Hello fellow NW flyers,

I am planning a trip to MNL this fall. I can see a direct flight DTW-MNL (or MSP-MNL) with a stop in NGO (1.5 hours). I have never been to NGO before.

Will I be able to deplane and have a walk in the airport? As a side note, my wife would like me to bring her a bottle of a plum wine (Ume). I know where to buy it in NRT, how about NGO? Are there any shops there?

Thanks!

NGO is a fairly small airport when compared to NRT. I believe there's a domestic side and an international side. Since I've only been on the international side, I could only see the domestic side thru transparent glass walls. The two are separated by a glass partition. There are just a couple of stores selling food, food gifts, and alcohol/cigarettes. And there are several high end boutiques from Cartier to Hermes.

You will be required to deplane and clear security. The new NGO airport, has better shops than the old, but I would say between 10-12 shops. If flying MSP-MNL you will go through NRT.

Dear Miro,

Welcome to NGO. The new airport is much nicer than the old one, and while not as big as NRT, I like it much better. There is a nice open airy feeling to the terminal and because it is quite small all the shops are located together.

You will have no problem finding plum wine at the shops as duty free alcohol is a very big seller at the airport. You can also stop in for a nice bowl of noodles or other Japanese dishes while you are waiting.

Also for the NGO-MNL leg, the flight should open up a bit so your last few hours should give you a bit more space to spread out.

Enjoy the trip and feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions about NGO, as I pretty much live there recently.

NGO-NWA

The new Nagoya Airport is indeed nicer than the old NGO, so most people will appreciate it much better.

Since we're all talking about NGO, I had a strange experience with the club access in Nagoya. I am a Platinum elite member and also a Worldclub member. In Nagoya, there are three facilities where you can gain lounge access. Two are operated by Japan Airlines, Sakura Lounge and Sakura Lounge Annex. The other is operated by the SkyTeam member Korean Airlines.

There seems to be strange rules related to club access in Nagoya. When traveling on the non-stop DTW flight, worldclub members and probably also first class passegers seem to have access to the Sakura Lounge. For SkyTeam Elite Plus members and passengers on flights to Manila or Tokyo on board flight NW 77/78, they seem to have no access to this lounge (see KAL lounge for more info). This spacious lounges seem to be the superior facilities with massage room, business facilities, with typical complimentary beverage and snack offerings. It also has a smoking room for smoking passengers. There was also a smaller, self service Bar room isolated from the rest of the lounge for more intimate experience. Restroom is also located within the lounge but did not seem to have facility for showering.
The only problem I found was that there is no access to phone anywhere within the facility. There are three private phone booths but no phone as most travelers nowadays travel with cell phones. Uniquely different, was the availability of a "powder room" for those who need to "pretty up" themselves. There didn't seem to be any access for the internet but perhaps wifi might have been available but transparent to a non-user like myself. Conference room was also available but was closed when I visited. Map and photos are available here. (in Japanese)
http://www.jal.co.jp/inter/lounge/japan/ngo/sakura.html

When traveling on the flight to Tokyo on NW flight 78, and probably for NW flight 77 to Manila, Worldclub members and first class passengers only have access to the smaller, Korean Airline Lounge. This is also the facility for SkyTeam Plus members. Korean Airlines' facilities is about 1/3 the size of Sakura Lounge and has the basic amenities. Beverage and snacks offerings I felt were comparable, but wasn't stocked very much. This facility had a free internet access on the desktop computer available there. There are also workstation available for those who need to attend to quick business needs. There is a small bathroom also available within the room.

On one occasion though, I was traveling first class on Continental non-stop to Honolulu and had a possession of a Worldclub card. Sakura Lounge receptionist however, was reluctant to give me access to the facility. She didn't quite know what to do as I was not given an admission ticket for entrance to the lounge. I think I was given a "dumb american" treatment and was forgiven to use the facility since we weren't communicating. I don't think I really had the right to use the facilities. Despite what NW says about worldclub access in NGO, it didn't seem to fly unless you were flying to DTW.

If you experienced something different, or maybe NGO-NWA can clarify and correct me with above information which was based on my experience.
Jiburi

See also Nagoya WorldClub
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=70910