ANA All Nippon Airways

I'm quite pleased that ANA is part of the Star Alliance. I've never had anything but superb service from each and every ANA employee. They've even gone so far as to grab my bag and run with me in the airport in order to ensure that my overly-tight connection (due to weather) didn't leave stranded (NRT to NGS in May 2009). The ANA reps will work with you if your Japanese isn't up to par and I've never had a single problem with flying them over the past 10 years.

LHR to NRT : I was impressed the service was similar standards to SIA. Attentive friendly and with the important small touches like hot towels. Dinner one of the best economy meals I have had in a long time - I was not in a mood to drink alcohol so canot comment on the choice or quality. I slept for most of the flight and the IFE (although a decent system) choice of films was rather limited.

ORD-NRT Business. The cabin is neat and clean and the service far surpasses anything that the US flagged carriers offer for International travel. The business seats have their plusses and minuses. It is very hard for a 6' person and above to get comfortable sleeping on the "slope". The padding is very thin so sitting or sleeping is a bit rough. AVOD system is excellent and includes noise cancelling head phones. Once you get used to the "A la Carte" style service ANA offers meal and beverage service is fantastic. Food was good and plentiful. The biggest advantage of the service is the attitude. The flight attendants really made you feel welcome unlike anything the US majors have to offer. One heads up would be about the use of the Red Carpet lounge; They do not offer ANA Business customers free internet. This is an outrage based on the fare I paid but so be it. The attitude of the UAL attendant in the lounge was typical; poor and she blamed the situation on ANA and how cheap they are.

SIN-NRT-SIN in Y class. Bought their promotion fare for S$482 including taxes /adult while S$52 including taxes for infant ticket. Travelled on their new 767-300 on their special livery (Panda) seated in row 15C D and E behind J class on both sectors. This section is quieter as there are a few rows of seats compared to the main section of the Y class. Seats are comfortable with ample recline. PTV has more than 160 programmes/games etc. However there were only 5-6 children programmes and average duration is only 30 mins. Food selection excellent. Each tray has a water bottle on it Haagen daaz ice cream given on both sectors 2 hrs before landing. FA on both sectors especially the return sector were extremely attentive to families with children. Hot towels were given before meals only on the Sin-Nrt sector. Check in at Nrt excellent ANA staff personally guided us for check in as I'm travelling with 2 kids. ANA is an excellent product for travellers with families and will not hesitate to travel with them again.

LHR-NRT-LHR round trip in economy. Every aspect of service excellent from check-in to disembarking. The cabin crew worked hard to meet passenger wishes and gave the impression that nothing was too much trouble. But the seating is dreadful. They were the most uncomfortable seats with the smallest pitch I can remember on a long-haul flight. My knees were firmly up against the seat in front and had I not been able to move to an empty exit row seat on each flight then the flights would have been unbearable. For this reason alone I would not fly with ANA again nor recommend them to anyone over 5'6" tall.

Hong Kong - Tokyo Haneda Economy. The service is excellent and fast. Dont expect to sleep on late flight to Haneda - lights on all trip. Good movie selection but not clear what channels are what. Seats rather thin leg room standard. Nothing to do at Haneda so dont rush there; also early arrivals to Haneda dont link with hotel bus services. Airport seemed to close as our flight left at 8pm!

Singapore-Tokyo-Sapporo return. First flown on a B767 with special livery then on an A320 and back on a B737 and B767. On the first and last flight we sat behind business class. The seating was okay inflight entertainment was good and food was delicious! The magazines are in Japanese and English.

Hong Kong to Tokyo Narita fairly new B777. I sat on row 23 in economy class. Row 21-23 in ANA 777 are separated from the main economy section so the cabin was quiet. Meal good above average. Wide range of movie selection. Cabin crew attentive and polite. Generally very good and comfortable flight.

SFO-NRT B777-200 return in economy class. Perfect service excellent food. very clean. Everything was perfect except seat pitch length very uncomfortable. Best service I've ever had but worst seat comfort I've ever had in this round trip.

FRA-NRT. Seat next to me was empty which added to the sense of comfort. FA's smiling and attentive. Toilets kept clean throughout the flight. Fish meal was delicious the red wines (I tried both) were so-so (lacking flavour and body) and bread was below ANA's usual standards (no whole wheat etc). Strange to be served such poor bread on a flight originating from Germany. Seat was good enough but not up to the full flat seats one finds on other airlines. I understand that tall people would have trouble getting a good sleep on such a seat. Maybe ANA can improve the boarding process in FRA? (One single boarding gate).