This airline’s economy class gives you a taste of business for $25

The airline: All Nippon Airways (ANA)

• Route Tokyo (Narita) to Perth, flight NH881
• Frequency Three times weekly (ANA also flies from Sydney to Tokyo’s Haneda daily)
• Aircraft Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
• Class Economy; seat 28A
• Flight time 10 hours, 10 minutes. The flight departed six minutes early and arrived 27 minutes ahead of schedule.

ANA flies from Perth three times a week and daily from Sydney.Credit: Adobe Stock

Checking in

From my Toyosu hotel – close to Instagram-favourite, immersive art house teamLab Planets – it is a two-hour-plus bus and train journey to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport Terminal 1. I arrive just shy of 9am, with no lines at the self-service check-in and bag drop-off counters. I spend more time with an assistant determining whether I qualify for access to United or ANA lounges using my Velocity Gold membership. Sadly, I don’t. A nip to 7-11 for brekky will have to suffice. Airport security is a breeze and takes less than five minutes.

Baggage

Allowance includes one checked bag up to 23 kilograms and cabin baggage up to 10 kilograms, including one personal item. ANA Mileage Club Premium and Star Alliance Gold members can receive one additional checked in bag free of charge on top of their boarding class entitlements.

Loyalty scheme

Guests can earn and redeem miles through ANA Mileage Club and build status credits across the Star Alliance network. Virgin Australia Velocity members can also earn points on ANA flights.

The seat

Standard economy seats (with actual window).

I’m in an exit row seat on a 3-3-3 layout. Unfortunately, my “window” seat has no window, but I would rather have extra room to stretch my legs than views. In regular economy class rows, the seats are 17.5 inches (44.5cm) wide with a pitch of 34 inches (86cm) and include a footrest.

Entertainment + tech

The entertainment system is clunky to use.

There is a modest selection of entertainment options and it is slow and clunky to navigate on the 9-inch (22cm) LCD touch-panel monitor. I watch Hollywood release, Daddio, by choice, unlike the passengers on board a Qantas flight from Sydney to Tokyo flight, who were all forced to watch the R-rated version of the film. (Thankfully, ANA’s version is censored to avoid awkwardness.) Wi-Fi is available for a fee, starting from $US6.95 ($11.16) for 30 minutes up to $US21.95 for the whole flight. There are USB ports in the seats for device charging.

Service

Service is professional and polite, keeping to Japanese cultural standards. I’m approached before departure to confirm my meal upgrade (see below); however, I receive my meal after the other economy passengers have been given theirs. Not all upgrades come equal.

Food

Economy passengers can pay $25 to receive a business class meal.Credit: Julia D’Orazio

Crew members walk through the cabin presenting ANA’s two lunch options on picture cards: chicken and eggs over steamed rice or hashed beef stew with red wine. I bypass both, as I’ve upgraded to the ‘paid exclusive dining’ option. For $25, I enjoy a small luxury: a business class meal, presented with a white fabric napkin and silver cutlery. I had previously selected the Western meal – a beef hamburger steak – over the Japanese option: simmered alfonsino (fish) in a soy-based sauce.

Both options come with cold marinated prawns and a Japanese chestnut cream cake. The smaller dishes are beautifully presented but neither qualifies as a hero. That prestige is reserved for the huge oval-shaped beef patty I had previously seen in restaurant windows across Tokyo, but hadn’t tried until now. The thick burger patty is juicy and adequately drizzled with demi-glazed sauce. I feel an oncoming food coma.

Enjoying haute cuisine stops at one meal. Before touchdown, a panini (heavy on bread and light on roasted vegetables), cut fruit and yoghurt is served – a forgettable dinner.

Sustainability

Guests can offset their flight by supporting climate protection ventures worldwide, including The Katingan Mentaya Project, which ensures natural forest restoration and protection in adherence to UN Sustainable Development Goals, and the REDD project, which assists small agricultural endeavours like Brazil nut concessions in Peru.*

One more thing

ANA’s exclusive paid dining must be ordered more than 24 hours prior to departure.

The price

From $1303 return in economy from Perth, $1277 return from Sydney.**

The verdict

You win some, you lose some. A taste of business class for $25 adds extra indulgence to the flight and is worth the splurge. If only I had a window, it could’ve felt like I was experiencing business class on a budget.

Our rating out of five

★★★★

The writer was a guest of All Nippon Airways and Japan National Tourism Organization.

*For more information about air travel and sustainability, see iata.org

**Fares are based on those available for travel three months from the time of publication and are subject to change.

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