I had flown into Japan on ANA for my short vacation around central Japan. Wrapping up my trip, my plan was to fly out of Japan via Narita Airport. The flight was operated on ANAโs Boeing B787-9, departing Tokyo in the evening and arriving slightly past midnight at Singapore. To jazz things up a bit, I ordered ANA’s Exclusive Dining, which is only available for selected flights out of Japan.
Trip Overview
Singapore to Tokyo Haneda (SIN-HND)
Flight Number: NH801
Aircraft Type / Registration: ย B787-9 / JA-885A
Departure (ETD/ATD): 1820hrs (GMT+9) / 1841hrs (GMT+9)
Arrival (ETA/ATA): 0055hrs (GMT+8) / 0053hrs (GMT+8)
Duration (Estimated/Actual): 7h 35m / 7h 12m
Seat: 33G
Meal Service (Supper): Dinner and pre-arrival snack. Purchased โPaid Exclusive Diningโ of “Simmered Alfonsino in Soy-based Sauce”.
Pre-Flight – Arriving at Narita Airport
I had bought my tickets on promo fare. In other words, the return flight was at an undesirable timing of 6pm. With no late check out privileges at lyf Ginza Tokyo, I had to find a way to kill 6 hours at an onsen.
From the onsen at Odaiba, I took the train to Nippori, where I changed to the Skyliner. The Skyliner, a.k.a Keisei Skyliner or Narita Airport Express, started from Ueno and passed by Nippori before heading to Narita Airport. Running at 3 service every hour, it was a convenient way to reach the airport.
Although I chose to transfer at Nippori instead of Ueno, the station was busy nonetheless at 4pm! The train was also super full, since Nippori was the final stop before the airport. Although I had dutifully chosen the seat beside the suitcase rack (the rows near the racks are entitled to storing their suitcases there), the racks were all full. Even my seatmates had to sit with their suitcases, which meant those luggage belonged to passengers who weren’t entitled to the suitcase racks.
Oh well… No wonder the Japanese were getting tired of foreign tourists.
I had bought the Skyliner reservation online, but mind you, it didn’t include the fare for Shinkansen! I was actually stuck at the station control at the airport until I paid for the Shinkansen fare. Sometimes, it might be better to just buy the tickets off the vending machine at the station. Or, maybe, Keisei Railway should buck up and sell an all inclusive fare online.
Pre-Flight – Check inโฆ And Boarding ANA’s B787-9
30 minutes later, I was at the airport. I swung by T1 as I wanted to buy a limited edition Pikachu from the Pokemon Store. But oh manโฆ it was a wrong decision. That detour burned more than half an hour, partly due to me getting stuck for not buying the Shinkansen ticket and for spending time finding the store. Anyways, I reached the check-in counter with barely an hour left.
I knew I was running late, so I went straight to the special assistance counter, only to be told I wasn’t special enough (I guess they were expecting me to miss an arm or a leg), so I had to still use the self service check-in. But just as I was digging out my passport, another staff approached me. I think he overheard my conversation at the counter, and confirmed my flight number with me. Thereafter, he led me to another special assistance counter, where the ground staff had already prepared my boarding pass and check-in baggage tag! Yes, thankfully I had done online check-in so the airline was expecting me. Instead of striking me off as check-in had already closed, they waited for me ๐ฅน๐ฅน
What followed was a scene straight out of a J-drama. One staff said โFollow me!โ And took off into the crowd. Yes, it was evening peak and the departure hall was packed. We weaved through the sea of people and reached the immigration checkpoint, where he helped me skip the long queue and got myself cleared for entry into the transit area.
Before leaving me, he dropped a message, โTurn left after this.โ
Can you imagine a close up, slow-mo take on this? With an uplifting background music? To be honest, I still had 45 minutes left after clearing customs and immigration. Given my past experiences, I also knew boarding wouldn’t start in another 15 minutes. So I slowed down to catch my breath.
Sure enough, boarding was delayed. However, it was still organized a la Japanese style. The boarding pass scanning gate also helped discourage gate lice. We should really implement this worldwide!
ANA Ecconomy’s Cabin and Seat
The metal tube bringing me back home was the B787-9. Despite being twice the age, it was of the same configuration as the bird that brought me to Japan.ย 3-3-3 for Economy – which was the most generous for B787. But oh wait… I don’t think any airline squeezed 10 seats abreast in a B787.
My seat was still near the end at the aft cabin. The Economy Class seats were updated and just about right comfortable for the 6 hour trip. This time around I chose the aisle seat in the middle section. I was on the evening flight, so there was no view to speak. Therefore, an aisle seat with easy access to the toilets became the next best choice.
For a big sized guy like me, no Economy seats would be comfortable enough for me. People walking up and down the aisle constantly rubbed their butts against my shoulder. So I either have to slim down, or continue avoiding the aisle seats. Still, the seat was comfortable enough. In fact, I noted that the cushion was thick enough and my tailbone didnโt hurt on the 6 hour flights.
Economy Lavatory on B787-9
The aisle seat also afforded me the luxury to visit the lavatory any time I wished. There were 5 toilets, 3 between the Economy mid and aft cabins and 2 at the tail end, serving 192 passengers (though I believe the 14 Premium Economy passengers were expected to use these toilets too). Unsurprisingly, the toilets were rather well maintained even after the meal service.
If thereโs anything that stood out for ANAโs lavatories, it would be their bidet. Yes! ANAโs toilets have bidet! Although the features were basic, they brought the flying toilet game up one level. I didnโt try it out, though. Call me a germaphobe, or have a phobia of turbulence throwing me and my excretions into mid-air, I generally only visit aircraft toilets for my trip reviews.
Yep, for my reviews, I visited the toilet twice on this trip. There were 3 toilets between the mid and aft cabins, of which 2 were in the middle section and 1 was at the side. The middle ones were significantly smaller than the ones at the side, though from what I know, the middle partition could be opened to facilitate wheelchair access. The ones at the back were also to the walls of the fuselage, hence they were also larger.ย
Exclusive Dining over Philippine Sea
Like my flight to Japan, the cabin crew started snacks service shortly after take off, which was a bag of Japanese crackers.
ANA offers โPaid Exclusive Diningโ which is a premium in-flight meal service offered to passengers in Premium Economy and Economy Class on international flights departing from Japan. I could select a meal (Japanese or Western cuisine) in advance that is different from the standard inflight meal.
While it wasn’t anywhere like the Business Class meal service, I still got a tray service of a nicely plated meal. For the flight, I chose Simmered Alfonsino in Soy-based Sauce (Japanese Meal) over ANA Original Beef Hamburger Steak with Homemade Demi-glace Sauce (Western Meal). It arrived with Marinated Shrimp with Aurora Sauce and Japanese Chestnut Cream Cake.
Starting off with the appetiser, I loved how the prawns were fresh and crunchy. It was a tad too cold though, with bits of ice still left in the dish. The fish was simmered with mushroom, carrots, steamed egg and vegetables, which was complemented beautifully with Japanese rice balls. After the mains, I gorged on the rich but light chestnut cake.
My neighbour had the standard meal, which was a choice of Deep-fried Chicken in Sweet Vinegar with Tartar Sauce over Steamed Rice and Creamy Seafood Rice Gratin. I couldn’t make out what she chose, but it surely paled in comparison with my well plated delicacy. ๐
For JPY 2,500 (USD 35), I also got served before the others. I even received the Haagen Daz that came with the standard meals. ๐ The food also tasted as well as it looked. For that little bit of boogie experience in the Economy Class, I thought the money was well worth it!
The paid exclusive dining didn’t include the pre-arrival snack though. I sure got pulled back into harsh reality with the average egg bread.
Parting Words
Like Singapore Airlines, ANA had strict cabin crew training to ensure that their service standards remain consistent across all flights. I found the flight attendants to be just as friendly and efficient on both my flights into and out of Japan. I was on B787-9 on both flights, and despite one being 4 years older, the hardware was identical and well maintained.
In terms of cabin comfort, the Boeing B787-9 was supposedly inferior to the newer A350. But honestly speaking, I could barely feel the difference. My only complaint was the temperature control, since the cabin was uncomfortably warm on both flights. For those screaming โclimate change!โ, do note that we were flying at 30,000 feet in the air, so the air needed to be warmed up before it was pumped into the cabin. So it would be more environmentally friendly to keep a lower ambient temperature in the aircraft.
That being said, my experience on ANA was superbly pleasant. The Paid Exclusive Dining was also worth the investment to spice up an otherwise typical Economy flight. I would definitely fly ANA to Japan if they have a promotion again.
And after I try out Japan Airlines.
Till then, stay wanderlust!
Since I was on an identical aircraft type as my flight into Japan, I’d skip the review on aspects like the seats, inflight entertainment and inflight WiFi. Read my trip report on NH842 (SIN-HND) for the trip report.
All photos and videos were taken using Google Pixel 9 XL Pro, and edited with Google Photos.