Airline Review: ANA First Class Boeing 777
The (old) ANA First Class in the Boeing 777 offers a very high comfort, while having a somewhat strange layout. In this extensive review, we’ll explain what you can expect flying this product!
All Nippon Airways is one of the two largest airlines in Japan and is known for offering an exceptional product and a very high level of service. At the same time, First Class isn’t a given when flying ANA as the airline only has this travel class in Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft with the latter only flying to Honolulu. The Boeing 777 comes with the (old) First Class, which I’m reviewing here as well as a new product, which is supposedly even better. With that said, let’s jump into the actual review!
Suites in ANA First Class in the Boeing 777
The ANA First Class consists of a total of eight suites in a 1-2-1 configuration.
The suites are a bit odd in the way that they look a lot like office cubicles.
Due to that configuration, all seats are equal, but window seats also don’t offer the advantage of a nice view as you can’t really see out of the window.
If you are travelling with somebody, you should stil lchoose the window seats (there’s a privacy divider, which can be lowered and raised) and while it’s not very easy to have a chat, it’s at least possible at all.
The large and high walls also make all suites (regardless of window or middle) feel a little bit cramped, way more so than for example the suites in the open cabin of the Lufthansa First Class.
Yet, this sure is complaining on a really high level as the suites are otherwise very private, which is the main advantage of flying in First Class. Even though the suites can’t be closed with a door, they still feel incredibly private thanks to the high walls.
Furthermore, the seats are very wide and have an incredibly good padding, thus sitting in an upright position is very comfortable.
It’s also worth noting that there’s a tremendous amout of legroom, so much that you can’t even reach the ottoman when sitting normally.
As you’d expect in First Class, all seats offer a large entertainment screen, which also comes with some storage right below it.
Generally, there’s an incredible amount of space to store your various belongings. You can even easily fit a larger carry-on under the ottoman.
Right by the seat, there are several areas, where you can put things. This part of the seat in ANA First Class is really well designed as it feels like they thought of everything.
Another area where I don’t have anything to complain about is the table, which slides out from the side and is very stable. As it’s also very large, you can work here very well with a laptop.
The smart design contiunes with a small side table, where you can easily store a glass or any other smaller things while working or dining.
Using the seat control, which is located in a practical spot, is quite simple and pretty much self-explaining.
You can move all parts of the seat individually and everything works smoothly. As you’d expect, the seat can be put into a fully flat position, but you can also put it in lots of different positions.
Sleeping in the ANA First Class
One of the major reasons to fly First Class is getting a great sleep. This sure is possible in ANA First Class as you can expect a really comfortable bed.
The crew is making your bed on request and puts a very nice matress pad on it, which really makes a difference and adds a lot of comfort. The pillow is also quite thick and the blanket offers a good balance between keeping you warm, but not too hot.
The “bones” of the seat in ANA First Class are also just really good for sleeping as you can easily move around without issue and just have lots of space. I didn’t have any issue sleeping uninterrupted for a few hours, which is really good for an airplane.
As you would expect, ANA is also adding slippers and a pyjama for your sleep comfort. Particularly the pyjama was really comfortable and nice.
If sleeping is your main goal on a long haul flight, the ANA First Class in the Boeing 777 is an amazing choice as even the “old” seat really offers a high level of sleep comfort thanks to all the space, the great mattress and the very good bedding.
Catering and service in ANA First Class
Yet, the good sleep comfort sure wasn’t the only thing I thought was really amazing in ANA First Class. Catering and service were spot on as well, starting with the offer of a glass of champagne upon boarding.
Just moments later, I was also offered a warm towel to get refreshed before departure.
Once in the air, you can start to really indulge, including with amazing Krug Champagne, which is served in really pretty glasware.
However, you are not only getting amazing drinks, there’s also a really nice canapé served right before the main meal.
Particularly the presentation was quite a statement and was even better than in Swiss First Class.
When it comes to the proper meal, there are nearly unlimited choices available as well, including a full Japanese menu and a Western one with various starters and a choice of four mains.
Well, it’s not only the choice that’s great in ANA First Class as the service was just brilliant during the whole meal. And well, the presentation is spot on as well.
As my starter, I had the Atsumi Salmon and Poireau Flan, which tasted amazing.
It was served with a choice from the bread basket, some olive oil, salt and peper.
Just moment after I finished the starter, the second course, a small salad was brought out.
The salad was good and so was the soup, which was served as the third course.
For the main dish, I had to try something that can be hit or miss on airplanes: The beef filet. ANA mastered this dish as the main was one of the best pieces of meat I ever had in the sky.
It’s also saying a lot that there was mustard in an individual glas served with the main dish – that’s just incredible eye for detail.
Lunch wasn’t offer with this dish as an extensive cheese course with a great choice and high quality cheeses was served a few minutes after I finished my main.
I also couldn’t say no to dessert, which was a really tasty and beautifully presented peach sorbet.
The whole meal was just incredible, from start to finish. The same is true for the service, which was great before, after and during the meal. For the second meal or at anytime in between the meals, you may also enjoy any other dish on the menu. I went for a rather small second meal, starting with a decent salad.
After that, I had the pumpkin gnocci, which I thought were very good for being served in the sky as well.
I also had some fruits, which were nicely presented.
There really isn’t anything bad I can say about the whole meal experience in ANA First Class. This was hands down the best combination of service and food I ever enjoying the sky, much better than for example the Thai Airways First Class.
Entertainment in ANA First Class onboard the Boeing 777
The entertainment options in ANA First Class are also plentiful as there is a nice choice of newspapers and magazines, including lots of international ones.
If you are more into movies and such, you can make use of the large entertainment screen.
While it is not as big as for example in the Japan Airlines Boeing 787 Business Class, it’s still really good and comes with a huge choice of movies, shows, music and an enjoyable moving map.
The focus of the movies available is on Hollywood and Japanese films, but with more than 100 movies in total, I’m sure you’ll find something!
For the use of the entertainment system, high quality noise-cancelling headphones are waiting at the seat.
Another thing I really enjoyed about ANA First Class is the fact that WiFi is available on all Boeing 777’s with the following regular pricing.
However, First Class passengers on ANA are entitled to 100 megabyte of free data, which will last you for the full flight if you are not doing anything data-heavy.
The internet speeds are just okay, but that also helps you to not get over the limit of 100 megabytes. It’s still good enough for any light browsing, e-mails and chatting.
Amenities in ANA First Class
All passengers in ANA First Class get an amenity kit upon boarding, which is in a strong blue color and a hard case.
There are a couple of cremes of The Ginza, a Japanese premium brand, as well as the usual toothbrush, earplugs and so on in the amenity kit.
Despite the kit, the crew passes through the cabin with more amenities on offer during boarding.
First Class passengers can use two toilets, which means that there’s hardly ever a queue and as you’d expect of a Japanese airline, the toilets are kept very clean.
Overall impressions of ANA First Class
I had a really amazing time in ANA First Class and would highly recommend giving a try if your (mileage) balance allows. The service and the crews are incredible, the food is outstanding and the entertainment options could hardly better. The only downside of the (old) ANA First Class is that the seats aren’t perfect, but that’s not much of an issue as the seating and sleeping comfort is still amazing. I’d
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It does not look very attractive but functional and typical Japanese made for Japanese people. Somehow it reminds me of the terrible configuration of the British Airways A380 Business Class section. They managed to ruin that aircraft.