All Nippon Airways top tier in business class offerings
This international carrier has what could be called the most business of business classes but the staff are unmatched.
This international carrier has what could be called the most business of business classes but the staff are unmatched.
Take a seat
There are 40 business class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, all with direct aisle access. Despite an overly large side table, it still feels wide and comfortable in a semi-booth-like space. While the Boeing plane looks small and a bit dated from the outside, the business seat feels modern and not as claustrophobic as lesser offerings from Lufthansa and American Airlines. Sadly, there is no bar nor communal area. When extended, the flat bed is 195cm long and at 64cm wide. I’ve got more room to roll over so I am less likely to feel my arms going numb than I did on a Qantas business class flight the week before.
Despite it being a day flight, I take a nap and mistakenly put the blanket over the seat, thinking it was a mattress, only to unroll another strange piece of foam. In all honesty, I am not sure which side to lie on – the Japanese do like firm bedding – but it is still quite comfortable. I later find I had it upside down.
The amenity kit is by British leather goods brand Ettinger London and is nice enough to take home. Inside there is Aveda body lotion and lip balm but strangely no socks, eye mask, toothbrush or earplugs.
Tech talk
The 18-inch touchscreen TV monitor runs software that feels a little dated – having to scroll down the screen to see each individual movie rather than being able to swipe through categories – but works well enough. Just above my large side table is a universal power plug plus a USB-C port.
That’s entertainment
There are new-release films as well as movies from Hollywood and Japan. What is irresistible is the Variety channel, featuring Japanese television of ultra-high novelty value like Chidori’s Consecutive Challenges, where contestants have to sing 10 karaoke songs in a row, in perfect tune, to win 1 million yen ($10,000). I am hooked.
On the menu
There are two different menus for each meal, Japanese and international cuisine, both featuring a tasty pink grapefruit gelee and grilled scallop as an amuse-bouche. For lunch, served soon after takeoff, I choose the beef fillet steak with mustard sauce that is Japanese in execution if not tradition; perfectly cooked and hearty.
For the second meal, my first preference of a rice with deep fried curry-flavoured chicken has run out despite me being in business class and with empty seats around me. The replacement, a simmered pork and cabbage in white miso, is delightfully light.
The drinks menu offers one champagne, Drappier, two white wines from Burgundy and Austria, and two reds, from Bordeaux and the US, as well as a selection of sake and shochu, eight cocktails and several excellent Japanese beers.
At your service
If you have ever been to Japan and experienced the genuine desire people have to help you, in any way they can, then the wonderfully warm level of service on an ANA flight will come as no surprise. When I struggle to get the free wi-fi (via a voucher in business class; $US21.95 in other cabins) connected, I have two staff vying to take my laptop away and do all the work for me. Only Singapore Airlines comes anywhere near the level of customer joy that ANA provides.
In the bag
Luggage allowance is two pieces of up to 32kg. Carry-on baggage is limited to one item of no more than 10kg but I have no problem taking on a backpack and a small suitcase.
On the ground
There is no queue at the ANA business counter at check-in and I am given a fast pass to get through customs. But nobody can tell me my boarding gate number, except that it is in Section B. This is a 15-minute walk from the shared Air New Zealand lounge.
Make your points
ANA is a member of the Star Alliance network and also has a partnership with Virgin Australia’s Velocity program. This allows you to earn Velocity points when flying ANA.
The bottom line
Sydney to Tokyo flights from $4615 one-way, based on an airline website search departing two months from publication.
The verdict
For a day flight when I was more focused on working than being fed and entertained, ANA was perfect – a very business-focused business class. The Japanese levels of service do lift the experience, putting ANA at the top of the second tier of business class offerings but a few rungs below the standard set by at Qatar, Qantas and Singapore Airlines.
Stephen Corby flew courtesy of Bentley.
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