All Nippon Airways

This is a trip report for my recent flight on ANA economy class from San Jose to Tokyo Narita on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Boarding was extremely quick and efficient with several Gate Agents walking around, answering questions and directing passengers to their appropriate lanes. This is unlike any of the other airlines where the Gate Agents just stand behind the podium and let the passengers run amok. This made the boarding process extremely efficient and completely stress-​free for everyone involved.
ANA currently operates three versions of the Boeing 787 – 800 and this one was configured with a two class cabin, business (with the new Business Staggered seats) and economy. The forward economy class cabin is configured with only four rows of seats so if you can get them, go for it because they offer a quieter and more intimate feel.
For this leg, I chose seat 24K, which is the window seat located in the emergency exit row on the right side of the airplane. ANA economy class cabins are configured in a 2×4×2 layout.
It should be noted that 24K is not the best seat in the house. The same applies to 24A on the left side of the plane. Because it’s an emergency exit row seat, the armrests do not fold up, windows are misaligned and the protrusion of the emergency exit door intrudes into your personal space. If you have longer legs, you have to cant your legs to the side to avoid hitting the emergency exit door. There’s no space to store your personal belongings during takeoff/​landing and people tend to congregate in this area while waiting for the bathrooms. However, you do get tons of extra legroom and you don’t have to bother your seatmate if you need to use the loo. The best seats in economy are located in row 21.
Waiting for me at my seat was a small pillow, blanket and headphones. With only eight seats across, ANA economy class seats offer 18.6 inches of width and 34 inches of pitch. Those are some impressive numbers and you would be hard pressed to find economy class seats on other airlines that offer this much room. And because there are only eight seats across this wide body jet, there are still a few inches of space between your seat and the side wall. You can easily store your pillow, blanket or other small personal belongings in this space.
All economy class seats are equipped with a 10.6 inch entertainment system located in the seat backs with a selection of movies, music, games and a moving map. All seats are also equipped with universal power ports, USB and iPod connectors and a footrest. In exit and bulkhead seats, the monitors are located in the armrests and you don’t get a footrest. The movie selections were pretty mediocre. You get 5 current movies and the rest are «classics.» There’s a large selection of Japanese movies though.
The seatbacks do not recline. Instead, the seat pan moves forward three inches to give you the illusion of recline. I hate this design because it just makes me feel as if I’m slouching forward and when the seat pan moves forward, it reduces your seat pitch. I end up having to use the pillow behind my lower back to provide some lumbar support. But on the positive side, when your neighbor up front reclines, he’s not invading into your face either.
Warm towels, drinks and rice crackers were served before dinner service. I’m not much of a drinker but alcoholic drinks were complimentary during meals. As for the food, I’ll let you take a look at the pictures but the food tasted as good as it looked. Not good at all. But you do get Haagan Dazs ice cream afterwards. Definitely the best part of the meal.
It should be noted that the Flight Attendants were absolutely top notch. Though their English was not the best, they were all extremely pleasant, polite and sincere. They came around the cabin frequently to offer drinks and to see if you needed anything else. Everything was said with a smile and they really did appear to care about our comfort.
Overall, I can see why there are so many mixed reviews for ANA. No one ever wants to fly economy class but ANA really does a good job at making it as painless as possible. I enjoyed my flight but I can see why others would not care for them so much. The pros included a great seat with plenty of pitch and width, personal entertainment, power ports and USB connectivity at every seat and fantastic Flight Attendants. The cons included an extremely warm cabin, horrible food and a lackluster selection of movies. So all things considered, would I fly ANA economy class again? Absolutely, I would. I just need to pack an extra pillow and plenty of snacks next time. It’s never fun flying long haul in economy class, but there are far worse airlines to do it on.
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ANA is a great airline.
It’s not quite as much leg room as JAL but I think their seats are slightly bigger.
The food is very good, and so is the service.
United take note. It is possible to be on a long flight and behave like human beings towards your passengers.

Wonderful service. Lots of legroom even in economy whether it be international flight (SFO to Tokyo, then Tokyo to Guangzhou, China) or domestic (I’ve had the pleasure to check out cherry blossoms in Hiroshima during my stay). Just like most people in Japan, they are an extension of their wonderful manners. And just like all other transportations in Japan, they are on time. My flight to Hiroshima was actually delayed by an hour or so because runway traffic at Haneda Airport was very busy, but the pilot sure made up for it. We got to Hiroshima pretty quickly.

Domestic Airlines — take note ANA does not mess around.
Leg room
Flight attendants — who actually attend and are nice
Yummy snacks
Video with exercises to improve your leg, arm, knee’s etc.
The plane I was on every class was first class — the seats reclined all the way and we had a little foot stool — it was soooo good.
I heart ANA forever!

«We flyin’ first class
Up in the sky
Poppin’ champagne
Livin’ my life
In the fast lane
And I wont change
By the Glamorous, oh the flossy flossy»
I chose ANA as my silver bird for my trip to Singapore earlier this year. And I’m sooo glad I did! Even though I didn’t fly first class on ANA, I still received the excellent customer service that made me feel like I was in first class. Snacks with wine you say?! Heck yeah! Gotta make it look like I’m a sophisticated world-​traveler, ya know.
For every meal served, there are beer, wine, and a plethora of soft drinks to choose from. In addition to the snacks and meals provided every 3 hours or so, fruits and chips are available at the flight attendant’s stations for our convenience along with a variety of newspapers from Japan. Of course, you’d need to know how to read Japanese. And Japanese I’m not so I resorted to sleeping when I wasn’t eating. Yes, I’m a pig. I can’t help it when the food looked and tasted delicious! Waaaay better than the crap offered on U.S. airlines. Warm towels are provided for the sake of cleaning your hands and face before you chow down.
Each seat has its own LCD display for entertainment so you don’t have to strain your neck trying to look up at the community monitor. Choices range from Japanese movies with English subtitles (for non-​Japanese flyers like me), English movies, Japanese movies in Japanese, music, and TV shows. The flight attendants are much nicer and attentive than most other airlines’ I’ve flown. Oooh, they were pretty, too! It’s so much better to endure a 15 hour trans-​pacific flight when the attendants are good-​looking!
So yes, I highly recommend this airline to anyone who travels to Asia, whether for personal enjoyment or business.