleet, by a long shot.
ANA’s first class food & drinks are excellent
All Nippon Airways’ catering is very good. The airline has an extensive drink selection, with Krug being the champagne on offer. Yum!
The airline offers both Japanese and Western dining options, and on this flight. There was a main meal served after takeoff, and then an additional dine anytime menu that can be enjoyed for the remainder of the flight. I decided to have the Japanese food for my main meal .For now I’ll just share some pictures, and I’ll have a lot more details in the full review.
ANA’s flight attendants are delightfully friendly
As you’d expect in first class on a Japanese airline, service was excellent. The crew was friendly and attentive, but I don’t think anyone would expect any less from the airline.
There was one thing that was especially cute. The crew noticed I was taking a lot of pictures, and were clearly curious why (not in a judgmental or rude way, but just out of curiosity). In these situations, and in order to fly under the radar, I always get super geeky and passionate in explaining my interest.
So I briefly explained to the crew how this was the last A380 airline in the world that I hadn’t flown on that particular plane, so I specifically routed my trip via Hawaii to fly this. Shortly before landing, the crew presented me with the below adorable plate. How cute and sweet is that?! 
The Tokyo to Honolulu flight is way too short!!!
Now let me get to my main complaint about this flight — it’s too damn short, and they need to fly this whale slower. Is that really too much to ask for?! 😉
In all honesty, I was “lucky” that the flight was 6hr20min, because some days it can be as short as 5hr40min. The flight left around 9PM and landed around 9AM the same day. That really isn’t enough time to both enjoy the service and get rest.
The crew performed the after takeoff service efficiently, and interestingly, all passengers had both the meal after takeoff plus the meal before landing, with somewhere between two and three hours between them. As you’d expect, it’s almost entirely a leisure crowd in this market, with most people looking to enjoy the experience.
Despite the short flight length, all standard long haul amenities were still offered, from amenity kits to pajamas.
Bottom line
I finally had the chance to fly All Nippon Airways’ A380 first class, meaning I’ve now flown every A380 first class product, both past and present. My flight was really enjoyable, with comfortable suites, very friendly service, delicious food, and a nicely themed experience.
The only downside is that these planes operate such short flights, making it difficult to balance enjoying the experience and resting. If you’re going to experience the Flying Honu, there’s merit to traveling in the other direction, where the flight time is a bit longer, and it’s also a daytime flight.
What’s your take on ANA’s A380 first class?
Even during COVID when ANA could practically shit money by flying an A380 to China every week and charge every economy seat $1800 one way they didn't do it.
doubt they'd change it now. Plus long haul demand in NRT is just way lower than HND. You can tell from seatmap, and award availability.
what is the difference in hard product with the A380 vs B777. they look similar but ben seems to hint at some differences?
Man, it feels so nice to see an ANA review after so long, with JAL having stolen so much of the thunder in 2024 with its A350-1000. What’s next? The SQ 737 MAX? Or the AI A350? Or Swiss?
Flew on a 777 route within a couple days of you and loved it (especially the new spring menu). A couple questions:
1. Did the crew keep every light on the plane max brightness during the meal? It felt like a football stadium in there and made it hard to enjoy the movie while eating.
2. What are the differences between the A380 & 777 seat? It appears the screen may be ever...
Flew on a 777 route within a couple days of you and loved it (especially the new spring menu). A couple questions:
1. Did the crew keep every light on the plane max brightness during the meal? It felt like a football stadium in there and made it hard to enjoy the movie while eating.
2. What are the differences between the A380 & 777 seat? It appears the screen may be ever so slightly smaller?
3. What did you think of the mattress pad? I was surprised that it felt insubstantial, but ultimately didn't prevent me from getting a great night's sleep.
4. More observation than question: I'd have a hard time picking between ANA & JAL F in the future considering ANA has individual air nozzles on the 777.
Hi Ben,
Question for you. If you are to guess how many people you think have completed the feat of flying every A380 F product ever available? And what would it be if you add the Residence as well.
Curious…
The REVIEW I'VE TRULY BEEN DYING TO SEE!!!!!
I've seen it flying over Waikiki so many times
If you want the flights to be much longer eastbound, you can always fly during the summer when tailwinds aren't as strong. On the return of course, winter would be ideal ;)
Always wondered why they never send these to LHR, or other key destinations in the US.
I also wonder about that considering how much smaller ANA's F footprint is compared to JAL, despite having the capacity. They could at least rotate it through medium-haul destinations in Asia (Singapore & HKG come to mind) in between Hawaii.
My guess is because these planes are confined to NRT. If they want to target major markets with the capacity of an A380, they'd probably rather do it via HND.
Looks great. Real shame that instead of having an 8pm and a 9pm departure from Tokyo, they don't operate one morning flight. Might be nice to leave Tokyo at say ~10am and get to HNL right in time to go to bed.
You have to take into account on the way back, you'd probably arrive in Narita dead at night and the airport would be closed because of curfew. And while you can park the aircraft for the night, it wouldn't be worth the expense especially for an A380.
Yes, it would have to be a daytime return. Think of UA's EWR-LHR daytime flight, turning back to EWR in the morning.
One could wish they'd figure out a way to get a Fifth Freedom flight HNL to LAX to fill that gap. Would become the most popular route in the US.
That wouldn't be fifth freedom, but rather seventh freedom and cabotage.
Were you able to sleep at all? Getting on a plane at 9pm and getting off at 9am makes for two very long days!
After crossing the international date line, it’s practically a single super long day!