All Nippon Airways

LOVE ANA.
Just made another reservation on ANA. The service/​call center is amazing. So polite, so helpful, formal but with a nice sincerity about it. This applies to both the Japanese staff and American staff I have talked to at ANA.
Looking forward to the flights.

Is it possible to not feel a landing? Or turbulence on a 14 hour flight? What the heck!
Okay, okay. So, the no turbulence was probably a fluke. However, I’d say that flying ANA was really smooth. I wish I could fly ANA normally, though an ANA domestic flight on one of those cute painted-​up planes was another matter… the poor thing seemed like it was about to burst apart, and the flight was really, really cold (granted they offered blankets, but it was before everyone was seated). Okay flight though.
But enough on tiny domestic flights because the international ones are where it’s at. Frankly, I’ve never enjoyed domestic flights unless they’re in the states. The service here is top notch. We were aboard a returning flight from Chicago to Narita where the crew primarily spoke Japanese but don’t worry if you don’t know a lot.
We actually ended up on the ANA flight through United since they didn’t have a plane going to Narita at the time. So after our single United flight, it was ANA the rest of the way. I’m actually really glad for this, since I wasn’t too much a fan of United by the time I boarded one of their planes.
My favorite part about the flight was the foot rests in economy. We usually fly economy and most of the time it’s a painful 14 hours, but the ANA flight was very comfortable. The plane was clean, attendants were top notch, and everything ran very smoothly. I love that they serve black tea with a lemon slice and sugar spoon after meals. On the matter of meal count, there aren’t as many meals and snacks as on a Delta flight but that’s okay. They have more food options on their menu. We had ordered the vegetarian meals, and they weren’t too bad, I suppose. I stayed asleep for most of the flight so, if they had snacks offered during it then I wasn’t awake to receive it, but I know they were rice crackers. Huzzah! Crackers!
In a nutshell, it was an outstanding flight.
On the other end, ANA didn’t allow us to pick our seating online, but if you ask at the desk before the flight they can situate you… but just hope you’re lucky and get the seating you want. The whole arrangement was odd, but we lucked out and got the right seats. ANA service at Narita was also super friendly and very helpful. They’ll make sure you’re set.

I save the 5 stars for Asiana, and Singapore, but this is a truly excellent airline! The politeness, professionalism, and quality of product are outstanding with ANA.
And this part will be specifically for the «Premium Economy» — basically, it’s not Business Class, but it’s not Economy ! Definitely more comfortable — I slept very well and the legroom is great. But the food lacks for sure — it’s not up to par with the premium classes. But, for a very reasonable fare (sub $ 4K), you can get a nice seat. Ok it’s pathetic that ALL of economy is not like this, but that’s the game that’s currently being served in this business.
Really, they deserve our business (over the US carriers). They try, they care, and they deliver, so we should «punish» the US carriers until they feel the pinch enough to be motivated to improve. It’s the only ‘voice’ we have. See you on ANA !

My only regret, is not having taken them on every leg of my trip to Japan. If there ever was a dichotomy in airline service… ANA is at the far end of the «FANTASTIC» scale, and all other American-​owned airlines reside on the opposite end. We flew United from Chicago to LA, then LA to Tokyo, and on the LA-​Chicago return. See my United review for more details. This review focuses on the ANA flights I took from Tokyo-​Narita to Fukuoka, from Fukuoka to Tokyo-​Haneda, and from Tokyo-​Narita to Los Angeles. The only issue I had wasn’t ANA’s or United’s fault… it was mine. I changed our itinerary and took an earlier flight back to Haneda. The decision was costly…$ 250 per person! Lesson: If you buy a discounted ticket, stick with the itinerary… changes are very expensive!
Okay, let’s start with the flight attendants. Besides the fact that they are «easy on the eyes», they are ALWAYS smiling. I swear, if the plane was on fire, they’d be at the emergency exit with a pleasant smile on their face guiding passengers down the emergency slide. Always smiling. They were constantly up and down the aisles on our intra-​Japan flights offering blankets, pillows, drinks, and smiles. Very friendly, very professional, and very polite. They start and end the obligatory emergency announcements with a bow.
The aircraft are clean… super clean, with extremely well-​maintained interiors. Not a single stain to be found on the carpet or on the seats… the planes we flew on looked brand new! We flew on a 737 from Narita to Fukuoka, and 777’s back to Haneda and across the Pacific back to Los Angeles. The 777 – 300 trans-​Pacific flight was equipped with the NICEST seatback entertainment system I’ve ever seen. A USB connection to keep iPods charged, a good sized TV screen with a great quality picture. A route map, accurately showing your location and distance to your destination. More than a dozen movies to select from. EVERY plane should be outfitted with this system. And I was in ECONOMY class… business class and first class presumably had more entertainment options.
The food on our Tokyo-​LA leg was incredible. Yes, airlines CAN serve delicious food. ANA self-​caters and does a helluva great job. I ate Kalbi beef, rice, vegetables, miso soup, and Haagen Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream for dessert. I was so full from that meal, that I skipped the breakfast offering… an omellete with bacon. It looked good, but I couldn’t eat anymore.
We had an extremely tight connecting flight back to Chicago, but that wasn’t a problem. ANA gave my wife and I «express» cards that enabled us to go through a shorter line at immigration and customs at LAX and we made our connecting flight back to Chicago with 10 minutes to spare. It would have been with more time to spare, but for the incompetent and inefficient security line at United’s Terminal 7 at LAX.
I don’t know how ANA does it. The service, the aircraft, the journey… the whole product is just vastly superior to U.S.-based airlines. And they are profitable too, making more than $ 400 million over three quarters last year. Next time I fly to Japan, I’ll fly All Nippon Airways all the way!

This was the first time I used All Nippon Airways. Chicago to Narita, then Narita to Manila was the flight I booked with ANA. The world class service started when we checked in, and the lady behind the counter moved our seat to the «Exit» row so I can stretch my legs for the long 14 hr flight.
Each seat had its own monitor, needless to say I was happy about that. The food was pretty good for airline food. They give you a warm towel before every meal… they gave us 2 main meals and 3 snacks for that flight.
The flight attendants were on their A game. They were polite, courteous, and very helpful. The in flight entertainment was great, I watched Money Ball, and some Animé, and then I knocked out cold for a few hours.
The connecting flight from Narita to Manila, was just a continuation of the great service. They gave us a late meal even when it was just a 4 hour flight. I promise to fly this Airline the next time I travel to Asia. What a great experience!!!

Yayyyyyy! Kompai!
If you are looking for great airfares to Asia, there’s a little known secret (well maybe not now) that All Nippon Airlines has great economy fares with 5 star service — and not just to Japan! Go to their website, they update fares constantly, and check for the lowest of 3 economy choices. When you buy directly from them you bipass the middle man making purchases and changes cheaper/​easier.
Airline is clean, timely, super nice attendants! Nice food and drinks! Imagine, sushi over the pacific! Very professional! If only they were with my main frequent flyer… that’s probably it’s only fault.
Of late they have also changed some planes to give economy class a business class experience (bigger seats and leg room) called econo-​plus. They do their part to be green by encouraging passengers to use the bathroom before boarding, you be shocked how much plane doody costs the environment!