Entering the ANA 777-300ER Inspiration of Japan first class cabin – Photo: David Delagarza | AirlineReporter
Airline: All Nippon Airways (NH)
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Departed: Houston Intercontinental (IAH)
Arrived: Tokyo Narita (NRT)
Class: First Class
Seats: 1D & 1G
Length: About 14 hours
It seemed to happen every day for two weeks – I’d glance out my office window in Denver at about noon, just in time to see the contrail of a high-altitude wide-body fly by. Being the diligent AvGeek I am, I would check out my flight tracker phone app to find out what I just saw. The answer was the same every time: ANA Flight 173 – from Houston to Tokyo. It felt like I was being teased — I had first class tickets booked on that very flight for our upcoming trip. Seeing that plane in the sky, day after day, was just rubbing it in — today’s not the day. But that day would soon come.
Flying this route was actually somewhat of a last-minute change to our itinerary, in which Bangkok was our final destination. We had initially been booked trans-Pacific on United’s Global First service from Chicago to Beijing; however, a very short layover in Beijing combined with United’s poor on-time performance on the 747-400 was making me nervous. I had been keeping an eye on alternate routing when I found first class award availability on ANA and Thai Airways via Houston and Tokyo about three weeks prior to the trip. Yes, please! The Houston-to-Tokyo route is a new addition to ANA’s North American offerings, having just kicked off service in June.
Airline: Thai Airways International
Aircraft: Airbus A380-800
Departed: Tokyo Narita (NRT)
Arrived: Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK)
Class: First Class
Seats: 1E & 1F
Length: About 6 hours
My wife and I recently embarked on a major bucket list trip to Thailand. Since this was a rare sans-toddler trip, we decided to go all-out and burn pretty much all the miles and points we could get our hands on to fly some premium cabins. We were fortunate enough to be able to scrape together just enough points (mostly thanks to being new homeowners) to fly to Bangkok in first class. Our final leg of the inbound journey was on a Thai Airways A380 from Tokyo Narita (NRT) to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK).
Thai Airways’ A380 Royal First Class cabin – Photo: David Delagarza | AirlineReporter
We arrived at Tokyo Narita on ANA’s new Houston to Tokyo service in first class which, in and of itself, was an amazing experience. Our layover at Narita was about three hours long, during which time we availed ourselves of ANA’s First Class suite lounge.
BONUS: Flight Review: ANA First Class Houston to Tokyo on a 777-300ER
Shortly after taking our seats in the lounge, a representative from Thai Airways found us, introduced herself, and asked if we needed anything. We asked if she could look into the status of our checked bags, as we’d had a little bit of difficulty getting them checked all the way through to Bangkok. She left with our passports, boarding passes, and bag claim tickets. When she returned she had new boarding passes printed on Thai stock and she informed us that they had located our bags and they were all set to be loaded on the aircraft. She also informed us that due to a late inbound aircraft, the flight would be about fifteen minutes late, and she would get us when it was time to board. No problem, I needed a shower anyway. Is there any greater feeling than showering in the lounge between long-haul flights?
An ANA (Air Japan) Boeing 767-300ER awaiting the morning flight from Hong Kong back to Tokyo – Photo: Mal Muir | AirlineReporter.com
This is the continuation of a multi-part series covering my trip from Seattle to San Jose to Narita to Hong Kong and back as a ANA Ambassador. My flight was provided by ANA, but all opinions are my own. Part1: San Jose to Tokyo on the 787 Dreamliner – Part2: Connecting in Tokyo’s Narita Airport.
After a nice long flight over the Pacific Ocean onboard the 787 and a brief stop in the All Nippon Airways (ANA) Lounge in Narita, it was time for me to make my connecting flight to Hong Kong. The last part of my journey that ’œday’ was on-board an ANA Boeing 767-300ER. At the other end of the four hour flight lay a bed for me to finally get some rest.
It is not hard to tell just where you are, and if the sign doesn’t help, perhaps all the ANA & JAL aircraft around are a clue – Photo: Mal Muir | AirlineReporter.com
This is the continuation of a multi-part series covering my trip from Seattle to San Jose to Narita to Hong Kong and back as a ANA Ambassador. My flight was provided by ANA, but all opinions are my own. First read: ANA Ambassador Report 1: San Jose to Tokyo on the 787 Dreamliner.
A majority of flights to Asia from the westcoast, require a connection through an intermediary stop. Cathay Pacific has their hub in Hong Kong, Asiana and Korean have their hubs at Incheon. However, four airlines have their hubs in Tokyo: Delta, United, All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL).
This means that on a good day you can see a variety of aircraft and flights in and out of Narita International Airport (NRT). This makes the airport not only nice for the general traveler, but also for the AvGeek. I recently was able to take a closer look at transitioning in NRT while on my way to Hong Kong (HKG).
The All Nippon Airways 787 Dreamliner Arrives back to San Jose Airport, ready to turn around for it’s flight back to Tokyo Narita – Photo: Mal Muir | AirlineReporter.com
This is the first in a multi-part series covering my trip from Seattle to San Jose to Narita to Hong Kong and back home as a ANA Ambassador. Note that my flight was provided by ANA, but all opinions are my own.
Departing from San Jose’s Norman Y Mineta Airport (SJC) could not have been more of a breeze. The weather was perfect, the check in area was quiet and security lines were nonexistent. It was a great way to start off my flight to Tokyo.
I was about to embark on All Nippon Airway’s (ANA), first 787 service out of the US since the infamous grounding . With boarding passes in hand, I was escorted to the gate by a member of the airport staff where we could photograph the arrival of the 787 Dreamliner.
After being joined by other media, we grabbed the arrival photos from the sterile corridor and then headed up to the lounge. The ’œClub at SJC’ is the new lounge that opened the day prior to the first service that ANA operated out of San Jose back in January. Unless you’re a business class guest (or Star Alliance Gold member) flying the one and only ANA flight out of SJC, the lounge will cost you an entry fee.
