All Nippon Airways, or “ANA” for short, is Japan’s largest 5-star airline, which will launch three new routes in Milan, Stockholm and Istanbul this winter 2024-2025. ANA, based in Japan’s exciting capital Tokyo, flies to both domestic and international destinations. It is one of the best-known airlines in the world and is praised for its punctuality and excellent service.  The airline operates on over 50 international routes to/from Haneda and Narita airports and has a large domestic network, more than 130 routes. (as of August 2024) With five daily flights from London, Paris, Frankfurt (x 2) and Munich as well as a regular service from Brussels and Vienna to Tokyo, ANA is fast becoming one of the most convenient airlines to fly from Europe to Japan.

The ANA Experience

With its slogan “Inspiration of Japan”, it is not surprising that ANA is known for its excellent service and Japanese hospitality. “Always sincere, always humble and always polite” is ANA’s promise. Striving for excellence and working together as a unit – very Japanese traits indeed – ensures not only safe and reliable flights, but also on-time and punctual flights. No less than 82.75% of ANA’s scheduled flights are operated on time, a percentage that enabled them to be the top in Asia Pacific in 2023 according to Cirium.  Furthermore, ANA places great emphasis on comfort and guest experience – it has been recognised as a 5-star airline by Skytrax since 2013.

ANA believes that corporate sustainability is based on a healthy global environment.  It aims to be an environmentally leading airline and puts this into practice during flights through the use of paper straws, meal trays made from “plant-based materials” and much more.

ANA flies on international flights with the following aircraft (click on the links for seat maps):

• Boeing 787-10 (781) (Number of seats: 294)
• Boeing 787-9 (789) (Number of seats: 246/215)
• Boeing 787-8 (788) (Number of seats: 240/184)
• Boeing 777-300ER (77W) (Number of seats: 212)
• Boeing 767-300ER (763) (Number of seats: 202)
• Airbus A380-800 (388) (Number of seats: 520)
• Airbus A320neo (320) (Number of seats: 146)

ANA All Nippon Airways Business Class

ANA offers four types of Business Class product:

• The famous “THE Room”, known for its extremely spacious seat, is available on the B777-300ER

(Please read our other article about this amazing Business Class seat);

• The ANA Business Staggered is available on the B787-10, the B787-9, the B787-8 (184 seats),

The B777-300ER, and the A380

• The ANA Business Class Cradle is available on the B787-8 (240 seats) and the B767-300ER (202 seats)
• The smaller Business Class seats are available on the A320neo planes

We flew from London to Haneda on the Boeing 777-300ER (77W) in “THE Room”, and from Haneda to Paris on the Boeing 787-9 in the “Business Staggered” seats. Both experiences were excellent. World class comfort, Japanese-inspired functionality, completely flat seats, large LCD widescreen monitors, lockers for storage and of course the excellent ANA service were aspects that both flights had in common.

The ANA Business Class flights can be booked with cash or miles, but the latter can be difficult as Japan is a very popular destination these days. However, you may get lucky in the last two to three weeks before departure as most award flights are released during this period.  Moreover, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday flights generally have more availability, try searching for these mid-week flights if you are looking for the best price.

ANA’s “Staggered Business Class” seats

On our route from Tokyo to Paris in May 2024, we experienced the “Staggered ANA business seats” on the B787-9 aircraft. These are the “older” ANA Business Class seats, as opposed to the newer and unique “THE Room” seats. However, the staggered seats are still a very solid Business Class product.

The Staggered Business Class Seats in the B787-9 aircraft are arranged 1-2-1, with each seat having direct access to the aisle. Because the seats are staggered, seats “A” and “K” are closer to the window and offer more privacy, making them a good choice for solo travellers. The seats in the middle are more or less identical. The seats are separated by a console so that none of them can be converted into a “double bed”. The white and blue cabin and seat design is timeless and the LED-strips on the tables are a nice modern touch.

Although they are not nearly as spacious as “THE Room” suites, these Business Class seats do offer a comfortable amount of personal space. They are around 50 centimetres wide, which is certainly enough for one person, and have a spacious side table, a cup holder, a reading lamp and a small storage compartment. A pillow, a bed pad, a light blanket, an amenity kit and slippers are provided. The seat can be declined completely and is equipped with an Air Cyclone® mattress topper from Nishikawa for sleeping. The bed is around 190 centimetres long, which is definitely long enough for most people.

 Wonderful Food & Beverage offer 

Food will be a highlight of your flight when flying ANA. A great feature is that ANA publishes its menus online, so you can see what’s available before you fly. You can even pre-order the Japanese or Western option online so you don’t miss out.

Before take-off, the crew came by and offered sparkling wine or orange juice. After an amuse bouche, we enjoyed an extensive international menu:

Appetiser:

• Citrus-marinated Shrimp & Scallop with Onion Mousse, Cherry Blossom-flavoured Root Vegetable
• Salad with Japanese Plum Vinegar Sauce, Jellied
• Shiitake Mushroom & Chicken with Herbs

Main Dish:

• Beef Fillet Steak with Madeira Sauce, Potato Puree

Bread:

• Baguette
• Cherry Blossom Bread

Dessert:

• Strawberry Mousse
• Cheese (Fresh, Semi-hard, Blue )
• Fruits

 After the first meal, guests could choose from an à la carte menu with a selection of light dishes, soup, noodles, refreshments, snacks, Japanese and international cuisine.

A wide selection of drinks is made available to guests. Champagne Castelnau – Cuvée Brut Réserve is an excellent drink to start the ANA flight, followed by a wine or sake pairing during the meal. The sake selection is truly exquisite, so be sure to try it during your flight. We tried the Suntory world whiskey “Ao” which was excellent.  ANA updates the Sake selection regularly, check before boarding!

On-board entertainment

The touchscreen monitors on this aircraft are about 18 inches in size, and there is a compartment under the screen for the power port, which fits UK as well as US and EU plugs. ANA Sky Channel, the in-flight entertainment system, offers a selection of movies, television series and more, as well as an extensive audio catalogue. See this page for more information on what you can watch on board. ANA noise-cancelling headphones are provided and are of good quality and comfort. 

Lounge access

Most Business Class tickets offer access to the airport lounges. We used the lounges in both London (Heathrow Airport) and Tokyo (Haneda Airport). At Haneda Airport, ANA has its own departure lounges and I used the ANA LOUNGE. It is a huge area with an elegant, business-like design. The lounge consists mostly of one large rectangular room, although there are partitions to divide the lounge into sections. Just inside the entrance, there is a row of communal tables with rows of chairs that looks like a Japanese counter service restaurant.

A buffet station and a bar counter serve the guests. There is a wide selection of light bites such as salad, rice balls and fried chicken bites, as well as more filling dishes such as chicken curry and rice.   We highly recommend trying the noodle bar and the à la carte menu with dishes made live by the chefs (You can order via the QR code on the tables). Here you can order traditional bowls of Japanese udon, ramen or soba noodles. Delicious! Please note that this lounge can be busy at peak times.