This report will cover the early morning hop from NGO to NRT aboard NH in their new domestic cabin. This will be my second time aboard JA81AN, the Premium cabin was reviewed in my NH 498 report (http://flight-report.com/en/report-10411.html), but this time we will look at the Economy cabin. The bonus at the end will be the United Club in Narita.
Pre-flight:
A 7:50am departure from NGO means an early morning for me in order to catch the first train of the day to the airport. Arriving to the airport at 6:40am, I head to the NH domestic check-in counters for passengers with international connections. I decided to just use the economy line since there was just one person in front of me instead of the premium line with my EY Gold card. This was a huge mistake since it was not an alternating line. Economy passengers are only allowed to go through the bag screening line when there was no one in the priority line. Meaning the constant stream of priority passengers meant a 20-minute wait for me. After getting my suitcase screened, I was quickly called up to a counter by a NH agent.
She tagged my bag “priority” and handed me my boarding passes. When she flipped to my second boarding pass to confirm the details of my flight to CPH, I got a nice surprise: my seat magically changed from 16D to 4D. More on that later, but here is the domestic boarding pass.
With about 30 minutes until boarding, I took a stroll up to the observation deck. On my way, I got a nice SMS message from SK notifying me of a wonderful delay.
Domestic FIDS heading out to the observation deck.
Stepping outside, this NH B763 was doing a fly by in the early morning light.
NH B777-200ER, not a normal visitor to NGO… They use this on the OKA routes in the busier winter season in place of a B763.
KE B777-200ER.
The NH domestic fleet awaiting morning action.
CI A333.
Antonov An-124-100 sitting out on the tarmac, no DreamLifter to keep it company today.
The aforementioned NH B763 circled the airport after its flyby and did a touch and go on the runway. It circled the airport and did 6 touch and gos while I was there, they must be doing pilot training this morning. They didn’t even bother retracting the landing gear.
A peek at the international side of the airport as the sun rises.
CX A333.
International tail line-up. You can tell where most of the NGO traffic is headed: 7 narrow-bodies getting ready to head to mainland China and a PR A333 sitting in the distance.
TG B773 arriving on the red-eye flight from BKK.
NH B738.
Domestic tail line-up.
NH B738 (JA81AN) which will be operating NH 338 up to NRT this morning.
JL B767-300ER in “Japan. Endless Discovery.” special livery getting ready to piggyback my flight up to Narita.
Last look at the domestic narrowbodies.
Security took 5 minutes to clear and I was dumped airside. I skipped the lounge and went straight to the gate. We were leaving from Gate 7 this morning.
My plane awaiting boarding.
NH B738 in *A special livery taxing by as it leaves for NGS.
——————————-
All Nippon Airways, NH 338 Equipment: Boeing B737-800 [JA81AN, delivered March 2015] Departure: 7:50 (ATD: 8:02) Arrival: 9:00 (ATA: 8:53) Flight time: 0:51
Boarding was called on time and priorities were strictly observed. Pre-boarding was followed by NH elites, priority boarding, and then general boarding. I boarded with priority boarding. Down the jetbridge we go.
The big glass window jetbridge gives a nice shot of the NU B734 getting pushed back for service to OKA.
Fuselage shot.
Boarding, the smiling FA gave me a “?????????” and presented me with the tray of candies. I grabbed one and headed to the back of the bus. NH candy.
Cabin shots (taken during deplaning).
Seat pitch is good, better than on the Super Dolphins (B735s).
The window seats have a small entertainment box blocking some of the legroom.
View of the cabin from my seat.
Nice view of the winglet from my seat with the JL B763 next door.
We quickly board and get pushed back. The ground crew waves us goodbye.
The safety video plays during the taxi to the runway. Blankets are distributed during the taxi as well.
Taxing by a JL B738 getting ready to get towed back to the terminal from a remote stand.
Arriving at the runway, we wait for the NH B763 that has been continually circling the airport to pull of the runway temporarily.
We bolt down the runway giving a glimpse of the An-124.
We lift up over the NH B763 taxing below us.
We make a 270 degree turn to the left after rising into Ise Bay. This gives some really nice shots of Nagoya in the distance.
Crossing over the tip of the Atsumi Peninsula.
Brief seat tour. The Recaro seats are your standard hard ironing boards. Audio/video controls are located in the armrest. The middle seat remained empty in my row, the load was around 75%.
Headphones were preplaced in the seatback pocket.
Seatback contents.
Safety card for this NH B737-800.
NH magazine.
NH BOB menu.
Winglet shot.
The monitors came down and played ANA Sky Vision, which is random travel highlights of Japan.
Ominous skies as we get closer to NRT.
The drink cart arrives and I get my coffee served in a Star Wars cup.
Another peek outside.
A quick trip to the rear lavatory. There are only 2 lavatories on the B738, one in the front (for Premium class) and one in the back (for everyone else). The bathroom is clean and has the nice tile floor pattern.
Getting back to my seat, the seatbelt sign comes back on as we enter our final approach into NRT.
Crossing into Chiba Prefecture, we coast over the rural farmlands and into NRT.
A smooth touchdown onto the wet tarmac ahead of schedule and a peek at the hydraulics.
The long taxi to the gate means plenty of spotting.
IJ B737-800.
JW A320 with sharklets.
JL heavies at Terminal 2.
CX B777-300ER.
D7 A330-300.
MH A330-300.
GK A320 with sharklets.
Pulling into our gate.
Our next door neighbor is a NH B767-300ER with winglets.
Deplaning the crew wishes me farewell. Walking towards security, I cross a NH B777-300ER and a NH B787-800.
Entering the security and immigration area for international connecting flights.
I’ll leave this series off here as I enter my (now) 5-hour layover in NRT courtesy of SK's delay. I’ll cover all of the *A lounges in Terminal 1 (Satellites 3, 4, and 5) in this series. Given the number of lounges, I’ll add the United Club in Satellite 3 to this report as a bonus.
The United Club is located in Terminal 1, Satellite 3. It’s actually larger in area than the ANA Lounges, but quantity does not always mean quality… The entrance is pleasant and well appointed, the agents scan in my boarding pass and remind me of my delay. They stamp my boarding pass for re-entry and let me in.
Stepping in, it is large and dark (common in Japanese airports that mainly use natural lighting during the day).
The food offering is better than a stateside United Club, but still not up to Asian standards.
I grabbed a snack and headed to the windows for some spotting since the lounge runs parallel to an active runway. The furniture is not chic, but was clean and new. I like the USB ports for charging devices, a nice feature.
My first offering of coffee and fruit cup (sans fruit).
I roamed further into the lounge, where there is probably seating for 200+. The furniture is blah, but there is a lot of Japanese artwork in the lounge that provides a nice décor.
Press.
Business center.
Phone booths.
And this area had the stateside United Club food offering: cereal, potato chips, and edamame?
It’s 5 o’clock somewhere so a Suntory and a pretzel roll for me.
I spent about an hour in the United Club; it wasn’t busy at 9am since most of UA’s flights don’t operate until closer to lunchtime. It doesn’t have the food offerings of the ANA Lounges, but it wasn’t terrible and much better than the stateside United Clubs. If you are looking for a quiet place to rest, it’s a good option since the ANA Lounges are packed until around 10am. I’ll leave this report off here as I migrate into the ANA Lounges now that all of the NH heavies have departed.
See more
Verdict
ANA
7.4/10
Cabin7.5
Cabin crew8.0
Entertainment/wifi8.0
Meal/catering6.0
Nagoya - NGO
8.8/10
Efficiency10.0
Access8.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness10.0
Tokyo - NRT
8.5/10
Efficiency9.0
Access7.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness10.0
Conclusion
A standard NH domestic flight in economy. Bare minimum service standards for a Japanese carrier, but at least this time they did a drink service. The B737-800 is not as comfortable as the B737-700, but much more comfortable than the B737-500. The crew did its drink service with a smile and then disappeared. For a 45-50 minute flight, you really can’t complain too much since it gets the job done with the expected Japanese efficiency and reliability.
Cabin comfort: The B737-800s have much better legroom than the B737-500s, but that comes at the price of seat comfort. The Recaro ironing boards are hard, but bearable for a short hop. Empty middle seat gave plenty of privacy. New plane with a very clean interior.
Crew: Smiled and greeted passengers during boarding and deplaning, completed service with a smile, and that’s it. Above average for a domestic flight.
Meal and catering: Complimentary drink service (water, tea, coffee, consume, apple juice). NH candies on boarding.
Entertainment: No press offered. Standard seatback literature. IFE played [i]ANA Sky Vision[/i].
On-time performance: Perfect.
0 LIKESLIKE TO THANK THE AUTHORTHANKS ! FLIGHT-REPORT LIKED
When she flipped to my second boarding pass to confirm the details of my flight to CPH, I got a nice surprise: my seat magically changed from 16D to 4D. - You lucky guy. The upgrade gods smiled upon you.
Beautiful spotting as usual.
The UA Club @ NRT needs to be brought to the new standards. I can't believe that the food offering is so lackluster.
You lucky guy. The upgrade gods smiled upon you. - I was originally booked in SASPlus for that segment, so I was actually looking forward to trying their Y+ product. After all the Y long-haul flights I had done that month, I was grinning ear-to-ear like the Cheshire cat when I saw that seat assignment at check-in. Those are the best kinds of upgrades because you already showed up to the airport mentally prepared for the brutal economy seat when the weight is just suddenly lifted.
Beautiful spotting as usual. - I'm going to miss NGO, by far the best observation deck I've ever seen.
The UA Club @ NRT needs to be brought to the new standards. I can't believe that the food offering is so lackluster. - I was there from 9am to 10am, so maybe it gets better later? I didn't want to eat too much anyways, I had the ANA Lounges yet to go to for the noodle bar.
Was SK a good option in term of prices on these dates ? - The ticket was purchased 3 days in advance and was paid for by the Danish government so SK was kind of what was forced on me. I was trying to get AY through HEL. I was originally booked in SASPlus for the NRT-CPH sector and SASGo for the CPH-NRT sector. I think the ticket was ¥250,000.
Which is already open, I'm afraid. lol - I was hungry... I didn't eat breakfast and knew that candy would be more filling than the UA Club's offering^^
Well, I told you that ANA's Y service is the same as JL's one on this route. ^^ - True, it is like comparing UA's and AA's domestic service in Y. It's easy: none^^
That UA Club is huge but it won't see me again in the future after my disappointing experience last May. - I only went in because the ANA Lounge was still crowded and I needed to make a phone call to the US with some sort of privacy.
A nice upgrade to come - Unfortunately the old cabin, I wish I could get the new SK cabin, but I think there are only 1 or 2 of those planes floating around and they are both A333s. Nonetheless, an upgrade is an upgrade and I will not complain :)
A bunch of beautiful spotting pictures and aerial views as usual - I have to be known for something ;)
An uneventful Japanese domestic flight as usual ;) - As it should be. An 'eventful' domestic flight is a bad one, lol
UA lounge is not that great but Japanese companies lounges are not that great anyway (except for sake drinkers...) - ANA Lounge at least has the noodle bar. The UA Club had a very poor offering at breakfast time. It does lie parallel to a runway so you can actually get a lot of very good spotting from the UA Club. My spotting bonus in the next report was all done sitting in the UA Club.
Can't wait for the NRT-CPH FR! - Reports that are closer to home for you :)
Your ride sure looked good in that morning light :) - The fuselage shot came out really nice.
Great shots of Nagoya after take-off! - The downtown looks so small, but it really is just a sprawling metropolis.
The standard Recaro seats offering a decent amount of comfort like on my DY flight I guess. - These B738s are going to replace all the B735s in the domestic fleet. It is a big improvement for NH since the B735s are just tight and ugly. Not the most comfortable of seats, but the longest route you'd take with a plane like this is 2 hours so it really is decent.
I'm glad they offered a drink service this time even thought it's standard, the Star Wars cup looks really nice! - I'm still waiting to see the Star Wars livery on the B789. It has been very elusive. In fact, I don't think I've seen a NH B789 yet. I think BRU is served with a B789, but the plane had left by the time I found the gate.
This seems like a pretty standard domestic flight on NH I presume. - Standard service: candy and a drink.
The UA lounge doesn't seem to have the best food offerings but looks a nice place to kill time in if you desire some silence. - As long as you avoid times before the UA flights, it's quiet. When I left the lounge, it was starting to pick up since the UA flights were getting closer to departure time.
Thanks Michael for this nice Flight Report. I usually use this route to visit Chiba and Ibaragi. But JAL (Japan Airline) is more confortable than ANA, so i recommend going by Japan Airline (JAL). Usally JAL run with plane for international use.
Flight-Report is a free website hosting more than 500 000 pictures and 17 000 reviews, without ads, this website can't exist. We understand that ads can be annoying, this is why we only display a maximum of 2 non-invasive ads per page.
To continue using Flight-Report, we invite you to add Flight-Report to your blocker's "white list".
#17 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings.
229 reviews
9 Comments
When she flipped to my second boarding pass to confirm the details of my flight to CPH, I got a nice surprise: my seat magically changed from 16D to 4D.
- You lucky guy. The upgrade gods smiled upon you.
Beautiful spotting as usual.
The UA Club @ NRT needs to be brought to the new standards. I can't believe that the food offering is so lackluster.
You lucky guy. The upgrade gods smiled upon you.
- I was originally booked in SASPlus for that segment, so I was actually looking forward to trying their Y+ product. After all the Y long-haul flights I had done that month, I was grinning ear-to-ear like the Cheshire cat when I saw that seat assignment at check-in. Those are the best kinds of upgrades because you already showed up to the airport mentally prepared for the brutal economy seat when the weight is just suddenly lifted.
Beautiful spotting as usual.
- I'm going to miss NGO, by far the best observation deck I've ever seen.
The UA Club @ NRT needs to be brought to the new standards. I can't believe that the food offering is so lackluster.
- I was there from 9am to 10am, so maybe it gets better later? I didn't want to eat too much anyways, I had the ANA Lounges yet to go to for the noodle bar.
Flying *A again ? Was SK a good option in term of prices on these dates ?
A lot of nice tarmac pictures with a clear sky a beautiful light on that morning.
NH candy. -> Which is already open, I'm afraid. lol
Well, I told you that ANA's Y service is the same as JL's one on this route. ^^
That UA Club is huge but it won't see me again in the future after my disappointing experience last May.
Was SK a good option in term of prices on these dates ?
- The ticket was purchased 3 days in advance and was paid for by the Danish government so SK was kind of what was forced on me. I was trying to get AY through HEL. I was originally booked in SASPlus for the NRT-CPH sector and SASGo for the CPH-NRT sector. I think the ticket was ¥250,000.
Which is already open, I'm afraid. lol
- I was hungry... I didn't eat breakfast and knew that candy would be more filling than the UA Club's offering^^
Well, I told you that ANA's Y service is the same as JL's one on this route. ^^
- True, it is like comparing UA's and AA's domestic service in Y. It's easy: none^^
That UA Club is huge but it won't see me again in the future after my disappointing experience last May.
- I only went in because the ANA Lounge was still crowded and I needed to make a phone call to the US with some sort of privacy.
A nice upgrade to come
A bunch of beautiful spotting pictures and aerial views as usual
An uneventful Japanese domestic flight as usual ;)
UA lounge is not that great but Japanese companies lounges are not that great anyway (except for sake drinkers...)
See you soon for the SK flight
A nice upgrade to come
- Unfortunately the old cabin, I wish I could get the new SK cabin, but I think there are only 1 or 2 of those planes floating around and they are both A333s. Nonetheless, an upgrade is an upgrade and I will not complain :)
A bunch of beautiful spotting pictures and aerial views as usual
- I have to be known for something ;)
An uneventful Japanese domestic flight as usual ;)
- As it should be. An 'eventful' domestic flight is a bad one, lol
UA lounge is not that great but Japanese companies lounges are not that great anyway (except for sake drinkers...)
- ANA Lounge at least has the noodle bar. The UA Club had a very poor offering at breakfast time. It does lie parallel to a runway so you can actually get a lot of very good spotting from the UA Club. My spotting bonus in the next report was all done sitting in the UA Club.
Wow! Beautiful spotting shots from NGO! The light was just stunning! Your ride sure looked good in that morning light :).
Great shots of Nagoya after take-off!
The cabin looks very fresh and clean which isn't surprising considering the age of this bird.
The standard Recaro seats offering a decent amount of comfort like on my DY flight I guess.
I'm glad they offered a drink service this time even thought it's standard, the Star Wars cup looks really nice!
This seems like a pretty standard domestic flight on NH I presume.
The UA lounge doesn't seem to have the best food offerings but looks a nice place to kill time in if you desire some silence.
See you on the next one!
Can't wait for the NRT-CPH FR!
- Reports that are closer to home for you :)
Your ride sure looked good in that morning light :)
- The fuselage shot came out really nice.
Great shots of Nagoya after take-off!
- The downtown looks so small, but it really is just a sprawling metropolis.
The standard Recaro seats offering a decent amount of comfort like on my DY flight I guess.
- These B738s are going to replace all the B735s in the domestic fleet. It is a big improvement for NH since the B735s are just tight and ugly. Not the most comfortable of seats, but the longest route you'd take with a plane like this is 2 hours so it really is decent.
I'm glad they offered a drink service this time even thought it's standard, the Star Wars cup looks really nice!
- I'm still waiting to see the Star Wars livery on the B789. It has been very elusive. In fact, I don't think I've seen a NH B789 yet. I think BRU is served with a B789, but the plane had left by the time I found the gate.
This seems like a pretty standard domestic flight on NH I presume.
- Standard service: candy and a drink.
The UA lounge doesn't seem to have the best food offerings but looks a nice place to kill time in if you desire some silence.
- As long as you avoid times before the UA flights, it's quiet. When I left the lounge, it was starting to pick up since the UA flights were getting closer to departure time.
I usually use this route to visit Chiba and Ibaragi. But JAL (Japan Airline) is more confortable than ANA, so i recommend going by Japan Airline (JAL).
Usally JAL run with plane for international use.
Login to post a comment.