Flight: ANA NH 1005 from Los Angeles to Tokyo (Haneda)
Duration: 12 hours 10 minutes
Aircraft: B772 (Boeing 777-200)
Class: Business
Seat: 2A
Seat Specification: Angle Lie Flat, Seat pitch: 63.0 “. Seat width: 20 ”
I arrived at the Tom Bradley International Terminal about 2 hours before departure. Check-in was quick and the agent handed me the boarding card and directions to the new Star Alliance lounge on the 6th floor of the Tom Bradley International Terminal in LAX.
The new Star Alliance lounge is much better than the old one at the recently renovated Tom Bradley Terminal.
The food selection is fairly limited in the lounge. I knew that there would be limited dining option on this midnight ANA flight so I wanted to have some food before boarding. There was the usual salad, chips, two types of pasta (one with chicken), eggplant wrap and some cookies and fruits. That’s about it.
Pretty soon the lounge attendant came by announcing that the flight was boarding soon and we should make our way to the gate.
ANA operates Boeing 777-200 on Los Angeles – Haneda route daily. Frankly, this is one of the worst ways to travel to Tokyo from Los Angeles in business class. First of all, the seats are angled-flat instead of the true lie-flat seats on 777-300 on the NH 5 daytime flight out of LAX to Narita. Also, this being a post midnight flight, there is no full dinner service on the flight and only a small breakfast before landing in Tokyo. You get much better dining option on the NH 5 flight. But since I booked this flight as a part of TACA Lifemiles redemption, choosing a specific flight was not an option and this was the only flight available for this date.
The business class has 70 business class seats with 2 x 3 x 2 configuration. I was in seat 2A which is a window seat just behind the bulkhead.
Soon after I was seated, the FA came by and introduced herself and asked what I wanted for pre-departure beverage. She also explained that only light snacks would be offered on the flight post-takeoff and if I was hungry I could order any item from the menu.
Soon after take-off they served appetizer which was nothing much to write home about.
I was still a little bit hungry and ordered the ANA “signature soup”.
After dinner, I converted the seat to bed mode and although it was not a true horizontal bed, it wasn’t going to prevent me from a good night sleep. The way I look at it, it beats flying 12 hours non-stop in coach any day of the week.
About 2 hours before landing in Tokyo, the FA turned the lights on in the cabin for breakfast service.
I chose the Japanese option instead of International as I was feeling adventurous. The salmon was really good but rest of it was just ordinary.
Bottomline:
Seat: ***
Service: **
Food: * 1/2
The seat is angled-flat and very narrow and likely to be very uncomfortable for anyone who is around 6′ tall and medium build.
As far as service goes, it was very forgettable. There seemed like a bit of a language barrier with the FA’s. Also the ANA crew did not appear as enthusiastic as Asiana or Singapore Airlines crew. They rarely came by checking if the passengers needed anything.