ANA All Nippon Airways

SJC-NRT. Would normally fly United on transatlantic/transpacific so decided to use ANA through United website from my local airport. Couldn't check in because I had a United ticket but when I got to the check in desk I had already been assigned an aisle seat based on my United 1k profile and the seat next to me was blocked off so I had plenty of room. I also asked for a Japanese meal and when I boarded the FA came to verify my meal request. SJC-NRT is a 787 dreamliner and is spacious and bright inside. Like the ability to adjust windows at the touch of a button. Inflight service was excellent attentive and very polite. What a difference from United! I like having in seat power and USB charger even in economy. Only negative is that the seat is a hard shell so it's almost impossible to sleep on it. I can normally sleep on planes but couldn't on this. Both flights into NRT and SJC arrived an hour early. SJC is less hassle than SFO and easy to get in and out. Overall next time I go to Japan I'll be flying ANA out of SJC.

LAX-NRT return. Very comfortable seat and bed. Culinary offerings (European and Japanese) were delicious and made dining equivalent to eating at a five star restaurant. Cabin crew were attentive but not intrusive. Every time I used the washroom it appeared to be serviced after every use as the toilet paper ends were triangulated.

HKG-HND paid full price for economy ticket yet got an awful seat in a separate partitioned area of 2 rows right behind business class. About 5 or 6 babies in the vicinity all crying at various intervals. Furthermore seat was incredibly uncomfortable - not the regular seats but the seat cushion is shorter and dips down in the center putting pressure on thighs. When I asked to change seats FA just brushed me off even though there were a couple empty seats elsewhere. The IFE? Tiny low res screen audio was on/off due to ageing headphone input jack.

Ignoring that the flight was late and meant I had to get a bus to Haneda from Narita to make my connection the SIN-NRT sector on ANA's 787 was immensely uncomfortable. The seats are the 'shelled' non-reclining type and are advertised as having a seat pitch of 34 inches but in practice I was only able to slide my seat forward an inch or so before my knees jarred into the seat-back in front. The result was 7 hours of night flight in a lot of discomfort and any suspected benefit of flying in a 787 totally lost. Staff were unerringly polite and IFE was good but both of these positives were overwhelmed by the discomfort. Why have ANA gone this route when their CX peers had already paid the price and fallen on the 'rigid economy seat' sword? Madness.

Flew from NRT to SIN. 7 hours flight but there was only one meal. The same flight on United serves 2 meals. The meal was good though with pictures illustrating what to choose. Plenty of refills of warm Japanese green tea. My major complaint is the small seats. The plane was the new Dreamliner 787 but the seats are clearly designed for Japanese people with legroom significantly less than that of United and other US carrier. It is quite hard to get out if you are stuck in a middle seat. I do like the spray toilet in the bathroom. Good service overall but definitely not the most comfortable flight.

A return flight to/from Frankfurt and Haneda on newly configured 787 (Economy Premium Economy and Business). The configuration in Economy has been changed from 2-4-2 to 3-3-3 but the seat was replaced from Back-fixed to normal reclining seat. The seat was actually more comfortable than the Back-Fixed seat and I felt less tired after a 12 hour flight. In fact one of the cabin crews told me that they had received many complaints on the Back-Fixed seat from passengers. The cabin crews on both flights were very friendly and helpful. They regularly walked around the cabin with drinks to serve. It is very different from some European airlines that all cabin crews vanish completely after the first meal and never see them until the second meal is served.

HCMC to Narita to Washington to Toronto January 2014. I travel to and from Asia a couple of times a year. This was my first time on ANA. I will travel on this airline again whenever possible. The price was very reasonable. The service was excellent. The Japanese menu was wonderful. I usually don't eat airline food so this was a really great change. The baggage check in was courteous swift and helpful. Boarding was the same. Aircraft including washrooms was very clean with no blankets pillows head phones. They could expand the selection of movies for long haul flights.

NRT-SEA 787 on 1/26. Unfortunately the lounge was under renovation and very limited space. Inflight services food and seat were excellent.

Recently took a flight from Bangkok-Tokyo-JFK. Admittedly the seat on the Bangkok-Tokyo segment on a 777 was not comfortable. The leg extension was rather short and my feet extended over the edge of the leg rest. I am not a particularly tall person. The flight to JFK did have lie flat seats but I found them to be quite narrow and felt more comfortable sleeping at a slightly angled upright position. Food on both segments was OK and typical of business class fare found on other airlines. What sets ANA apart from other airlines is their onboard staff. Simply put their staff has to be the warmest and friendliest I have encountered on any other flights that I have taken. Everything was done with a smile. Cabins and bathrooms were kept immaculate throughout the flights. The AVOD system worked great with tons of offerings to choose from. I recommend ANA.

Flew from JFK to Tokyo on ANA. Terrific airline. Gave plenty of refreshments and meals wonderful entertainment system superb employees. Reminds you of what airlines are supposed to be like.