ANA introduces Dreamliners to West Coast

ANA, the go-to-market name for All Nippon Airways,will debut a new 787 Dreamliner on its recently begun Seattle-to-Tokyo route onMonday, October 1, marking the first time air travelers on the West Coast ofthe United States or Canada will have the opportunity to ride this remarkablenew aircraft.

ANA began non-stop service between Seattle (SEA) and Tokyo’sNarita (NRT) airports July 25 using a Boeing 777. The airline took delivery ofthe Dreamliner it will be using on the route August 30 and since then has beenoutfitting the plane and making it ready for its first paying passengers.

Configured for long-haul flights, ANA devotes more than halfthe Dreamliner’s cabin space to Business Class, with the rest serving economypassengers.
There are 46 lie-flat Business Class seats configured insuch a way that each and every seat has direct access to an aisle. No climbingover fellow passengers to stretch your legs or go to the lav. In addition, mysources say Business Class will have at least two lavatories that areconsiderably larger and more luxurious than the normal airline loo. Officially called the “premium lav,” they were at one point, predictably, called the “Dream Lav.”
The 112 Economy Class seats are among the widest in theindustry, at 18.5” according to SeatGuru.com. At 31”, the pitch (the distancefrom your seat back to the back of the seat in front of you) is the same as onthe 777s operated by United and Delta on their SEA-NRT routes, thoughpassengers on the 777s can choose EconomyPlus® or Economy Comfort^TM Class respectively, for ahigher fare than regular economy.
However, those triple-7s carry more passengers in economyalone than in an entire ANA 787, so economy passengers will be bumpingshoulders with far more folks getting on and off – and waiting to get throughcustoms at the end of their flight – than economy passengers on ANA’sDreamliner.
It’s worth noting that the Dreamliners serving ANA’s WestCoast routes do not have a section labeled “First Class.”
Flights will leave SEA at 1:15 p.m. and arrive at NRT at3:15 p.m. local time the next day, as the flights cross the international dateline.  Return flights leave at 5:25 p.m.local time, arriving in Seattle at 10:55 a.m. on the same day the flightdeparted, again owing to crossing the international date line.
As of this writing on Sept. 22, an economy ticket forflights leaving October 1 and returning October 5 can be purchased for as lowas $1,400.60, while the lowest Business Class round trip ticket is $8,723.60.
Next year, passengers traveling from the San Francisco Bayarea will be able to board the Dreamliner closer to home. ANA will start 787service between San Jose’s Norman Y. Mineta Airport (SJC) and NRT on January11.Meanwhile, on Sept. 21, ANA announced it had ordered 11 more787s, bringing its total order to 66, the most of any airline. OnlyInternational Lease Finance Corporation, a company that buys aircraft andleases them to airlines, has ordered more.
All 11 of the newaircraft will be the 787-9 model and will be delivered between fiscal year 2018and 2021. This will give ANA a fleet of 36 787-8 aircraft and 30 787-9versions, according to ANA’s news release.
I am very much looking forward to experiencing theDreamliner, and will share my experiences here.
Bon voyage!  Travel Tips