Review of ANA flight Manila → Tokyo in Economy

This is the end of my 2019 summer vacation. It has been a blast touring around a few countries in Asia and will definitely return here hopefully in the future! For my trip back home to Canada, I will be taking three flights. The first two being on ANA and the last sector on Alaska Airlines. 

ニノイ・アキノ国際空港 ninoy aquino international airport

ANA is one of the few airlines (the first international airline actually) to use Terminal 3 at NAIA airport. I arrived three hours before departure to check-in for the flight to Narita. 

The check-in line for Economy Class seemed a bit long, but I was directed to the web check-in line as ANA automatically checked me in online 24 hours before departure. The passengers were a good mix of nationalities, with the majority being either Japanese headed home to Japan or Filipinos visiting Tokyo or connecting onto other flights out of Narita. There were also a few handful of Westerners joining this flight as well. The flight was almost 100% full, so no empty row this time. 

搭乗体験 GATE AND BOARDING EXPERIENCE

ANA has placed signs regarding Economy passengers where to sit in the boarding area for a smoother boarding experience. The people sitting in the back of the plane were to sit in the front chairs in the boarding area while the passengers sitting closer to the front of the plane were to sit in the back chairs as boarding for Economy Class goes from back to front. This makes the boarding process more efficient without staff having to stop passengers and pulling them over to the side before their row numbers were announced. 

Notice the sign in this picture regarding Economy Class passengers where to sit in the boarding area depending on their row numbers.

The Dreamliner that was to be used for this flight, registration JA834A.

機内で ONBOARD THE AIRCRAFT

Boarding began at 9:00AM and in just over 15 minutes afterwards it was announced that the doors were already closed. For that duration of boarding on an almost-completely full Dreamliner, it was one of the fastest boarding experiences I've experienced compared to my Air Canada flight in July on a smaller A320 which took over a half hour.

My seatmate arrived and sat on the B seat; she was a Filipino passenger headed home to San Diego. 

View for the next few hours

Pushback was at 9:20AM, just ten minutes ahead of the scheduled departure time of 9:30. 

Look what's still here several months after the incident….

Taxi time took just 17 minutes and we were immediately cleared for takeoff after turning onto the runway.

Terminal 1 of MNL Airport

Rotation and initial climb out of Manila

食事サービス MEAL SERVICE

The Cabin Attendants began the meal service half an hour into the flight. "Which meal would you like to have? Pork or chicken? I recommend the pork." the CA asked us. I went with her recommendation and got the pork with rice. 

Overall the meal tasted okay. The salad was lacking a little bit in taste but the udon noodles was the best side dish that came with the meal. For my drink I got the ANA Original kabosu juice.

After the trays were collected, I handed my flight logbook to one of the Cabin Attendants.

飛行中 MID-FLIGHT

The crew dimmed the windows for passengers to rest. You could still control it but it was only limited to half-tint or darker. 

Flight progress

The IFE selection hasn't been updated on this flight yet as this aircraft flew in from Narita the night before and it was still August at the time. Still, there were plenty of movies to watch. Announcements onboard this flight were made in Japanese and English, as all the cabin attendants on this flight were Japanese.

Cabin view mid-flight

The SKYSHOP catalogue had a few interesting items, including an ANA Flying Honu A380 diecast model for sale.

The Cabin Attendants on this flight were wonderful. During the meal service, they would write down in their notebooks the seat numbers of passengers who were asleep. Then when they woke up, the CAs would politely tell the passenger "Sir/Madam, you were asleep during the meal service but we did not forget you. Would you like to have your meal right now?"

When she got to my row, I asked for a snack mix and some Japanese Sake. The Cabin Attendant was happy to give me two packets. 

Rear Economy Class cabin

アプローチと着陸 FINAL APPROACH AND LANDING

Soon, it was time for descent into NRT International.

Speedbrakes deployed

Flight Path of the aprroach

Landing at Narita International Airport

The flight landed near the Japan Airlines terminal, which meant quite a lengthy taxi to Terminal 1.

There were many other flights arriving at the same time, mostly ANA and United flights from North America. This could mean a long line at transit security and/or immigration.

Parked near an ANA B777-300ER. Arrival at the gate was at 2:45PM, which was 20 minutes ahead of schedule.

フライトログエントリ flight log entry

After the flight, the cabin attendant came to me and handed me back my logbook along with some ANA souvenirs.

It was a nice flight on ANA to Narita, now it was time for a layover for about 3 hours before continuing onto ANA 178 to Seattle.