More food onboard
After a nice and highly needed rest I woke up again around 2 pm CET, about 2½ hours before scheduled landing in Munich.
As I got up and moved back to my original seat the FA noticed I was up again and arrived with a hot towel so I could freshen up.
She asked me if I got a nice rest and also if I was planning to eat something more before landing.
I told her that was indeed my intention, although I had not yet decided what to order.
She said that was not a problem, she just wanted to inform me that they were expecting some turbulence over central Europe so they wanted all passengers to have finished their meals around an hour before landing.
That was not a problem as I was starting to feel rather hungry, I asked the FA to come back in a few minutes, giving me some time to have a look through the menu first.
Still so much food left to try! I could easily have created another full 6-courses meal, with completely new dishes I really wanted to try. But that would probably have been a bit exaggerated...
I really wanted to try some Japanese food this time, so as the FA was back I ordered the petite Japanese course.
The course included a choice between creamy rice porridge and steamed rice as well as choice of four different condiments.
I went for the rice followed by Natto (nice soybeans) and tangy sansho peppers as condiments.
It took a bit of time for the crew to prepare the dish, in the meantime my table was once again prepared with a white table cloth and I received a glass of orange juice.
Eventually the FA was back and presented me the petite Japanese course on a rather nicely decorated tray.
I also got a bowl with miso soup and she offered to prepare some Japanese green tea for me.
The whole meal was excellent, very filling, although the peppers were perhaps a bit too strong for my taste.
The mackerel, the main dish of the set meal, was really nice although the piece I got was very large. It was almost too large to grab with the chopsticks without also using the hands or something else, so I am not sure if I should have done something differently.
As I was pretty much finished the FA was back at my seat to ask if everything was satisfactory, no reason to say otherwise.
I had a quick look in the menu again and continued the meal with some fresh fruits followed by a dessert. Having tried the tarte tatin during the main meal service I now went for the savarin with custard cream.
The fruit plate arrived in less than a minute. I think they had a plate ready in the galley, if not for me than they probably figured someone else in the cabin would order some fresh fruits.
The FA especially told me to try the Japanese melon on the plate which was supposed to be very good.
There was also a citrus fruit on the plate, a nectarine I believe. When I saw it on the plate I was seriously wondering how I should manage to eat it without using my hands or without making a mess of fruit juice all over the white table cloth.
But they had thought about this as well and had already cut the nectarine in slices, although you didn’t see it at first sight. Very easy to eat!
Finally the dessert arrived, the nice savarin, which was served with some kind of pineapple sauce. The custard cream, as written on the menu, was actually inside. Really yummy!
I also ordered a cup of black coffee, the Blue Mountains bean this time as well.
During this last meal service I watched a few episodes of Heroes on the personal screen, they had nearly the entire first season available through the inflight entertainment system.
By now most passengers had woken up and had ordered at least something to eat.
The lights in the cabin were turned on and the window shades were raised again to get some daylight.
Most of the FAs had also returned to assist with the last meal service and to make necessary arrangements before landing, such as removing bed clothes in first class for example.
On the photo above you can see the wonderful FA who mostly served me during the flight. During the main meal services she generally took care of the service in the right aisle (where I was sitting) whereas her colleague served in the left aisle.
She was the FA who meticulously followed everything in the protocol, stopping a meter from my seat to bow every time during the 12 hour flight she approached my seat, and never failing to address me properly.
She had full control of everything going on, spoke perfect English (even able to discuss the exact ingredients of the food in English without a problem) and never forgot an order or a request.
She was a brilliant example of Japanese hospitality and why I think ANA First is one of the finest inflight products available.
As I had finished my dessert I asked for another cup of well-needed black coffee and then my table was cleared.
Preparations for landing
Soon the flight was coming to an end. Although I had a lovely time onboard a day-time flight above 12 hours eventually gets rather tiring and it was nice to know we would soon be on the ground again.
The next time the FA passed my seat I asked if it would be possible to change back to my regular clothes.
The question was answered with the standard “certainly, Mr jacob_m” and she told me she would prepare the lavatory and let me know when it was ready.
A few moments later she was back at my seat and asked me to follow her to the larger lavatory (with quite a bit more space) where my clothes were already hanging.
I tried to freshen up a bit and was actually feeling in a reasonably good shape when I got out.
Not sure if the pyjamas are supposed to be returned to the crew before landing, but nobody asked for them and they eventually ended up in my bag, together with the woollen sweater, as souvenirs from the flight.
Well they were pretty comfortable anyway.
As we started our descent towards Munich each and every member of the crew passed the seat to say good bye and thank us for flying with ANA.
The incredibly polite FA who had mostly served me and my aisle even went down on her knees to bow when she passed to say thank you and good bye to me and the Japanese couple in front.
The politeness and the respect towards the customers were really extreme.
I spoke a bit longer with one of the other FAs who I had spoken to earlier during the flight.
She asked about my nationality and apparently thought I was American, so that’s the second incorrect guess of my origin onboard (during boarding they thought I was German).
I had told her earlier I had been to Thailand to visit a friend, not particularly hard to notice considering my very visible tan, and eventually she could not stop herself from asking if there really aren’t any direct flights between Thailand and Scandinavia, if it’s really necessary to fly via Japan each time. Haha!
Well I told her the flight on ANA was actually one reason for the detour, as well as Japan being one of my favourite countries in the world.
I asked her how long they were going to stay in Europe and apparently they were only staying two days.
She said she was not really looking forward to it as one of the days was a Sunday when lots of shops and sights are closed in Europe. Fair enough!
Arrival in Munich
We started our approach around 4 pm local time.
The weather outside was actually very nice and there was absolutely no turbulence, as had been announced by the crew earlier.
The crew worked very hard until the very end securing the cabin for landing, clearing glasses and other items, and collecting headphones as well as used bed clothes and blankets.
We finally landed at 4.28 pm on runway 08L on Munich Franz Joseph Strauss international airport. 15 minutes ahead of timetable.
The weather was quite nice, just below freezing point, and the sun was just about to set.
Some really nice views were provided through the window during the final minutes of the flight.
A landing announcement was made, just like the previous times in three languages: English, Japanese and German.
As we were safely parked at the gate at terminal 2 two FAs immediately rushed inside the cabin to close the curtains between first and business class. The forward door 1L was only to be used by first class passengers.
I ended up waiting in the galley and had a last quick chat with the FA who had mostly been serving me and gave her my full compliments for a wonderful flight.
She seemed very happy hearing that!
I was the very first passenger to get off the aircraft. A bit sad to realise the experience was over, a flight I had been waiting for a very long time, but it was also a relief to be on the ground again after having spent over 13 hours in total on the aircraft (including boarding, taxiing etc).
Well hopefully this was not the last time I boarded a flight in ANA First...
Verdict
As you have probably already realised this was a fabulous experience, from start to finish.
I had very high expectations when I boarded the aircraft, very much based on my previous experience flying ANA First, but I was not to be disappointed, in fact this was an even better experience than last time.
I honestly think ANA has the best food and inflight service that can be had for money in the sky.
Having tried about ten different airlines in first class and about 15 different first class products I will still rank ANA at the very top.
I am not going to say that every part of the experience was flawless and top of the line. For example the lounge in Narita was rather underwhelming compared to the Lufthansa first class facilities in FRA and MUC, and the seat was way below airlines like Jet Airways and Singapore Airlines (on the B77W, and probably the A380 suite as well).
But at the end what really makes or breaks a flight is the service, and that’s where ANA really excelled.
The service was absolutely flawless, but best of all, it was genuine, with lots of pride in actually doing every part of it right.
I still get a smile on my lips when thinking about the FA who dropped the hot towel due to the aircraft shaking, and got so embarrassed that she had to apologise before rushing back to the galley to get a new hot towel and start all over again.
It may sound a bit stupid, I mean it didn’t fall to the floor, just onto the tray she was carrying. How many other airlines would even bother about such a thing?
But it was really moving to see them taking it so seriously, because that’s what they did, that’s the pride they took in doing their job to the very best of their ability.
She really wanted to show me she could present a hot towel in a nice manner, so she started all over.
The food and drinks onboard were also amazing, some of the best inflight meals I have ever had, with an impeccable presentation.
And easily the most extensive menu available on any airline. I can’t think of any other airline with such a long menu allowing passengers to mix and match dishes and order anything at any point during a 12-hour flight, and really living up to it without the slightest comment.
To anyone who has not tried ANA First yet I can warmly recommend it, because I for sure will do my outmost to get onboard some other time again in the future....
Well done ANA! :-: :-: :-: :-: :-: