briantoronto

I know it was not consistant for me. On a trip in January, one way (afternoon arrival-midnight departure) they asked. On my return (early afternoon departure, morning arrival from downtown) they did not offer in the lounge. The person who checked me in asked, but did not convey that to anyone.

-Brian

Rejuvenated

Excellent report! Thanks for sharing. ^

jacob_m

Hi Blackcloud,

No I was not asked about it at any point during my lounge visit (or at check-in/during the escort) if I wanted a treatment.

I was aware of the spa but ended up spending my time on other things.
Possibly it would have been different if they had indeed asked.

(And by writing this I have just posted my 3000th post in Flyertalk, yay! And in my own trip report... )

jacob_m

This was another flight I was very much looking forward to, to try out the fabulous Jet Airways suite on the Boeing 777-300ER.

Thai Airways has three Boeing 777-300ER aircrafts leased from Jet Airways and these are operated on only two routes: Bangkok-Tokyo and Bangkok-Paris.
I was really happy when I managed to find award availability in First, on one of these two routes, and on a day that actually fitted really well with the rest of the planning.

Boarding

The fight to Tokyo was to depart from gate C10, at the very end of the long C-concourse, so quite a walk from the central transit area.

At the gate passengers were directed either to the right or to the left of the gate podium depending on class of travel.
Business/first (and Star Gold I believe) were directed to the right, the area closest to the passenger bridge, whereas economy class passengers were directed to the left.
I guess it speeded up the boarding process a bit.

Boarding started at 7.45 am, 25 minutes before departure, with priority boarding for first/business and Star Gold, which happened pretty much automatically as we were the ones sitting closest to the door.



I was one of the first passengers to get onboard and was warmly greeted at door 1L and directed to my seat. As usual I had pre-booked my favourite seat 02K, for the third time during this trip.

Another benefit of boarding early is that you get a very good chance to take some photos of the cabin without disturbing the other passengers and the crew too much.



The cabin itself gave a really excellent first impression.
It felt very fresh and modern, private and luxurious, but without exaggerating it.
The closest I have come across so far is the Emirates first class suite. As for the design the Emirates and Jet Airways suites are rather similar, but the Emirates suite is much more extravagant whereas the Jet Airways suite is more minimalistic.

There is no overhead storage in First, so all hand luggage has to be stored under the ottoman in front of the seat.



As I had settled in my seat one of the FAs arrived at my seat, welcomed me onboard, addressed me by name and asked me if I wanted something to drink before departure.
By now you probably know the answer. I started already 6.50 am in the lounge with my first glass of bubbles, so why not continue in the same manner...

In a minute a glass of Dom Pérignon 2002 was delivered to my suite together with a hot towel.

I also asked the FA if she could take my jacket, I was actually slightly annoyed nobody had offered to do it so far, something that could definitely be expected in first class.
Well it turned out the reason was that I had a private closet in the suite, so there was no reason for them to take it.
Wow!! So cool!! I have never experienced anywhere quite like that before.

International newspapers and magazines were also offered in the cabin and the crew distributed slippers and an amenity kit to each passenger.

The amenity kit was the same as offered on the outbound flight, a rather nice purple Rimowa bag.
The amenity kit included the standard stuff but also some toiletries from La Maxima in Paris including a small bottle of eau de cologne.
Not quite the brilliant amenity kit I got in Emirates first class (leather bag and Bvlgari toiletries), but still one of the better ones I have got over the years.
And the Rimowa bag itself was pretty fun!



A few minutes later the purser arrived at my seat to greet me and welcome me onboard.
This was a nice guy who himself made this a great flight. A really funny and talkative man who really genuinely cared about his passengers.
He asked me about my nationality, my reason for visiting Thailand and we also talked about the aircraft and the cabin.
Quite interesting to hear his comments and reflections!

Some of the staff onboard were just as new to the cabin as me. One of the female FAs in first class had her very first flight on the Jet Airways aircraft and really had to struggle to find everything and figure out how everything worked.
In many aspects it is a rather advanced cabin.



Before departure the safety demonstration video was shown as usual.
Strangely they showed exactly the same video as is shown on all other Thai Airways flights, the problem was that the seats shown in the video were simply not available onboard.
Showing where you would find the lifejacket on a standard Thai B777 or A330 was of very little use on this flight where business class had a herringbone seat configuration and first class had the suites.
But probably it was too expensive to produce a new video for just three aircrafts.



There were eight seats in first class on the Boeing 77W, five were occupied on this flight.

Bangkok-Tokyo/Narita, flight TG 676 operated by Thai Airways
Departure: 08:10
Arrival: 16:00
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Class: First Class
Seat: 02K



Pushback almost right on time at 8.15 am.

The captain also welcomed us onboard and announced an expected flight time of just over 5 hours, quite a bit shorter than the 7 hours on the Tokyo-Bangkok leg.



We finally took off at 8.30 am from runway 01L.
The weather this morning was very nice and the initial climb provided a very nice view of the Bangkok area.



Post-departure drink

After the seatbelt sign had been switched off the curtains between business and first were closed and more drinks were offered in the cabin.
Naturally another glass of Dom for me!



The menu

Next the menu was handed out, placed in an exotic folder. The folder also included the drink list.

On the flight to Tokyo breakfast would be served just after take-off, the main meal for the flight.
An hour before landing in Tokyo a second smaller meal would be served.



Here is the menu for the flight to Tokyo:

The meal service

Hot towels were offered and a white table cloth was laid on the table.
The table in the first class suite is really huge and as the ottoman can be used as a visitor’s seat two people can easily dine at the table, and it won’t feel cramped.



A cold breakfast was served first with some fresh fruits and yoghurt.
Preserves were also offered followed by bread rolls, toasts and croissants from a nice bread basket.

Coffee, tea and fruit juices were offered by the FA.



There were three choices of hot breakfast, basically a western option, a Thai option and a Japanese option.
To try something different I decided to try the Japanese option with cod and rice rolls. It was very nice!

More coffee and champagne were offered as well as Japanese green tea.

As I was nearly finished the friendly purser passed my seat to check if everything was OK.
I told him I had chosen the Japanese cod and thought it was quite nice, a refreshing change from the standard western egg and bacon.
His response to this was that his eggs would actually have been different, and he even offered to prepare a second main course for me, if I wanted to try something else.
A nice offer, but I was actually started to feel rather full.

My table was eventually cleared and I tried to fold away the table, but did not manage.
I asked the FA to help me, but she did not manage it either.
At the end we had to ask a third person for assistance, it was actually really tricky.

The seat

The Jet Airways suite is easily one of the best aircrafts seats I have ever tried.
It is comfortable, spacious and private, it has plenty of facilities and storage, and it has a great attractive minimalistic elegance.

There are eight suites on the Boeing 777, two rows with a 1-2-1 configuration.



The Jet Airways suite is also the only seat/suite I have tried so far with a private closet in the suite (and those of you who have read my previous trip reports will know I have tried a fair few different seats by now).
The closet had three hangers and space for 2-3 items. It also had a built-in lamp.



For the ultimate privacy the Jet Airways suite also has sliding doors that can be closed if you want to get some sleep/rest without being disturbed.
The doors are not extremely high, as a regular adult if you stand up close to the door you can see what is going on on the other side.
However if you lay or sit down the doors provide an extremely private feeling.



The seat itself was very comfortable and can be reclined to a fully flat bed, 83” in length, supposedly the longest bed in the sky (or so I have read).



The seat control

The seat and all the lights in the suite are controlled from a suite remote control placed on the seat panel. It can also be detached from the panel.
Interestingly when turning it on the first thing you will see is the Jet Airways logo, they have not removed all traces of the original aircraft owner.



The remote control worked pretty well and offered a rather advanced range of seat adjustments as well as seat massage.
The only thing it could not do was to open and close the sliding doors in the suite, that had to be done manually...

jacob_m

The inflight entertainment

The inflight entertainment was the standard Thai Airways AVOD system which was enjoyed on a very nice 23” monitor with a gold frame in front of the seat.
The resolution was pretty good and the sound quality was excellent using the very good noise-cancelling headphones provided onboard



I watched a few episodes of Simpsons and Big Bang Theory as well as an episode of Ty’s Great British Adventure before landing.

Just like on the outbound flight I thought the IFE was slightly slow at times.



Getting some rest onboard

After the breakfast service and watching some TV-episode I thought it was time to get some rest.
Even though it was a daytime flight (daytime in both Thailand and Japan) I knew I needed the extra rest as I had more travels and flights coming up (and actually I was rather tempted to try the seat reclined to a bed as well).

The FA got me a comfortable duvet and helped me close the doors to the suite. When the doors are not in use (as during taxi, takeoff and landing) they are locked so they can’t move by mistake.
When a passenger wants to shut the doors a crew member has to unlock the doors, just a simple safety measure.

I thought the bed was incredibly comfortable to sleep in and the whole cabin interior and the shut doors really created a relaxed, private and peaceful feeling.
I read the Jet Airways bed is supposed to be the longest bed available in the sky, which I can absolutely believe.
If I would travel on this aircraft again during a night flight I am sure I would sleep excellently onboard.

During the flight the window shades in the cabin were lowered and they also turned on the very nice mood lighting.

I turned on some music through the IFE and eventually found a meditation CD.
The purpose of the CD was to make you feel relaxed and get into some kind of sleeping mode, and in fact I got so relaxed after a few minutes of listening to the man speaking on the CD and the background music that I almost got scared. Haha!


The doors closed


Watching TV in what is supposedly the longest bed in the sky


Me having a nice rest


Mood lighting in the cabin


Suite 2K, that’s where I live! You can even turn on a “do not disturb” button.

As I woke up after nearly two hours of rest I decided to stretch my legs a bit and ventured towards the rear of the aircraft and ended up at the business class bar, located right between first class and business class.
Quite nice!



Second meal service

Around an hour before landing the second meal was served and the cabin/mood lighting was slowly turned on to create the effect of a sunrise.

A hot towel was offered as well as a soft drink (water, orange juice or Coca Cola).



There were two options for the second serving: Japanese udon noodles or sandwiches.

White table cloths were once again laid on the table.
A moment later the purser arrived at my seat with the Japanese noodles. He said he was so sure I would order it that he had already taken the liberty to prepare it for me. And he was very right! I also got both cutlery and chopsticks.
Actually a minute later he also passed my seat with the sandwich, the second option, which actually looked rather uninspiring.

I asked for a glass of white wine to drink with the meal and decided to try the Mersault 2008 (I tried the second white wine on the outbound flight).
Quite a nice wine and the noodles were pretty tasty as well.



Finally I asked for a cup of black coffee and a glass of Johnnie Walker Blue Label.
As my glass of whisky arrived we had already started our descent, however the purser told me to take my time to finish it.



Landing cards for Japan were also handed out during the descent.

Arrival in Tokyo

To get a proper rest and to make use of the excellent facilities in the suite (i.e. the closet) I had undressed a bit during the flight, so before landing I went back to the lavatory to get dressed again.

A video was shown on all monitors onboard about Narita airport and the procedures for both passengers finishing their journey in Tokyo and those connecting to other flights.
It is not a particularly difficult airport to use, but probably some passengers still found it useful.



The crew worked hard until the very end clearing the cabin and collecting glasses and plates. They barely made it to their seats before landing.

We touched down at 3.30 pm on runway 34R at Narita airport, a massive 30 minutes before scheduled arrival time.
On the other hand it took a very long time for the aircraft to taxi to the stand, nearly 20 minutes.

During the long taxi one of the FAs actually moved inside the first class cabin, had a seat in seat 02G next to me (a seat they had used as an extra storage for e.g. extra pillows, blankets etc) and started preparing the menu folders for the return flight.
They probably had a rather short turnaround in Tokyo and wanted to save some time.



At 3.50 pm we were finally safely parked at the gate and I was the very first passenger to get off the aircraft.

While waiting in the galley I noticed the passenger manifest hanging there.
It had been divided into two parts, one part for each aisle, which had been placed on the wall right next to the curtain for the appropriate aisle. This meant the FA could look at it just before going into the cabin, for example if they wanted to address passengers by name.
The manifest also contained relevant elite statuses and in my section it very clearly said SK *GOLD.

A rather long walk followed inside the terminal to get to immigration.
As there are quite a lot of arrivals around 3-4 pm I was worried there would be very long queues at passport control, and that was in fact absolutely correct, but in the area used by Japanese citizens.
The line for foreign passports on the other hand was completely empty, no wait whatsoever.

Baggage delivery started very quickly and my suitcase was the second bag to appear on the belt. Just the way it should!
After some quick questions at customs I was standing in the arrivals hall at 4.10 pm, just 20 minutes after getting off the aircraft.

Verdict

A really fabulous seat, easily one of the very best I have ever had the chance to try.
Very comfortable, spacious, luxurious and private! Also a big plus for the private closet in the suite, never seen that anywhere else.

The service onboard was also really nice, very much because of the very dedicated purser who was a great guy.
The food and drinks were also to my liking, although I would have preferred just a quick breakfast service and a proper lunch service instead.

eightblack

Jacob, you my friend should give a class on how to write the perfect trip report! Thank god! Finally, someone who knows how to "size" photo's correctly. And in such logical sequence.

That does it. I'm going to sell one of my children, or a body part, so that I can experience LH First. It's now at the top of my travel "bucket list".

Superb effort. Bravo.

jacob_m

That's very kind of you! Many thanks for that!

Oversized photos that are almost too large to fit the screen annoy me as well, and they take a lot of focus from from the written report.

In this report it is actually possible to enlarge all photos by clicking on them (all photos have been uploaded in two sizes).
A new larger photo will open in a new window.

This is the disadvantage of mobile cameras, anyone can easily take some photos during a trip report and quickly upload as a trip report.
A few years ago when digital cameras weren't as cheap and widely available as today most trip reports looked quite different as the authors really had to write the reports.

The remaining instalments will be up shortly...

jacob_m

I only had a short layover in Tokyo this time, continuing again the following day.

Although I could have made it to downtown Tokyo, to enjoy the evening and the night in the capital, it just felt like a waste of time with a one hour ride on the Narita Express in each direction.
Instead I decided to stay not too far from the airport.

There are several hotels in the vicinity of the airport, but there are also a fair few in Narita...the city of Narita.
Yes, Narita is in fact a city as well, a small but surprisingly charming typical Japanese city. Around 130,000 inhabitants I read. Well worth a visit!

The city is not more than a 10-20 minutes drive from the airport, or one station on the local train.
Still it is light years away from the buzzling international Narita airport, the most you will see of the airport environment is some airline crews staying in some of the local hotels.

An evening walk in Narita

The hotel operated a free shuttle bus between the airport and the hotel. Not the most frequent shuttle, departure roughly once an hour, but at least it was free and the driver was very friendly and helpful.

It was already getting dark as I arrived in Narita, but after lots of travels, food and drinks it was very refreshing with an evening walk to have a quick look around.


Very cosy street at night


The very famous Jet Lag Club, definitely a place for me to visit!


One of the local shops

Mercure Hotel Narita

I had booked a room at the Mercure hotel in Narita
The hotel was basic but still pretty good value for money with an excellent location next to the station. The hotel also had good facilities, very friendly and helpful staff, and of course a free shuttle bus to the airport...
I got absolutely everything I paid for and won’t hesitate to stay there again.

Another benefit was that I could earn points for the stay, through my A-Club account (which can be transferred to other frequent flyer programs).

The room itself was rather small, but on the other hand most hotel rooms are in Japan.

The hotel had several restaurants and also a hotel bar.
The hotel bar, located in a separate room, was rather dodgy and smoky but had plenty of atmosphere. Even a large number of locals ventured there.
A wonderful place where I ended up spending nearly three hours listening to the live music band (three people playing and singing both international and Japanese songs) while eating and drinking a huge Asahi beer.
A really nice evening!


The entrance to the Mercure hotel


A light meal and a large Asahi beer in the hotel bar...


...with some really nice live music.

A short sightseeing tour in Narita

The following morning I got up pretty early to have a short walk around the city in daylight before it was time to head back to the airport again.

It is indeed a very charming city, very Japanese and not particularly touristy, despite the number of people and crews who use the city hotels during airport transfers or short layovers.

The city also has an impressive temple, the Narita-san Shinho-ji.
A Buddhist temple funded in year 940, supposedly one of the largest temple areas in Japan.
Also well worth a visit, and it did attract a large number of visitors, especially locals.


Walking through the narrow streets towards the temple


The main entrance to the temple


All kinds of amulets are sold


Inside the temple area


The main entrance and the first set of stairs. So beautiful!


Some nice Japanese shops


And some very nice Japanese houses

jacob_m

I was absolutely thrilled when I managed to include a flight in All Nippon Airways (ANA) First Class.
12 hours and 35 minutes between Tokyo and Munich.

Ever since I tried ANA First four years ago I have considered it to be one of the finest first class experiences available. I have tried quite a few other airlines since, even in first, but I would still rank ANA First at the very top.

Perhaps not every part of the ANA first class experience will win an award, there are definitely better lounges, better seats and cabins, and better inflight entertainment systems available on other airlines.
But overall I was amazed when I got off the aircraft, amazed by the sky-high standard they try to maintain in every part of the inflight experience, and the wonderful and really genuine crew who made the flight nothing but a pure pleasure.

Now it was time to once again board a flight in ANA First, and I could not wait...

Check-in at Narita

I caught the 9 am shuttle bus from the Mercure hotel back to the airport.
In the hotel lobby I met a full British Airways crew who were going to fly back to London on a Boeing 747 two hours later, although they had their own shuttle to get to the airport.
Lots of cigarettes were consumed, 15 hours would have to pass before they would get their next ones...

The ride back to Narita airport was quick due to light traffic, we made it to the terminal in just about 10 minutes.
Before entering the airport premises there was a road check and all passengers in the minibus (i.e. me and a French man) had to show their passports to a very friendly officer.
Once again Japan demonstrates itself as a forefront example showing that it is actually possible to be nice, friendly and respectful, even if you have a serious and important job. Like a security officer at an international airport...



The South Wing of terminal 1 was rather crowded with lots of international departures to Europe, the US and other parts of Asia before noon.

The South Wing is almost entirely dedicated to Star Alliance and the check-in area is divided by class of travel rather than by airline.
The first class check-in area for all Star Alliance carriers is located in check-in islands A and B.



I was rather amazed to find as many as four dedicated ANA first class check-in desks open in the first class check-in area.
The risk of having to wait even 10 seconds when checking in for an ANA first class flight is virtually non-existent.

As I approached the check-in area I was met already at the entrance by a check-in agent who greeted me and asked me if I was flying ANA F or had an ANA Diamond card.
Confirming I was flying ANA F to Europe the same day she immediately asked me to follow her to an empty desk where we started the check-in process.

The whole check-in process was absolutely flawless. It was friendly, attentive, pro-active and thorough. Nothing whatsoever was left to chance!

We went through the whole itinerary, to what airport I wanted my luggage checked, seat assignments, frequent flyer cards and she even re-entered my passport details in the system to make sure everything was 100% correct.

Furthermore she noticed the handle on my suitcase was slightly loose, it’s been that for some time and it’s never been an issue.
However there she went pro-active again, she asked her colleague to get some adhesive tape to make sure it would not move or get damaged during the trip.
She also attached a fragile tag to my suitcase.

My suitcase was tagged with an ANA first class tag, basically a standard Star Alliance priority tag but in a larger size with a wine-red frame where it said ANA first class.
Very hard to miss!

I received boarding passes for both my upcoming flights as well as a map showing the location of all the lounges at Narita terminal 1.

A really great start of the flight! There was absolutely nothing they could have done better or differently! ^

Fast track security

I did some last shopping in the rather nice shopping mall located next to the massive South Wing departure hall before going airside.

ANA first class passengers and ANA Diamond members actually have access to a fast track lane to pass security.
The fast track lane is quite well hidden and is located in a completely different part of the terminal than the regular security control.
I for sure would not have noticed it if I had not known about it.

Anyway, with only ANA F and Diamond members allowed to use it the whole process was very fast.
The passport check took place on the lower floor and was just as quick with no line whatsoever.

jacob_m

Three first class lounges to choose between...

There are three first class lounges at Narita terminal 1: Two ANA first class lounges and a United Airlines first class lounge.

The lounge hopping last time pretty much failed...as I ended up spending my time on much more delicate things!
But now I had a second chance to make it to the UA F-lounge and the last ANA F-lounge.

United Airlines First Lounge, Tokyo/Narita



The United Airlines lounge is located next to the main tax-free area and was very easy to find.
The lounge is divided into a Red Carpet Club (business class lounge) on the lower floor and a first class lounge on the upper floor.

I presented my boarding pass at the reception desk on the lower floor.
No comment about me being in the wrong lounge, the friendly woman just stamped my boarding pass with a “United First Class lounge” and asked me to take the lift opposite the reception desk to get to the upper floor and the first class lounge.

Stepping out of the lift on the upper floor there was another reception desk.
The woman there immediately stepped out to greet me and to have a quick look at my boarding pass before she invited me to come inside.



The UA first class lounge was surprisingly large for a first class lounge.
There are indeed a fair number of UA flights out of Narita, and some other airlines also use the UA lounge, but given the size I can’t imagine the lounge ever being crowded.
On the other hand the business lounge on the lower floor seemed to get a lot of visitors.



There were only two passengers in the lounge when I arrived which made the lounge feel almost deserted. A middle-aged man working on his laptop next to the buffet area, and a slightly younger woman at the opposite end of the lounge reading a book.
Certainly no lack of personal space and certainly no problem taking some photos in the lounge.



The lounge was very clean and tidy but the interior wasn’t spectacular by any means, however they had tried to add some Japanese touches with some traditional wall paintings and lamps.
On the positive side the lounge had a wonderful view of some departure gates as well as the active runway 16R/34L with quite a lot of aircrafts taking off.



There was a self-service buffet area next to the entrance which was very tidy, but the offerings were meagre, to say the least.
On offer they had a small tray with mixed fruits, some pre-packaged croissants and pastries, some yoghurt and some sushi.

It was just before 10 am, I never bothered to have breakfast in the hotel as it wasn’t included in the rate, so I was counting on a relaxed breakfast in the lounge instead.
It would have been nice with something more substantial to eat, at least some proper sandwiches or something hot...

It was a bit disappointing!



The drinks selection was slightly better though with beer, wine, spirits, soft drinks, coffee and tea for self-service.

But best of all I found a bottle of chilled champagne in an ice bucket!
I can’t remember the brand, it wasn’t one of the common ones, but still quite tasty.



The selection of spirits was OK but contained nothing remarkable.



I made myself a light breakfast with some yoghurt, fresh fruits, pastries, a cup of coffee...and naturally also a glass of bubbly.
The view from my seat was really amazing and despite the underwhelming buffet in the lounge, sitting in a comfortable chair sipping champagne while watching the action on the apron and runway made it a rather pleasant visit.
There was also free WIFI internet available in the lounge.



As I left the first class lounge the lounge attendant at the reception desk immediately stood up to wish me good bye.
She must have been so bored sitting there with only three guests in the lounge.

I spent about 30 minutes in the lounge before heading back to the tax-free area to spend my remaining Yen on some Japanese sweets and souvenirs.

ANA Suite Lounge, Tokyo/Narita (50-gates)



The next stop was the ANA lounge located in the 50-gates pier. The lounge is located on the upper floor after climbing an escalator.

I was warmly greeted at the reception desk and after my boarding pass was scanned I was directed to the right, to the ANA Suite Lounge, as they call their first class lounge.
Business class and Star Gold passengers turned left at the reception desk for the business lounge.



I was warmly greeted inside the lounge by exactly every member of staff I met. They all bowed and greeted me with a warm “Irashimashite” (“Welcome” in Japanese).
Just amazing! You certainly felt very welcome!

The lounge itself looked quite similar to the other ANA F-lounge I visited earlier during this trip.
Same design, seats and roughly the same self-service buffet.



I had a seat by the window and was immediately approached by one of the lounge attendants who offered to take my jacket.
She also handed me a hot towel and asked me if I wanted anything to drink.

For whatever reason she also addressed me in Japanese and knowing a few words of the language myself I decided to give it a shot.
I successfully managed to order a cup of coffee, without milk and sugar, in Japanese, which was correctly delivered to my seat within a minute.

Really nice and friendly service!



The self-service buffet in the lounge was incredibly tidy and well-maintained.
Basically after every lounge guest had passed it one of the staff members rushed to clean it and clear any waste and used utensils.
It was absolutely spotless at every point during my visit.



The selection of food was significantly better than in the United Airlines lounge.
Perhaps not spectacular, and by no means in competition with the LH F-lounges in Frankfurt and Munich, or the TG F-lounge in Bangkok, but still rather nice.

There was a very nice selection of finger sandwiches and small glasses which contained some nicely decorated cold cuts (salmon for example) as well as some sushi, pastries and cookies.



As it was approaching lunch time there was also some hot food available in the self-service buffet, in shiny pots. Very nice!
However as I was expecting a massive lunch onboard the plane I decided to skip the hot food this time.



The drinks selection was OK but not incredible, however they did have some nice wines on offer, several to choose between, including some Japanese wines.
I also found a rather nice mixed fruit juice.



I got some nice snacks from the buffet and had a seat by the window to enjoy the view.
I also decided to try the white Japanese wine they had on offer, I believe it was from Sapporo. However I was not very impressed, it was a bit too watery.



The lounge had a really nice view overlooking the apron and right below the lounge a Boeing 777 from ANA was preparing for departure to Chicago/ORD.
It was actually really relaxing to just sit there, surfing the internet, eating some nice snacks while enjoying the nice and sunny view through the large panorama window.

The very friendly and attentive lounge attendants always kept an eye on the lounge to clear away empty plates and glasses and to offer refills of drinks.
And there were plenty of them, I think there were six or seven attendants just working inside the lounge, and then on top of that probably a few working in the kitchen.



Another interesting anecdote worth mentioning was when I had to visit the restroom in the lounge.
As I arrived there was actually a woman in the men’s room cleaning and as she saw me she apologised, immediately stopped cleaning and left the room.
She kept hiding in an adjacent room and did not return to continue until she was absolutely certain I was finished and had even seen me leaving.
A similar thing just wouldn’t happen in most airport lounges.

Verdict

The ANA lounge in the 50-pier is easily the best first class lounge at Narita terminal 1.
The lounge is spotless, has a nice view, rather decent food and drinks (for a Japanese lounge) and a wonderful staff really making you feel welcome and relaxed.

I was in a pretty good mood when I headed to gate 55, just in time for boarding to start...

SK525

Thanks Jacob_m, for sharing this great trip! Reading your reports makes me feel like I'm travelling myself - you describe all the right details. ^ And like someone said, the pictures are great. I completely like the way they are inline with the text, rather than separate links.

Looking forward to the remaining parts!

jacob_m

Boarding



Boarding to Munich took place at gate 55, right below the lounge.
Rather nicely one of the screens above the gate podium displayed some interesting facts about the flight, such as aircraft type, flight time and local time at the destination.

The gate area wasn’t overly crowded when I arrived about 40 minutes before departure so it looked like the load was going to be reasonably light in most classes.



There was a separate boarding line for first class, business class and Star Gold, very clearly marked by both the monitors and large roll-ups.
As we started forming a line the passports were checked by one of the gate agents.

Boarding started almost exactly 30 minutes before departure at 11.40 am, obviously with priority boarding for premium passengers.
I was one of the very first passengers to be processed for boarding.

A warm welcome onboard

First class passengers boarded the aircraft through door 1L whereas all other passengers boarded through door 2L, including business class passengers.
This was a bit unusual (from my experience on other airlines), but it meant no one had to pass through the first class cabin other than the crew and the other very few first class passengers.

I was warmly greeted at the door by as many as three lovely female flight attendants and escorted to my seat. 02K for me as usual, my favourite seat!
A benefit of sitting on the second row is that you get to see and follow everything going on in the cabin and you also get a good chance to get some good photos of the inflight service.

As we arrived at my seat my jacket was immediately taken, I stored my hand luggage in the overhead compartment (no storage at the seat during take-off and landing) and settled in my seat.



The aircraft used to Munich was a Boeing 777-300ER. Two rows with a 1-2-1 configuration.
Unfortunately I did not manage to try the new first class seat, the “ANA First Square”.
The only European routes it is used on are Tokyo-London and Tokyo-Frankfurt and it was really hard to find availability. I actually found one seat to London, but on a day that did not work well with the rest of the itinerary.

At the end not a big deal! Although the old ANA first class seat has been around for some time it is still a very comfortable seat with plenty of facilities.
It easily stands up to the competition, even in year 2011.



Upon arrival onboard there was already a sleeper suit available at the seat as well as a sweater and a blanket.
These were placed in the overhead compartment before departure.

Ear plugs and eye shades were also handed out, packed in a nice dark blue bag, but there was no proper amenity kit offered in first class.
Plenty of amenities and toiletries were available in the lavatories though.

As I settled down the leading FA arrived at my seat, addressed me by name, introduced herself and welcomed me onboard.
A very friendly woman who was to take care of a large part of the inflight service in first class.
She also asked me what I had done in Asia. Since I was badly tanned there was no way I had spent my entire time just in Japan (where it was nearly freezing).
I told her I had visited Thailand as well, which obviously made more sense.

A moment later one of the other FAs was back at my seat and offered me some newspapers.
Apparently she thought I was German and had gathered all the German newspapers and magazines she could find onboard, actually a really impressive selection!
Unfortunately I had to tell her that I am not German and would prefer some English papers instead.
She apologised and rushed back to the galley to prepare a new selection to show me.
The English selection was pretty good as well. I got the latest issue of Time and a copy of the FT.
I asked her if they had The Economist onboard as well, since I could not see it. She immediately offered to check and actually managed to find one onboard. Very nice!

Unfortunately there was no pre-departure drink on the ground, seems like a standard practice on Japanese airlines.

Tokyo/Narita-Munich, flight NH 207 operated by All Nippon Airways
Departure: 12:10
Arrival: 16:45
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Class: First Class
Seat: 02K

There are eight seats in first class and six ended up being occupied on this flight to Munich.
Seats 02D and 02G remained empty, obviously not a bad thing for me seated in 02K, when it comes to privacy and taking photos without disturbing the others too much.

The six passengers in first class consisted of a Japanese couple seated in 01G and 01K. They actually had their daughter onboard (maybe six years old) who was seated in business class with someone who I would guess was her nanny.
Two German middle-aged men were seated in 01A and 01D, arriving onboard in tie and suit, so probably visiting Japan on business.
Finally an older Japanese man was sitting in 02A, he made very little fuss during the fight, and then me in seat 02K.

As soon as all first class passengers had boarded the forward door 1L was closed and the remaining preparations were made using door 2L.
They really tried to keep the disturbance to the first class passengers to an absolute minimum.

I had a look back towards door 2L and the load in the forward business class cabin seemed quite light as well, less than 50%.
The Munich route is one of the newest routes in the ANA network and started as late as in the summer 2010, so perhaps it takes a bit of time to grow the customer base on the route.

Departure time

Boarding was completed very quickly, in just 20 minutes.
We actually pushed back at noon, 10 minutes before scheduled departure time.

Interestingly no safety demonstration video was shown, instead the safety demonstration was performed by the crew onboard showing seatbelts, oxygen masks and life vests.
I wonder why, I know ANA has a proper safety video.

The purser also welcomed us onboard and announced an expected flight time of 12 hours and 15 minutes with an expected landing time in Munich at 4.30 pm, slightly ahead of timetable.

All announcements onboard were made in Japanese, followed by a surprisingly good English, and finally in German, actually in a really good German.
Later during the flight I asked the leading FA who did the German announcements as the level of German was impressive with a perfect pronunciation. It turned out to be an FA based in London and the leading FA actually promised to forward my complement to the FA.

We finally took off at 12.15 am from runway 16R, unfortunately the nice view quickly turned into clouds.

It took a long time before the seatbelt sign had been switched off, nearly 20 minutes, so pretty much until we had reached the cruising altitude.

As the seatbelt sign was finally turned off the curtains between first and business class were closed and the inflight service started.

Some first words about the crew...

All passengers were offered hot towels delivered on a small black tray, the hot towels were offered to each passenger separately.
As it was my time to receive the hot towel the aircraft suddenly shook a little bit, just as the FA was approaching my seat. As a consequence the hot towel rolled over from the small black tray onto the larger tray she was carrying.
She got incredibly embarrassed, apologised like three times to me, and rushed back to the galley to make a new try. And she did, and the next time everything worked as it should.

I just kept smiling, amazed by how incredibly serious they took their jobs, even thinking seriously about small things such as delivering a hot towel in a correct manner.



Well when talking about the crew and their manners the FAs onboard really excelled in this.

There was mainly one female FA who served me during the flight.
Every time she approached my seat during the flight she stopped about one meter away, stood at attention, and gently bowed, before she finally went the last steps to my seat.
She did that during the entire flight, even if she was just coming to offer a refill or collect an empty plate. Every time! Just amazing! ^

It’s hard to describe the feeling, it just can’t really be put down in words properly, it has to be experienced!

The menu

Next the menu was handed out, placed in a beautiful dark blue folder.
It was without any doubt the nicest menu I received during this trip, one of the nicest menus I have ever received on any airline in any class.

I think you were supposed to return the folder to the crew at the end of the flight, but I actually kept it as a souvenir.



The folder included a short and rather beautifully written introduction to the inflight service and the influence of Japan.



The menu and drink list were most impressive, as I was expecting from my previous experience with ANA F.
I don’t think any other airline can come close to what is available onboard in ANA First, available for order at any point during the flight.

The drink list included as many as five choices of white wine and four choices of red wine.

The menu included a full Kaiseki 8-courses meal, or a 6-courses western meal with four choices of main course and four choices of dessert.
Then on top of that three different sake accompaniments, seven light dishes, a petite Japanese course and a petite international course.

Absolutely incredible! That’s a lot of food, easily comparable to a better restaurant on the ground, and everything could be mixed and matched and ordered at any time during the flight.

And the crew had not just been trained to heat some pre-made food from the catering company, but actually to prepare the food properly onboard, making it look appetising, and making some adjustments depending on the wishes of the passengers.

I have taken the time to type the menu for your enjoyment, and here it goes!

A first glass of champagne...

At the same time as the menu was handed out a first drink order was taken and as you probably expect I went for a glass of bubbles.

The FA also asked me about my choice of water, still or sparkling.



ANA serves Krug Grand Cuvée onboard in first class, a rather nice but slightly different champagne with a mix of pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay grapes.

They take a great pride in serving this champagne, having served it in ANA First ever since their first international flight in 1986.



I could hear the bottle being opened in the galley and a moment later the FA arrived at my seat, bowed as usual a meter from my seat, and then poured the champagne on a tray right in front of me.
I got to taste it properly while she held the bottle in front of me.

Such a nice champagne, and such a nice start of the meal service...

view

Excellent start to the beginning of the finish, this is the part I've been looking most forward to!

On a side note, slightly dissappointing whisky selection don't you think? Looking at their wines and Champagne and of course the fantastic Hennessy XO, which are all very good quality, it's rather odd not to offer good quality single malt.

jacob_m

The main meal service

A few minutes later the flight attendant was back and asked me if I was ready to order.
I said I was and she took my order up until the main course. I asked to wait with the dessert order, I had no idea how filling the food would be and how many courses I could manage.

A moment later the FA arrived with the amuse bouche, a beautiful plate with three small canapés and some crispy snacks.
The FA gave a brief description of what it was, unfortunately they are not mentioned in the menu so I can’t remember exactly what the canapés contained.
They were very tasty though! A nice complement to the Krug.



Next the table was prepared for the meal service with a white table cloth and nice cutlery that was placed on the table with absolute exactness.

I offered to help the FA to extract the table as she was carrying lots of things, but she seemed almost humiliated by me asking, or by me even thinking I could do something that was possibly part of her job.
The best thing in ANA F is to do...nothing.

The table setting was very elegant in my opinion with a nice white and blue china in the same colours as the ANA logo.
I was also really impressive by the large number of plates, glasses, trays, utensils and other items available onboard, used during the meal services. Well above restaurant standard!
I seriously wonder how they managed to store everything in the galley, on top of all the food and drinks that had been loaded... Incredible!

After finishing preparing my table the FA finally folded the napkin and elegantly placed it in my lap. Not even that was left for me to do...

I was offered some bread from a very extensive bread basket which included something like four or five types of bread.



As appetiser I had chosen the “Dégustation menu” which included two half-portion dishes.

My degustation menu included a medaillon of lobster and scallop with pistachio and vinegar sauce, and “Kouchi” prefecture pheasant, foie gras and truffles traditional galantine.

Absolutely exquisite and the appetisers were washed down with more Krug champagne.



Salad was next, a garden salad with a choice of dressing.
They had three choices of dressing onboard, one being strawberry dressing, which I don’t think I have ever tried before.

It was quite nice, I was afraid it would be too sweet, but it was just perfect and added a rather unusual flavour to the salad.
When I ordered it the FA said it would not be a problem to replace it by another dressing, in case I wouldn’t like it.

Together with the salad the FA also presented a bowl with crispy croutons, with a proper utensil to use.



There were four choices of main course, or actually three plus a dégustation menu with two half-portions of two different dishes.
They were all rather nice, I had a hard time making up my mind, but eventually I chose the wagyu beef with potato croquettes.

I was really impressed when it arrived, the dish was absolutely beautifully presented, what a piece of art! Amazing! ^

And it was tasty too!



I asked to have some red wine with the beef, the 2004 Château Pontet-Canet Bordeaux wine.
I got to taste it first, just the way it should be done, before it was served.
The wine actually worked very well with the main course.



By now I was starting to feel really full and I was thinking if I should just finish the meal and ask for a cup of coffee.
But on a second thought it would be such a waste to do it. It is not very often I get the chance to have such an extensive and delightful meal in the air, so why not finish it properly instead.

Eventually I asked for a cheese plate as well which included four different cheeses.
They had no crackers onboard but served some small bread rolls with dried fruits.
Not being a very big fan of dried fruit I asked to get some regular bread rolls instead, which was instantly arranged.

My glass of red wine was also refilled.



They had as many as four choices of dessert and I went for the tarte tartin with vanilla ice cream.

Again another rather nice presentation and fortunately the dessert wasn’t too large and heavy.



Finally I ordered a glass of coffee as well as a glass of Ballantine’s whisky.
Just like on Singapore Airlines in first and business class it is possible to choose coffee bean on ANA, although the selection of beans is smaller.
I went for the Blue Mountains coffee which I had tried before and knew was quite good.

I thought the meal service was over by now, but not quite, a moment later the FA was back at my seat with a small tray with some petits fours.
I was seriously full, but they were really teasing me. As with everything else the petits fours were just wonderful!



Finally the meal service was coming to an end, this time for real. My table was cleared and I could stretch my legs a bit and make a well-needed visit to the lavatory.



I had been eating for well over two hours, but what a meal service! Absolutely mind-blowing!

Incredible service, incredible food, incredible drinks, incredible presentation! ^ ^
What more can you ask for? Five-star food, drinks and service from start to finish.

time2go1st

Jacob do you need a travel assistant, I am hereby offering my services so you won't feel lonely on your next leg. Really GREAT TR, thanks.