ANA First Class, HND-JFK
Jan 8, 2017 | 9:50 am
#1
Original Poster
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2000
Posts: 16,092
ANA First Class, HND-JFK
ANA recently introduced a new service from the Tokyo Haneda Airport to New York starting in October 2016. Here is a short trip report on this new route over the new year. As many people reading this will be interested to see how this compared with JL, I will note the comparison wherever it is pertinent to do so.
Check-In
The check-in process with ANA is automatic at T-1 if you are a NH AMC member and if AMC# is included in your reservation. 24 hours before your flight, you will be automatically checked-in for your flight and a boarding pass sent to you electronically. For my flight on January 02, I had to stop by the check-in counter anyway because I have a luggage to check. The HND check-in area for NH consists of a separate queue for First Class pax, different from Business Class and Star Gold line. However, there are only about 2 counters for First Class such that on a day like January 02, when there is a lot of travelers, I had to actually wait quite a while before being attended to. This differs noticeably from the JL check-in area for First Class in NRT where JL had a whole section of multiple counters just for First Class passengers, which means there is no wait time. A quick look at the Business Class and Star Gold queue showed that the line was very long, it seems as though NH simply doesn't staff as many people as JL for the counters.
Security Check
There was no dedicated or private security check section for NH First pax out of HND. In NRT, JL provides a private security check and screening area just for First Class pax. But in this case, it made no difference, I quickly went through security and onto the Exit Immigration line.
First Class Lounge
ANA calls their First Class lounge the "Suite Lounge". In HND, that lounge is fairly large with two sections. One section has a noodle bar with a la carte hot food such as ramen and curry dishes, with a slightly larger buffet area. The other section has more private cubicle like seating areas with individual TV screens inside each of them. There is also a section for showers. While the area of the Suite Lounge is large, as far as decoration is concerned, it left a lot to be desired. The Lounge doesn't feel luxurious or attractive in anyway. I would almost call it quite "sterile". While the lounge is well attended by many personnel who are eager to assist and offer personalized service, some who just wish to be left alone could find them somewhat distracting. JL, on the other hand, has less attendants and tend to leave you alone.
The morning catering inside the Suite Lounge is very basic. It's comparable to a standard U.S. based hotel club lounge. The breakfast offerings are likely to be perceived as quite mediocre and some would probably call them inadequate. I already had breakfast at the Hilton Odaiba hotel earlier so I wasn't hungry. If I haven't had breakfast yet, I think I would struggle with what they had. The Dining H section of the Lounge was not open during the morning hours, I think, although I didn't ask if you could order something from that menu since I already had breakfast and the Dining H menu appears to be for late evening flights only.
I should add that there are actually 2 Suites Lounge in HND, you should use the one closest to your departure gate.
Boarding
Boarding was chaotic as the flight was likely very full. When I arrived at the gate, the lines for Economy and Business Class were very long. But there was a dedicated First Class line, so I used that to gain access to the plane.
Once I took my seat, all the FAs already knew who I was and was already addressing me by name. This is a nice touch as on JL flights, they don't address me by name until after the boarding is complete and when the FAs had the chance to look at the manifest. It appears NH FAs in First made a point of memorizing and recognizing First Class pax the moment they board.
Due to a near full flight, we were delayed in our departure. So I took the opportunity to change into the cabin wears, which were provided at the seat. And unlike JL, NH actually provided a pre-departure drink, which I found surprising. If I recall correctly, Japanese airlines typically forego pre-departure drink when departing from Japan due to some security reasons but maybe because we were delayed, that's why, I don't know for sure.
Seat Comfort
The First Class cabin was not full that day, I think there was only 3 pax in total. So the cabin felt quite private because I had the whole right section of the cabin to myself. The design of ANA "Suite" pod feels more private than the open seating of JL First Class. But the privacy is likely just an illusion as any FA who walks by can easily see what you are doing given that the wall of the Suite is not that high. I like the seating of ANA First Class better because the way arm rests lower when in a horizontal position, it gives you more space than on JL. As far as seat comfort is concerned, I think NH is better for sleeping than JL.
Food & Beverages
This is an area I think that JL clearly has an edge. JL offers Salon as their main champagne whereas NH serves Krug. Salon is much better Krug, hands down. JL also has better non-alcoholic drinks for tea lovers, hands down, JL beats NH as far as drinks are concerned. NH's main meal can be decent, here are some pics:
Special amuse-bouche service for the New Year only, the herring roe is only for the New Year flight. Herring roe, known as kazunoko in Japanese, symbolizes prosperity for the new year.
Special new year celebration food "Osechi Ryori", this is a picture of the Kanto-style "Ozoni" consist of mochi, chicken and vegetable in clear broth. The tiny red bowl/cup is used for sake. The FA paired it with some Gangi sake, a very nice pairing I might add.
I also ordered a Caviar-Appetizer service from the Western Menu. Surprisingly, NH is serving a full tin of French imported Malossol caviar again, this hasn't happened in a very long time. But before anyone declares the return of a full caviar service, let's see if this is being duplicated in other flights from other people first.
Japanese Washoku service resumes with "zensai", or Japanese style appetizers. This is clearly not as decent as the zensai that JL typically serves on their First Class.
Sea Bream is now in season, hence the next course is sea bream in clear broth, delicious and fresh if you are a fish lover like I am.
This next course is very interesting, it's made of globe fish, (fugu) from raw fish flake (sashimi), to slightly cooked fish meat, skins and roe. Fugu is known for its lethal neural toxin such that the sale of this fish is banned in the EU. The Japanese however considers this fish to be a delicacy and its preparation as a gourmet food can only be done by licensed master fugu chefs in Japan. Ever thought airline food can kill you? Despite the possibility, I trust NH will only serve this dish if they are absolutely certain of its preparation. My verdict: The taste is indeed heavenly, that is if you like fish and Japanese food. And clearly, I am still alive.
And this is the main course, Wagyu beef. JL also serves Wagyu beef as their main dish but their is much nicer as their beef is marble looking pieces that simply melt into your mouth whereas NH's are some cheaper slices that are not nearly as nice. Then again, JL's meal service in F is prepared by Ryugin, a Michelin 3 Stars restaurant in Tokyo. NH's catering has been deteriorating for years and despite a clear effort to be competitive, it's quite clear the overall quality of the meal service is not close to what JL offers.
Entertainment
The selection of programming is very limited. Even though NH boasts having over 40+ selections, many of them consist of the same movie in different languages. The actual selection is about half of that. They also don't carry many of the latest movies. I'd say this has become a major weakness for NH First Class. Be advised to bring your own entertainment, if you don't plan to sleep for most of the flight.
Service
Service continues to be top notch and attentive. When they ran out of cheese mid-flight, the FA managed to secure some cheese from the back. The effort was clearly commendable.
Check-In
The check-in process with ANA is automatic at T-1 if you are a NH AMC member and if AMC# is included in your reservation. 24 hours before your flight, you will be automatically checked-in for your flight and a boarding pass sent to you electronically. For my flight on January 02, I had to stop by the check-in counter anyway because I have a luggage to check. The HND check-in area for NH consists of a separate queue for First Class pax, different from Business Class and Star Gold line. However, there are only about 2 counters for First Class such that on a day like January 02, when there is a lot of travelers, I had to actually wait quite a while before being attended to. This differs noticeably from the JL check-in area for First Class in NRT where JL had a whole section of multiple counters just for First Class passengers, which means there is no wait time. A quick look at the Business Class and Star Gold queue showed that the line was very long, it seems as though NH simply doesn't staff as many people as JL for the counters.
Security Check
There was no dedicated or private security check section for NH First pax out of HND. In NRT, JL provides a private security check and screening area just for First Class pax. But in this case, it made no difference, I quickly went through security and onto the Exit Immigration line.
First Class Lounge
ANA calls their First Class lounge the "Suite Lounge". In HND, that lounge is fairly large with two sections. One section has a noodle bar with a la carte hot food such as ramen and curry dishes, with a slightly larger buffet area. The other section has more private cubicle like seating areas with individual TV screens inside each of them. There is also a section for showers. While the area of the Suite Lounge is large, as far as decoration is concerned, it left a lot to be desired. The Lounge doesn't feel luxurious or attractive in anyway. I would almost call it quite "sterile". While the lounge is well attended by many personnel who are eager to assist and offer personalized service, some who just wish to be left alone could find them somewhat distracting. JL, on the other hand, has less attendants and tend to leave you alone.
The morning catering inside the Suite Lounge is very basic. It's comparable to a standard U.S. based hotel club lounge. The breakfast offerings are likely to be perceived as quite mediocre and some would probably call them inadequate. I already had breakfast at the Hilton Odaiba hotel earlier so I wasn't hungry. If I haven't had breakfast yet, I think I would struggle with what they had. The Dining H section of the Lounge was not open during the morning hours, I think, although I didn't ask if you could order something from that menu since I already had breakfast and the Dining H menu appears to be for late evening flights only.
I should add that there are actually 2 Suites Lounge in HND, you should use the one closest to your departure gate.
Boarding
Boarding was chaotic as the flight was likely very full. When I arrived at the gate, the lines for Economy and Business Class were very long. But there was a dedicated First Class line, so I used that to gain access to the plane.
Once I took my seat, all the FAs already knew who I was and was already addressing me by name. This is a nice touch as on JL flights, they don't address me by name until after the boarding is complete and when the FAs had the chance to look at the manifest. It appears NH FAs in First made a point of memorizing and recognizing First Class pax the moment they board.
Due to a near full flight, we were delayed in our departure. So I took the opportunity to change into the cabin wears, which were provided at the seat. And unlike JL, NH actually provided a pre-departure drink, which I found surprising. If I recall correctly, Japanese airlines typically forego pre-departure drink when departing from Japan due to some security reasons but maybe because we were delayed, that's why, I don't know for sure.
Seat Comfort
The First Class cabin was not full that day, I think there was only 3 pax in total. So the cabin felt quite private because I had the whole right section of the cabin to myself. The design of ANA "Suite" pod feels more private than the open seating of JL First Class. But the privacy is likely just an illusion as any FA who walks by can easily see what you are doing given that the wall of the Suite is not that high. I like the seating of ANA First Class better because the way arm rests lower when in a horizontal position, it gives you more space than on JL. As far as seat comfort is concerned, I think NH is better for sleeping than JL.
Food & Beverages
This is an area I think that JL clearly has an edge. JL offers Salon as their main champagne whereas NH serves Krug. Salon is much better Krug, hands down. JL also has better non-alcoholic drinks for tea lovers, hands down, JL beats NH as far as drinks are concerned. NH's main meal can be decent, here are some pics:
Special amuse-bouche service for the New Year only, the herring roe is only for the New Year flight. Herring roe, known as kazunoko in Japanese, symbolizes prosperity for the new year.
Special new year celebration food "Osechi Ryori", this is a picture of the Kanto-style "Ozoni" consist of mochi, chicken and vegetable in clear broth. The tiny red bowl/cup is used for sake. The FA paired it with some Gangi sake, a very nice pairing I might add.
I also ordered a Caviar-Appetizer service from the Western Menu. Surprisingly, NH is serving a full tin of French imported Malossol caviar again, this hasn't happened in a very long time. But before anyone declares the return of a full caviar service, let's see if this is being duplicated in other flights from other people first.
Japanese Washoku service resumes with "zensai", or Japanese style appetizers. This is clearly not as decent as the zensai that JL typically serves on their First Class.
Sea Bream is now in season, hence the next course is sea bream in clear broth, delicious and fresh if you are a fish lover like I am.
This next course is very interesting, it's made of globe fish, (fugu) from raw fish flake (sashimi), to slightly cooked fish meat, skins and roe. Fugu is known for its lethal neural toxin such that the sale of this fish is banned in the EU. The Japanese however considers this fish to be a delicacy and its preparation as a gourmet food can only be done by licensed master fugu chefs in Japan. Ever thought airline food can kill you? Despite the possibility, I trust NH will only serve this dish if they are absolutely certain of its preparation. My verdict: The taste is indeed heavenly, that is if you like fish and Japanese food. And clearly, I am still alive.
And this is the main course, Wagyu beef. JL also serves Wagyu beef as their main dish but their is much nicer as their beef is marble looking pieces that simply melt into your mouth whereas NH's are some cheaper slices that are not nearly as nice. Then again, JL's meal service in F is prepared by Ryugin, a Michelin 3 Stars restaurant in Tokyo. NH's catering has been deteriorating for years and despite a clear effort to be competitive, it's quite clear the overall quality of the meal service is not close to what JL offers.
Entertainment
The selection of programming is very limited. Even though NH boasts having over 40+ selections, many of them consist of the same movie in different languages. The actual selection is about half of that. They also don't carry many of the latest movies. I'd say this has become a major weakness for NH First Class. Be advised to bring your own entertainment, if you don't plan to sleep for most of the flight.
Service
Service continues to be top notch and attentive. When they ran out of cheese mid-flight, the FA managed to secure some cheese from the back. The effort was clearly commendable.
Last edited by Guava; Jan 8, 2017 at 8:50 pm Reason: wrong picture
.
Jan 18, 2017 | 2:21 pm
#11
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: MCO
Programs: SPG Gold, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 139
This next course is very interesting, it's made of globe fish, (fugu) from raw fish flake (sashimi), to slightly cooked fish meat, skins and roe. Fugu is known for its lethal neural toxin such that the sale of this fish is banned in the EU.
The selection of programming is very limited. Even though NH boasts having over 40+ selections, many of them consist of the same movie in different languages. The actual selection is about half of that. They also don't carry many of the latest movies. I'd say this has become a major weakness for NH First Class. Be advised to bring your own entertainment, if you don't plan to sleep for most of the flight.
Jan 20, 2017 | 7:52 am
#13
formerly known as Tad's Broiled Steaks
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 6,424
Fugu...and here I thought seeing it at a convenience store in Japan was odd.
Still, the catering of both JL and NH is very good, no matter which class. Their caterers and TK's (Do & Co.) get my vote for top 3.
Still, the catering of both JL and NH is very good, no matter which class. Their caterers and TK's (Do & Co.) get my vote for top 3.