Is ANA's boarding process at Narita like JAL's -- where they have one giant pre-board for all F, J, and elite pax at the same time, and then general boarding? JAL's gates at Narita are a total mess too. It's weird, because at airports outside of Japan, the boarding process is split into more steps -- first F and top tier elites, then J and other elites, and then general boarding. Unfortunately there are subtle differences by station (some airports board families with children first and then premium & elite pax, while others like HNL board J first, then families with children, then elites), and for some reason JAL seems unable to have a consistent process across its system. It creates a lot of confusion, and many people board out of turn, not because they're trying to jump the line but because the process is different everywhere and totally confusing.

On a totally different subject, I just had another unpleasant discovery about ANA today when I found out that the airline doesn't provide child seats for children under 2 whose parents buy a seat for them. My wife and I are planning a trip to Okinawa this summer and want to take our 15-month-old son with us in a separate seat (not as a lap child). We've flown JAL with him many times and they always provide a child seat. We assumed ANA, being a direct competitor, would do the same. Oh well, guess we'll take JAL instead...