ANA (All Nippon Airways) Business Class

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Three things stoodout during my recent flight in Business Class aboard All Nippon Airways' (ANA’s) first 787 Dreamlinerflight connecting Seattle (SEA) and Tokyo (NRT): superior service, staggeredseating, and the state-of-the-art aircraft.

ANA’s service was every bit as gracious as I recall theservice being when I first experienced British Airways’ First Class some 25years ago and clearly surpassed what I experienced in the business classsections of American Airlines and Spanish carrier Iberia Airlines (see previous post) just a couple of years ago.
Lounge access
A business classticket on ANA includes lounge access at both SEA and NRT.

Club International Lounge at SEA

Seattle passengers had access to the ClubInternational lounge, a facility shared by ANA, Emirates, and Condor, Lufthansa's low-price carrier. It isfairly good sized with an assortment of nibbles that align with the airlines’national origins, wireless Internet access, complimentary alcoholic andnon-alcoholic beverages, and a no-tipping policy.  The ANA lounge at Narita is larger with an even broader selectionof food, though it seemed with fewer beverage options.
Lounges can be usedpre-flight, and between flights if one is connecting.
On board

It’s important to understand that first orbusiness class on an overseas flight isn’t even in the same league withsimilarly named classes of service on domestic flights. Certainly, domesticpassengers “up front” get better food, free drinks, and often – though notalways – better service than what the airlines euphemistically call “the maincabin,” but it still does not compare to transatlantic or transpacific service.

Boarding theaircraft, I was greeted by one of the six ANA flight attendants (F/As) whowould be looking after the business class cabin. As soon as I slipped into seat3A, another F/A took my coat and offered me a choice of sparkling wine or greentea to sip prior to departure.
While the airlineadded an extra flight attendant for the Dreamliner’s inauguralpassenger-carrying flight between the two cities, ANA normally has five F/As inbusiness class, which is an excellent ratio of F/As to its 46 business classpassengers. For comparison, Iberia had four F/As for 42 business classpassengers.
Waitingat each seat were basic amenities including a pillow and blanket, slippers anda shoehorn. Rather than providing each passenger with a pre-stocked amenitieskit as both Iberia and American did, ANA’s F/As offered passengers a range ofitems including earplugs and sleep masks, premoistened face cloths, andmouthwash. Complimentary postcards,pens and memo pads were also available.
Individual toothbrushes with toothpaste were available inthe lavatories.
Additionalamenities included knitwear for rent or complimentary pajamas for those wouldrather not spend 10 hours sitting in their Brooks Brothers or Jones New Yorksuits.
Each seatingstation had ample storage including underseat shoe storage, a huge slidingtable for meal trays and laptops, universal power ports (no need to dig outyour plug adapters), a personal entertainment center with on-demand videos andmovies, noise-canceling Sony® headphones, lie-flat seats, and a “do notdisturb” light. Amercan provided its business class passengers with Bose® QuietComfort® headphones, while Iberia’s were standard airline headsets.

The Dreamliner's entertainmentcenters also provide the ability to send text messages to fellow passengers, a feature that could prove useful for business associates who aren’t seated together and who may need to discreetly discuss business matters or an upcoming presentation.

Standard Business Class seating

One featureDreamliners do not have at this time is in-flight Internet access. As I notedin a previous post, Boeing plans to have itavailable by the end of the year, and ANA plans to add it to its 787s.
Seating arranged for convenience and privacy

ANA’s designerschose to stagger the Dreamliner’s business-class seats so that every seat hasdirect access to the aisle, and so that no one seat is directly behind another.That staggered floor plan means there are three different types of businessclass seating arrangements.

Row F seat with two workspaces

Each business-classseat has a workspace next to it, but the position of that workspace alternatesfrom row to row. Window seats in the odd-numbered rows are directly next to thewindow with the workspace on the in-board side, while seats in theeven-numbered rows are on the in-board side and have the workspace between theseat and the window.
Seats in row F havetwo workspaces, with one such area on each side of the seat (see picture at left). 

Double seat with small workspace

By contrast, theseats in rows D & G are the only seats adjacent to another passenger. Thatmakes them a good choice for couples or business associates traveling together,but the arrangement also means each seat’s workspace is half the size of thoseat the single seats (see picture at right).
Marvelous meals 

When meal time camearound, passengers were offered their choice of Japanese or Western fare, thoughwhy anyone would pass up the opportunity to have Japanese food prepared bythose who really know how is beyond me.

Amuse bouche

I opted for theJapanese meal, which started with an amuse bouche including shrimp inpuff pastry and an assortment of nuts. That was followed by a first course ofkobachi and sunomono: simmered octopus and tofu patty, salmon with bonitoflavored citron vinegar sauce, a shrimp wrapped in daikon, a sea scallop toppedwith flying fish roe, and small slices of mackerel and beef.
The main course wasgrilled yellowtail with sweet miso with rice and miso soup. Dessert optionswere a mixed berry parfait or a fruit and cheese platter.

Appetizer course

The beverage menuwas quite extensive for an airline, and included two sakis (rice wine), twoshochus (one made from sweet potatoes and the other from barley), and a plumwine. I sampled them all. It also included champagne, a California Chardonnayand an Italian white, a California Cabernet Sauvignon and a New Zealand PinotNoir, as well as spirits, aperitifs, digestifs, beer, and soft drinks.
As with manylong-haul carriers, ANA has an area near the galleys where passengers can helpthemselves to water and wine. ANA also offers what its menu calls “LightDishes” – things like a cheese plate, fresh fruit, soup, or hamburger – whichflight attendants will bring upon request.
When the time cameto stretch and use the lavatory, my fellow business class passengers and I werepleasantly surprised by what my inside sources at Boeing told me has beennicknamed “The Dream Lav.”

Dessert of wine and cheese

They are ratheramazing. About twice as large as the standard aircraft lav, they feature thevery Japanese TOTO toilets, complete with built-in bidet function.
While the food andthe Dreamliner itself were both noteworthy, it was the service that put ANAhead and shoulders above my most recent prior experiences.  Iberia Airlines’ A340 was also well equippedand the food and drink were quite good, but the service I experienced waslacking.
Not so with ANA.
The F/As frequentlywalked up and down the aisles, refilling glasses and clearing trays, checkingto see if passengers wanted anything, and just generally being available.
Many of them spenttime chatting with the passengers, demonstrating their command of the Englishlanguage, and making us feel more like guests than customers. In addition, theyreacted favorably when I used the little bit of Japanese I’ve learned over theyears. Their gracious acknowledgement that I was making an effort really mademe feel valued.
When the flightcrew darkened the Dreamliner’s electrically controlled windows indicating itwas time to snooze, I found that ANA’s lie-flat seats actually did lieflat, and accommodated my 6’ frame pretty well. Iberia’s beds were tilted atabout 170°, just enough off-level to make me feel like I was in danger ofsliding off.
An ANA businessclass ticket includes up to two checked bags with priority handling so thepassengers who are out of the plane first can get their bags first and clearcustoms quickly.
Based on my soleexperience, I am not at all surprised that ANA won the title of BestTranspacific Airline in the 2012 World Airline Awards. Even without WiFi, ithas my vote, too.

ANA provided mewith round-trip transportation and lodging in Tokyo as part of a mediafamiliarization trip so that several reporters and bloggers could experienceits service and the 787 Dreamliner first-hand.

Photos by Carl Dombek
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