Review of ANA flight Tokyo Nagoya in Economy

Airline ANA
Flight NH 337
Class Economy
Seat 10K
Aircraft Boeing 737-500
Flight time 01:10
Take-off 01 Oct 15, 17:00
Arrival at 01 Oct 15, 18:10
NH   #15 out of 96 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 227 reviews
NGO85
By SILVER 1842
Published on 7th December 2015
Background:

This series will cover a quickie to Chicago aboard All Nippon Airways (NH) or ??? as it is colloquially called here.

Part 1 – NGO-NRT [NH 338, Boeing B737-700, Economy] – http://flight-report.com/en/report-12166.html
Part 2 – NRT-ORD [NH 12, Boeing B777-300ER, Economy] – http://flight-report.com/en/report-12188.html
Part 3 – ORD-NRT [NH 11, Boeing B777-300ER, Economy] – http://flight-report.com/en/report-12313.html
Part 4 – NRT-NGO [NH 337, Boeing B737-500, Economy] – You are here

This report will cover the ANA Arrival Lounge and the short hop from Narita to Nagoya on a Super Dolphin (B735).


Pre-flight:

After clearing customs, I’m dumped back into Narita’s main concourse.

photo 3

I head over to the domestic check-in area in order to recheck my bag onto NGO. The line moves very quickly for transfers. The agent just scans the barcode on your baggage tag, confirms your name and destination then rolls it away. Nothing else was required since my boarding pass was issued in ORD.

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Walking by the FIDS. My flight (3rd from the top) is still on time. There is also a 17:55 flight to NGO near the bottom of the FIDS.

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The ANA Arrival Lounge is right next to the domestic check-in counter. It is before security.

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Entering, I’m greeted by two NH agents and my EY card is typed into the system. She tells me that my plane will be leaving from Gate G and writes it on my boarding pass before waving me in.

The drink offerings. There was a beer dispenser and two bottles of whiskey near the end.

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The food offerings. Basic finger foods, there are no hot dishes.

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A view of the seating area in the lounge. Since it is on the ground floor near the check-in counters it is blind. The smoking room is directly to the right of where I took this picture.

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My first offering.

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Press.

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Business center.

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After my snack, I go back to the front desk and request a shower. She takes my boarding pass and hands me a key. There are five shower rooms.

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The amenities and vanity. Nice Shiseido products.



The toilet.

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The shower and hangars on the wall.



The shower facilities aren’t fancy, but everything was meticulously clean and functional (just like everything else in Japan). After washing off that 12-hours of Y-cabin funk, it was back to the lounge for a final offering before heading to the gate while a watch J-League highlights on TV.

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Documents. You can see the handwritten gate by the NH agent at the lounge entrance.

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About 15-minutes before boarding, I head over to the domestic gates. Security is always very quick. There is a line for premium passengers, but I don’t think it is any faster, there are never hordes of people like in the US.

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The domestic waiting room. All NH domestic flights leave by paxbus (at least NGO, never flown anywhere else from NRT).

photo 25




——————————-

All Nippon Airways, NH 337
Equipment: Boeing B737-500 [JA8419, delivered July 1995]
Departure: 17:00 (ATD: 17:33)
Arrival: 18:10 (ATA: 18:20)
Flight time: 0:47


Right on time, the agents come on the loud speaker and announce that pre-boarding, NH Diamonds, and other priority passengers can board.

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Here is our bus. All of the priority passengers got our own bus. As soon as we got on, we left.

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Heading out onto the rainy tarmac. Surprise, surprise. The first plane I see is JA777A, this was the B77W that I took NRT-ORD (Part 2 of this series).

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And right behind that B77W is our little B735 (JA8419), who is a 20-year old veteran in the NH fleet. We do a complete 360 around the plane (don’t ask me why…). These Super Dolphins are getting phased out since ANA Wings is acquiring a bunch of new B738s to replace them starting this year. Sadly, the dolphin decals are not being retained on the engines.



After completing our 360 degree circle of the plane we pull up to the stairs. An NH ground crew member holds up an umbrella so that we don’t have to get wet going from the bus to the stairs, that’s the NH service you expect. I pause to grab a quick tarmac shot before heading up into the stiars.

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These stairs are probably as old as our plane.

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I’m the last passenger off the bus so I exchange pleasantries with the FA in the front galley.

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Entering the plane, there are blankets and NH candies available.

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My seat for this flight. I’m in the exit row.

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Being in the exit row, the tight seat pitch of the Super Dolphin is avoided. Plenty of legroom here.

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The blanket and NH candy that I took while boarding.

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Seatback pocket has headphones preplaced.

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The tray table, seat controls, and audio controls are in the armrest.

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View of the vintage cabin as we wait for the third bus to show up, which took forever to arrive.

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The stragglers file on and we immediately fire up the engines, start the safety demonstration in Japanese only (no video since we are on an old plane), and roll out on our taxi to the runway. I apologize in advance for the crappy spotting shots on the taxi, the windows were already covered in rain.

NH B763.

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NH B77W (JA777A from Part 2 of this series).

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NH B788.

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TG A388.

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A pair of AC B788s.

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I love the NZ livery on this B789.

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NH B772.

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A pair of UA B774s.

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There was no wait by the time we finally got to the runway and we were off into the grey sky.

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On to the seatback contents.

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Exit Row information card, safety card for the B735, and NH magazine.



BOB menu for October.



Our wingletless wing in the grey clouds.

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Drink service started and I took a boring glass of water.

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I napped until the final descent. Here is an appalling night shot as we pass the Port of Nagoya.

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We touched down about 10 minutes late due to the long wait for paxbus boarding to finish. As we taxi to the gate we pass a NH B738, JL B738, and NU B734.

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The final tail line-up at the domestic terminal.

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The FAs wish everyone a good night and up the jetbridge we go.

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It was a 15-minute wait for bags, very slow for NGO standards. I finally got my bag and then took the train home where I promptly passed out. That’s all for this series. A very tiring trip for just 2-days in Chicago.
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Verdict

ANA

5.8/10
Cabin6.0
Cabin crew8.0
Entertainment/wifi4.0
Meal/catering5.0

All Nippon Airways Arrival Lounge

7.0/10
Comfort6.0
Meal/catering5.0
Entertainment/wifi8.0
Services9.0

Tokyo - NRT

8.2/10
Efficiency10.0
Access6.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness9.0

Nagoya - NGO

8.8/10
Efficiency10.0
Access8.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness10.0

Conclusion

Standard domestic flight on NH: uneventful. The Super Dolphins are showing their age and are not very comfortable. Average NH crew with the standard NH domestic service. Left 30-minutes late and arrived 10-minutes late.

Cabin comfort: This Super Dolphin was 20-years old and felt it. The seats are old, but good enough for a short domestic flight. I was lucky to get an exit row seat so I didn’t have to face the knee-crunching seat pitch these planes have. It will be a big improvement once NH switches to 738s for domestic routes.

Crew: All 3 FAs did their jobs with smiles and minimal fuss. About all you can expect on a short domestic flight.

Meal and catering: Complimentary drink service and NH candies available on boarding.

Entertainment: No newspapers offered. Standard seatback literature. Only audio channels, there are no video monitors on this 20-year old plane.

On-time performance: We left 30 minutes late due to slow boarding. We landed 10 minutes late into Nagoya.

Information on the route Tokyo (NRT) Nagoya (NGO)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 3 avis concernant 2 compagnies sur la ligne Tokyo (NRT) → Nagoya (NGO).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Japan Airlines avec 8.1/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 1 heures et 11 minutes.

  More information

11 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 152013 by
    eminere™ 271 Comments
    I think it's very interesting EY status passengers get lounge access with NH. Do these airlines have any other commercial arrangement like code sharing or JV?

    What was the original inspiration for the dolphin decals on these older B737s?
    • Comment 329967 by
      eminere™ 271 Comments
      Thank you, great to know on both points!
    • Comment 329915 by
      NGO85 SILVER AUTHOR 1963 Comments
      Thank you for your comments :)

      I think it's very interesting EY status passengers get lounge access with NH. Do these airlines have any other commercial arrangement like code sharing or JV?
      - This is a strategic partnership between EY and several Asian carriers. Since EY can only touch big markets they need partners in the region to get more passengers funneling into AUH. NH and KE for example handle all the domestic passengers for EY in exchange. NH/KE don't want to touch the African or Middle East markets so it works out well for them too. The benefit is that NH and KE give full reciprocal benefits to EY elites on any NH and KE operated flight regardless of codeshare. It is nice because I can earn miles using EY flying these carriers as well as use EY miles to book award tickets on these carriers. EY may be many things, but I at least find it very useful in my current situation since they give status for 3 years.

      What was the original inspiration for the dolphin decals on these older B737s?
      - Not sure what the original meaning was, but these B735s were all inherited from the former Air Nippon (ANK). Air Nippon were the ones that gave them the ????????? (Super Dolphin) nickname and then NH just kept it on there and repainted the tail from ANK to ANA.
    • Comment 329942 by
      Numero_2 TEAM BRONZE 10416 Comments
      I meant JL front cabin service. ;)
    • Comment 329943 by
      NGO85 SILVER AUTHOR 1963 Comments
      Oh, okay, I misunderstood :)
  • Comment 152062 by
    jetsetpanda 2283 Comments
    The food offerings. Basic finger foods, there are no hot dishes.
    - Kind of disappointing.

    She takes my boarding pass and hands me a key. There are five shower rooms.
    - AA has the same procedure at LAX. I prefer it when the attendant escorts you to the shower and opens the door for your without giving you any keys.

    Nice Shiseido products.:
    - I like Shiseido toiletries. Too bad that they were not in small bottles.

    The toilet.
    - For some that is an attraction by itself.

    After washing off that 12-hours of Y-cabin funk, it was back to the lounge for a final offering before heading to the gate while a watch J-League highlights on TV.
    - Nothing like a shower after a long trip. Was that apple juice or beer with the coffee? :P

    An NH ground crew member holds up an umbrella so that we don’t have to get wet going from the bus to the stairs, that’s the NH service you expect.
    - And it is what sets Japanese service culture apart from the rest of the world.

    Being in the exit row, the tight seat pitch of the Super Dolphin is avoided. Plenty of legroom here.
    - Always nice to get the emergency exit row.

    The FAs wish everyone a good night and up the jetbridge we go.
    - That last picture succinctly sums up the tiredness of travel perfectly.

    Thank you for sharing this FR with great spotting and pictures as always Michael.
    • Comment 329921 by
      NGO85 SILVER AUTHOR 1963 Comments
      Thank you for your comments Adan!

      Kind of disappointing.
      - It's the standard for Japanese domestic lounges. If you think this lounge is bad, wait until you see the Sakura Lounge ;)

      I prefer it when the attendant escorts you to the shower and opens the door for your without giving you any keys.
      - The cleaning lady opened the door for me; at least she was service oriented :)

      Too bad that they were not in small bottles.
      - I can sense a toiletry thief amongst us, lol. It's still nicer than getting the generic squirt bottles of Brand X in the shower.

      For some that is an attraction by itself.
      - Unlike you, there was no chocolate left for me...

      Was that apple juice or beer with the coffee? :P
      - That would be oolong tea :)

      Always nice to get the emergency exit row.
      - Given my previous flights on B735s, I was very happy to see the exit row free on the seat map.

      That last picture succinctly sums up the tiredness of travel perfectly.
      - It wasn't intentionally blurry, but I was definitely fatigued and bleary eyed at that point and just wanted my bed. This was only the 2nd of my 5 international trips that month, it was only going to get worse...
  • Comment 152158 by
    Rl 777 802 Comments
    Thank you for sharing this FR with us and concluding another great series!

    Nice shots of the ramp! That's one positive thing about getting taken by buses to the plane even though the weather didn't co-operate. It's not your fault the window was covered in rain, you caught some nice birds nonetheless!

    These older 735s aren't probably the most comfortable rides out there but are definitely classy!

    Standard catering on this flight I guess.

    Overall it looks like another normal domestic hop between NRT and NGO.

    Have a good one, see you on the next one!
    • Comment 329924 by
      NGO85 SILVER AUTHOR 1963 Comments
      Thanks for stopping by :)

      you caught some nice birds nonetheless!
      - NZ B789 was the highlight.

      These older 735s aren't probably the most comfortable rides out there but are definitely classy!
      - I would call it nostalgic. It's not every day you get to fly a B737 that is not next-gen. There is something about older planes. I'd still fly a B747 over a A380 if given the choice.

      Standard catering on this flight I guess.
      - Haha, if you want to call it catering. At least I got a drink :)

      Overall it looks like another normal domestic hop between NRT and NGO.
      - Exactly, nice and boring :)

      Have a good one, see you on the next one!
      - Now to finish up the JL series and then we will get to the SK reports!

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