mad_atta

I'm on NH880 SYD-HND this coming Friday, in business, on a LifeMiles award ticket.

I've just had a notification from ANA that our aircraft has changed, and sure enough it's gone from the 787-9 with the 246 seat config and proper long-haul product to the 787-8 with the 240 seat regional config including the dreaded business cradle instead of the staggered flatbeds.

For a flight where my main objective is to maximise sleep, I am of course pretty unhappy about this. Is this something that happens from time to time on this route (this will be the 4th time I've flown it with NH, and this has never happened to me before) and if so, how does NH generally handle it? Can I expect any compensation? Or is it likely that it will just switch back again and I should just calm down?

CPH-Flyer

Generally, no compensation is likely to be offered from ANA. You will still get the full business class soft product, and a business class hard product of kinds. I would also be rather unhappy with the cradle seats for that long a flight though.

I doubt it will switch back again, ANA is not quite as random with their plane types as TG or QR. So if it is now changed to the regional 787-8, that will in all likelihood stick.

mad_atta

I figured that was probably the case, ugh. Though I'm honestly shocked that they would substitute in their significantly inferior regional business product on a ~10hr overnight flight. There are various airlines who that kind of behaviour wouldn't surprise me from, but ANA isn't one of them.

CPH-Flyer

I am actually rather surprised it is being sent to Sydney. It used to be Vancouver and Seattle that suffered, while not great either they are relatively short TPAC flights.

Stratoliner777

That's very disappointing. I wonder if this is a one-off or only for a limited period. Regional J on a 10-hour flight is not acceptable IMO. Somewhat relatedly, this trip report in ANA J from SGN to NRT (6 hour flight), in February 2022, experienced what appears to be a one-off sub from regional 787-8 to long-haul 787-9 (the opposite scenario):


I suppose if the flight time is not changed, then ANA does not allow you to swap flights? Last year, I had my flight departure time on HND-LAX changed (maybe 20 minutes difference?) and the ANA website gave me the option to switch to any HND-LAX flight that day at no extra charge. Consequently, I made sure to choose the flight with the best J product (was originally booked in the standard J seat, then switched to a flight with the Room).

mad_atta

Perhaps surprisingly, Tokyo to Sydney is almost exactly the same distance as those two routes - it's only 34 miles longer than Tokyo - Vancouver: A map from the Great Circle Mapper - Great Circle Mapper

I'm pretty sure this is is just a one-off, for operational reasons. There is in fact a second SYD-HND flight that day, departing at midday instead of 9am, and on a 789 which is tantalisingly wide open in business class, however work commitments preclude me from being able to take that flight (which would also mean having to pay for a night's accommodation in Tokyo). It's a shame they couldn't switch the 788 onto that non-overnight flight.

Anyway, I've emailed ANA asking for compensation. My expectations are not high, but let's see what happens.

CPH-Flyer

I guess there is less tailwind to benefit at least the one direction. Even LA is often below 10 hours flying time.

But I would also except Sydney to see more premium traffic than Vancouver, and to some degree than Seattle as well.

steveholt

What compensation are you hoping to receive? What alternative would be acceptable to you?

Stratoliner777

Another case from a while back, the subject of an ombudsman column in Condé Nast Traveler, involved a couple that flew Air France business class and suffered a malfunction where the seats would not recline. They wanted a refund, but the airline refused saying that their ticket did not just pay for the recline function, but for the service and other amenities. I don’t recall the exact remedy, but I think the ombudsman agreed that a full refund was not justified, but there might have been some more moderate form of compensation.

kodalip

I am on NH880 end of Jun and returning beginning of July and my reservation is still showing the 789

BernardBlack

On NH's app, if I search for flights tomorrow, the NH880 shows as a 788, but links to a seat map with the proper staggered flatbed seats. For some reason ExpertFlyer is blocking access to all seat maps for NH that I try (for that flight, or others).

Could you advise after the flight whether you really got cradles, or just a 788 with the same flatbed business product?

mad_atta

That's a great question - honestly I don't know. I'm not a member of NH Mileage Club so ANA miles aren't really an option. A chunk of cash would be nice, obviously! But even an inflight duty free credit would be something - and likely much easier to administer than actual cash.

Any of those (other than significant cash compensation, which I think we can probably all agree the chances of happening are near-zero) are really just token gestures, but I think most of all I would like some acknowledgement that it's a substantially different and inferior onboard product, not just the minor inconvenience of a slightly different style or a changed seating assignment.

Interesting. I googled that case and found it online here. Looks like AF first offered some Flying Blue miles, then when pressured they offered EUR300 vouchers each.

Interesting! I think NH always blocks their seatmaps to EF within about 48hrs of flight time, so not surprising that it's not accessible on there, but what I do find more interesting is that seat selection is greyed out on 'Manage my booking' on the NH site. And if I go to make a dummy business class booking for that flight, the NH site says seatmap not available (and for what it's worth, it has the flight listed as a 789, but that may not draw from live data - the Manage my booking screen shows it as a 788). My seat assignment has stayed the same, but I'm in a seat which works on either seatmap.

So who knows. Fingers crossed for a 788 with the flatbed product!

CPH-Flyer

If I try to make a booking at the Japan region website, it shows a 787-8 for NH880 on Friday, and links to a regional config seat map. So not looking good.

mad_atta

Online check-in also showed the regional config 788 so it's not looking good. I guess when NH889 leaves Haneda tomorrow morning we'll know for sure, but I'm not holding out much hope.

No word from ANA yet either.

mad_atta

...and it's confirmed: JA808A will be operating tonight's flight. It's a C42/Y198 config.
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/ja808a
https://www.airfleets.net/ficheapp/plane-b787-34490.htm

Oh well, I'm sure if I medicate myself properly I'll still get a decent enough sleep.

Still no word from ANA...