Despite visiting Japan for many times, there was one thing I had not struck off my list: fly ANA to Japan. To think that I had even detoured to Seoul via Asiana Airlines twice! Therefore, when I planned my fall trip to Nagano, Japan, I decided to take the plunge. The main reason for not flying ANA (or JAL, for that matter), was that the Japanese airlines were simply charging too much for their airfare. However, I managed to score a promotion deal a few months prior to the trip that sealed the deal.
Both flights would see me fly on ANAโs B787-9, the wide body aircraft designed for comfortable, long haul flights. I would enter Japan via Haneda Airport, but leave via Narita. Although I would be flying on their Economy class, my hopes were high, as the Japanese airlines were also known for their excellent inflight service across all the fare classes.
Trip Overview
Singapore to Tokyo Haneda (SIN-HND)
Flight Number: NH842
Aircraft Type / Registration: B787-9 / JA-925A
Departure (ETD/ATD): 1045hrs (GMT+8) / 1057hrs (GMT+8)
Arrival (ETA/ATA): 1825hrs (GMT+9) / 1815hrs (GMT+9)
Duration (Estimated/Actual): 6h 40m / 6h 18m
Seat: 34K
Meal Service (Supper): Lunch / pre-arrival snack. Received food 1.5 hours after start of meal service, due to turbulence and being seated at the very back.
Pre-flight – Check in
As NH842 was departing from T2, check in was self service. That being said, a ground staff went around to provide assistance and help in tagging bags.
After dropping off my bags, also through self service, I breezed past the passport control. Do you know that we no longer need to use our passports to pass through those gates? The automated gates now let us through purely through facial recognition. Changi boleh!
Pre-flight – T2 SATS Premier Lounge
Having some time (and lounge passes) left, I went to check out SATS Premier Lounge. It was located near the E gates (left after going through the passport control) on Level 3. The lounge was about 60% full and had a short queue to enter.
The crowd was mostly business travellers. As such, there was this subdued chatter, as opposed to the rowdy atmosphere typical of the night rush hours filled by excited tourists.
Due to the crowd, there was limited seating. The couches were mostly taken up, and the sole 2 workstations were also occupied. There were 2 islands of counter seats – those were quite empty. Nonetheless, I managed to snag a couch, which was comfortable and cushy. There were also power sockets and USB charging ports by the couches, something the counter seats were lacking.
F&B at T2 SATS Premier Lounge
The F&B options were modest, but adequate. Other than the signature Laksa (self service), there was hot food, cold cuts, pastries and dessert. Drinks wise, there was a coffee machine, a water dispenser and a fridge each for soft drinks and alcohol.
I helped myself to Fried Carrot Cake, Prawn Dumplings, Yangzhou Fried Rice, Sausage, Chicken Puff and a Chocolate Chip Banana Cake. Wellโฆ it was an early brunch >.< Taste wise, they were slightly underwhelming. The fried rice tasted like it had been left out for too long and the dumpling skin had hardened. AS for the Fried Carrot Cake, they were better served hot.
T2 SATS Premier Lounge – Shower
There were shower facilities in the SATS Premier Lounge. They shared the same space as the toilets, with separate cubicles. Each shower stall had 2 segments, with one โdryโ section for change of clothes. Yep, something like a swimming pool changing room. One would have to request for a towel at the reception. Other than that, the shower was free to use and there was no queue to use them.
I had used my Dragon Pass – part of the benefits of holding an OCBC Rewards credit card – to enter the SATS Premier Lounge. Exiting the lounge, I saw that the DBS Private Lounge and SQ SilverKris Lounge were just beside me. Wellโฆ there would be a time when I would use one of them.
Boarding ANA NH842
Boarding was an incredibly organized affair. I’d been on countless flights where the gate area transformed into a chaotic gate lice pit before boarding even began. But not this time. People patiently waited for their boarding groups to be called, creating a remarkably calm atmosphere. The ground staff further streamlined the process with timely announcements.
After a quick greeting from the cabin crew member at the door and a brief stroll past another who was engaging with passengers from an earlier boarding group, I arrived at my seat, 34K. A welcome sight awaited me: a blanket still sealed in its plastic cover and a plush pillow, neatly placed and ready for a long flight.
Cabins of ANA B787-9
Today, we would fly on ANAโs B787-9, which was a pretty young aircraft of 4 years. It was configured into 3 classes – Business, Premium Economy and Economy. My flight today was in Economy, and my seat was right at the back. The 23 rows of Economy seats were split into 2 cabins, organised into a 3-3-3 seating configuration.
The real bulkhead seats of the Economy class were at row 28 of the aft cabin. At right behind door 3, the emex row seats offered a lot more legroom, albeit sacrificing some underseat space for personal storage. Online review said that there were no windows at the window seats of 28A/K. However, when I walked past the row, I saw that it did enjoy 1 window, though it was right by the seat back. Although I would have to crane my neck in order to enjoy the view from the top, it was still much better than those totally without windows.
Settling into the Seats of ANA Economy Class
My seat was also right at the aft row 34. That being a day flight, I also opted for the window seat so that I could enjoy the view. At first glance, the seats looked inviting with its thick cushioning.The seat cushions welcomed me to the row of 3 seats that looked like a couch split only by the armrests.
The seat width and legroom was typical of Asian carriers. There was still some place for maneuvering at the sides, with plenty of room from the knees to the seat back in front (2 xiong xiong length).
The seat back housed the inflight entertainment (IFE), its control, the tray table and the seat pocket. The pocket was made up of 3 compartments, 1 big 2 small, which I found to be quite useful to organise my stuff. All the way at the bottom was a retractable three-step shifting footrest. There was also a USB port below the IFE screen and a coat hook beside the screen. The rickety bi-fold tray table definitely saw better times.
Inflight Entertainment on ANAโs B787-9
Also showing the age of the aircraft was the Inflight Entertainment (IFE). The 9 inch IFE screen on board ANAโs B787-9 looked terribly small compared to its contemporaries. I measured it at 3 xiong xiongโs width, and that was including the side bezels. But of course, I usually use the IFE to view the flight map, so the size didn’t bother me much.
A pair of headphones was provided which used a single prong jack to connect to the screen. They weren’t noise cancelling, but fortunately, there were no wailing kids during my flight. Like those on many other flights, the headphones were too small for my comfort. Much to my surprise, there was no disposable covering for the ear piece. Again, I had no real use for the headphones, so I just went โewwwโฆโ and returned it to the seat pocket.
The interactive flight map wasnโt top of the class, but neither was it the worst. The graphics were great and I could toggle between a few views. But they lacked the full interactivity like zooming in and out, or shifting of view levels. As for the entertainment selection, they were extensive, and definitely enough for a 6-hour flight into Japan.
Dining About South China Sea on NH842
Drink service started about half an hour after take off. We were also served snacks (crackers) and wet wipes. The crew started serving lunch almost soon after. However, as I was seated at the back of the airplane and due to turbulence, I only received my meal some 1.5 hours later.
Lunch on NH842
The meal options for the season were Simmered Pork in Ginger Sauce and Hushed Beef with Buttered Rice (what’s with the subdued language used to name the dishes?), of which I selected the pork dish. It was paired with Tuna & Basil Pasta Salad (on top of a salad salad), Simmered Squid and Daikon Radish, and Cheese / Cracker / Mineral Water.
The main dish didn’t look attractive to a meat lover. However the pork was well marinated. The side dishes were also light and refreshing, though the squid was slightly tough. Interestingly, the salad dressing – vinaigrette – didn’t sting, which made the Tuna & Basil Pasta Salad very enjoyable. To round the meal off, we had Haagen Daz vanilla ice cream.
Pre-Arrival Snack on NH842
About 1.5 hours before landing, the flight attendants distributed the pre-arrival snack – Apple Danish. The cold snack wasโฆ well, smaller than xiong xiong. There were also dried fruits (those found in fruit cakes loved by the Boomers and Gen X). Not gratifying, yes. But thank goodness the lunch did its part.
Wifi
I tried the onboard WiFi. After all, it was free for Economy class passengers to use for messaging. The steps to connect to the WiFi was complicated, even though there were instructions in the IFE (which was confusingly found under โInfoโ instead of โConnectโ, the latter of which contained 1 function – seat to seat messaging).
After connecting to the WiFi, I had mistaken the QR code on the screen to lead to the WiFi login page. But of course it wasn’t. It was for an FAQ page, which couldn’t load because I hadn’t connected to the internet proper. Instead, I was supposed to type the URL into the browser manually #mindblown.
After struggling with connecting to the onboard WiFi for 10 minutes, I finally got to use it. Apparently, it only worked on messaging apps like Line and Whatsapp, but not Facebook Messenger. Half an hour later, the function stopped working and I could neither send nor receive messages. Ironically, I could still receive notifications from apps like Lazada.
Well, we couldn’t expect much from freebies. There were paid plans as well. It offered full internet access for a period of time, depending on the plan. I had thought the free WiFi disconnection was temporary, so I didn’t think of paying for the WiFi. So perhaps I will try it next time.
Staff and Service
Granted, I was flying Economy. However, there was no time when the cabin crew made me feel unwelcomed. We were also well-fed with 1.5 meals.
The cabin was warm throughout the flight. Luckily, I brought my portable fan. Our flight route was diverted slightly west to fly over Taiwanโs mainland, instead of the waters east of it. It was probable that the pilots wanted to avoid the turbulence stirred up by the brewing typhoon Shan Shan.
Parting Words
We arrived at Haneda Airport in Tokyo after more than 6 hours of flight. It was dusk by then. As a day flight, the Economy seats were more than sufficient. In fact, as I was by the window seat, I stayed there for the entire flight as I didnโt feel like climbing over the other 2 passengers beside me. However, I wouldnโt say the same if I were travelling on the red-eye. The seats would never be comfortable enough for one to catch forty winks! But as a day flight, it was great and the meals and services also made for a wonderful medium haul flight.
The biggest question would be: Would I take ANAโs Economy class again? Yes, but only for a day flight.
If you enjoyed my trip reports, do check out my travelogues getting in touch with the nature of central Japan.
Singapore to Tokyoโs Haneda Airport on ANA B787-9 Economy Class (NH842 SIN-HND): Trip review on the early flight out of the lion city to the land of the rising sun.
Hello Nagano: Sights and bites in Nagano in between day trips out of the city
[Review] 1-Day Kamikochi & Matsumoto Castle Tour (from Nagano / Matsumoto): Hiking in the land of the gods – in the rain.
Matsumoto in 10 hours: Visiting Japan’s 1 of 3 remaining original castles, and more.
Snow Monkey Park (Jigokudani Yaen Koen) in Nagano: No snow, no monkey?
Till then, stay wanderlust!
All photos and videos were taken using Google Pixel 9 XL Pro, and edited with Google Photos.
