Review of ANA flight Tokyo Hong Kong in Business

Airline ANA
Flight NH859
Class Business
Seat 4K
Aircraft Boeing 787-9
Flight time 04:35
Take-off 16 Feb 19, 08:50
Arrival at 16 Feb 19, 12:25
NH   #13 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 228 reviews
Rewardflying
Published on 24th March 2019
The flight summary for this RTW trip.

ORD-HND ANA 777-300 First Class / United Polaris Lounge - click here

HND-HKG ANA 787-9 Business Class - this report


HKG-TPE EVA Air 787-9 Business Class - to come
TPE-HKG Hong Kong Airlines A350-9 Business Class - to come
HKG-DXB Emirates A380 First Class - to come
DXB-ORD Emirates B777 First Class / Emirates DXB First Class Lounge - to come

Having flown ANA’s 787 with their regional recliner seat, as well as their 777 with the staggered business class seat, I was anxious to try the newer staggered seat on the 787-9 series.

photo nh859 cover

It was a brisk Tokyo morning hovering around freezing, not perfect for planespotting at Haneda’s observation deck, but a least a short visit was required.

photo nh859 scenic hnd 1photo nh859 scenic hnd 2

After a disagreement with the young lady at security over Gold Track admittance which I am and was denied, I made it to the gate in time even after a long 25 minutes through security. I didn’t put out too much of an argument as I’d rather take the flight than irritate some foreign TSA agents and be detained.

photo nh859 boarding 1photo nh859 boarding 2

Boarding was precise and I found my way to seat 4K for today’s 4 hour flight down to Hong Kong.

photo nh859 seat

Only in Asia.

photo nh859 wave bye


Taxing out we passed another 787 operated by Air Japan. In fact the aircraft I was on is operated by Air Japan. ANA currently owns 66 787 aircraft with 1 being stored (Rolls Royce engine related?) and 28 are operated by Air Japan, according to data published by Planespotter.com.

photo nh859 scenic plane 1

Another chance to be entertained with ANA’s “Edo period“ safety video.

photo nh859 ife 1

The airshow had an out of plane experience showing the long taxi to Haneda runway 5 which is used for west and south bound departures.

photo nh859 ife air show 1photo nh859 ife air show 2

While the -9 variant of the 787 isn’t as quiet as the -8, it is still one of the most quiet aircraft on take-off of any plane I’ve been on.


photo nh859 scenic tokyo 1photo nh859 scenic tokyo 2
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photo nh859 away we go

Turning back to the south gave a stunning view of Tokyo on this beautiful morning.

photo nh859 scenic tokyo 3photo nh859 scenic tokyo 4

The front cabin of this ANA 787 was full for this flight. In fact when I booked it there were only 2 seats left, unusual to get an award ticket when so few revenue tickets are available.

photo nh859 cabin 1

ANA takes full advantage of the various mood lighting schemes during boarding and in-flight.

photo nh859 cabin 2
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photo nh859 cabin 4

Aircraft interior pictures are at the mercy of too little light or in this case too much light.

photo nh859 cabin 3

Center seats have plenty of privacy, however at the cost of being able to converse with a flying partner, as it appears these partitions are immovable.

photo nh859 cabin 6

Lavatories were stocked with amenities as well as the Japanese washlets system.

photo nh859 cabin lav 1photo nh859 cabin lav 2

A poor sneak peak at the mini cabin aft of door 2. Originally I had seat 10K, looks like a quiet option, except for boarding.

photo nh859 cabin mini 1

Back up at 4K. The beige table top is new to these 787 staggered seats. The whole color combination is rather odd in my opinion but they didn’t ask me and it doesn’t affect the comfort which is great for a business class seat.

photo nh859 seat 1
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photo nh859 seat 2

Most of these seat handles were showing wear and tear. This aircraft was delivered to ANA in September 2017, so only a little over a year in service.

photo nh859 seat 6

Underneath the monitor is an ottoman and storage area for a carry on.

photo nh859 seat 3
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photo nh859 seat storage 1
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photo nh859 seat storage 2

The footwell looks plenty wide enough if using the bed.

photo nh859 seat footwell 1

If you do lower the seat into a bed the armrest collapses and extends to give a wider sleeping surface. It also shows how filthy airplanes are.

photo nh859 seat bed

This coat hook could block the monitor depending on the size of the coat.

photo nh859 seat 5

Simple seat controls that are out of the way and difficult to accidentally move.

photo nh859 seat 4

Overall a well designed pod puts everything within reach and out of the way.

photo nh859 seat power

And a printed guide to the seat.



While First Class headphone are Sony, Business Class headphones are Panasonic. Makes sense.

photo nh859 amenity hp

Beverage menus for this flight.



Being a morning flight my interest focused on coffee and Kabosu which was very refreshing.

photo nh859 food juice

I couldn’t pass through Japan without having some Japanese Cuisine so the choice was simple.

photo nh859 menu food 1
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photo nh859 menu food closeup
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photo nh859 food 1

Sushi with Tamagoyaki, well it was breakfast for me.

photo nh859 food 2
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photo nh859 food 3

This was fabulous. Marinated Japanese parsley, paprika rolled beef and tofu refuse.

photo nh859 food 4

About the only thing not consumed.

photo nh859 food 5

Alfonsino. New to me, it’s a deep temperate water red bream. Delicious.

photo nh859 food 6
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photo nh859 food 7

This was a very unexpected delicious meal. Who said you can’t get good food on an airplane!

Speaking of food, during the flight I watched a documentary on a French Chef named Alexander Gauthier. He’s famous for his restaurant in La Grenouillère France. A few photos of his “food”.



The air show indicated it was time to get ready to land.

photo nh859 ife air show 3photo nh859 ife air show 4

Which made for some pretty spectacular views of Hong Kong, or maybe it was just that it wasn’t cloudy and you could actually see Hong Kong.



For information on award redemptions as well as rewardflying ratings click on this link.

Flight Path

photo nh859 flight path

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Verdict

ANA

7.4/10
Cabin7.5
Cabin crew7.0
Entertainment/wifi7.0
Meal/catering8.0

Tokyo - HND

8.1/10
Efficiency8.0
Access8.0
Services8.5
Cleanliness8.0

Hong Kong - HKG

7.6/10
Efficiency7.5
Access7.5
Services8.0
Cleanliness7.5

Conclusion

This is a nice cabin. It’s not overly attractive but the 787 is airy and has those windows! I happen to like the staggered seats that ANA uses. These Zodiac Skylounge forward facing seats have nice footwells for sleeping comfort and are well thought out. However the cabin is showing some wear on a plane that has only been in service for 15 months or so.

The food was excellent on this 4 hour flight.

The monitors are fairly small but the content was excellent.IFE

The crew was was fine. Nothing to complain about, nothing to rave about.

Information on the route Tokyo (HND) Hong Kong (HKG)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 14 avis concernant 3 compagnies sur la ligne Tokyo (HND) → Hong Kong (HKG).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Cathay Pacific avec 8.4/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 5 heures et 49 minutes.

  More information

2 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 494944 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6731 Comments
    Hi RewardFlying, great report as always!

    Not the warmest day for planespotting, but the morning light was pretty.

    I made it to the gate in time even after a long 25 minutes through security.

    How silly that with a Business class ticket they denied you access to the priority lanes. I've also found that security lines can be slow in Japan, despite a lot of staff working the lanes.

    Taxing out we passed another 787 operated by Air Japan.

    Nice shot!

    Love flying on 787s, but I'm not a fan of the look of these seats. The design is a little too blah and plasticky, but the seats do look comfortable. The catering looks amazing, as is so often the case on Japanese carriers.

    Awesome shots of Hong Kong on arrival! You got lucky with a clear day. So many times that I've flown in and out of HKG it's either been hazy/smoggy or cloudy.

    Thanks for sharing!
  • Comment 495643 by
    Rewardflying AUTHOR 493 Comments
    Hi Kévin,

    Agreed on the color scheme. My advice, close your eyes and eat!

    Thanks for your comments.

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