introduction
Hello everyone!
Its another great day to fly!
This is the inbound flight to SIN after an amazing holiday in Japan.
After a wonderful experienced from my ANA flight from SIN to NRT, im so excited to experience their superior service in another type of aircraft.
After eating Ramen in Yokahama, we took the Narita Express that connects to NRT airport in just under an hour.
Flight routing
- 1
- 2NRT - SIN NH801
narita airport terminal 1 / check in
Narita Express' last station is Terminal 1 where ANA's arrival and departure terminal. The Flight to Singapore is on the south wing of the terminal. All passengers are encouraged to use the self check-in kiosk then the bag drop counter. Since i already did a mobile check in so i went to one of the Kiosk to get my physical boarding pass, i scanned my passport and their system seems cant find my booking, i approached one of the ground staff and directs me to do manual check in. The ground staff also had difficulties checking me in. She asked help on her fellows to search for my booking, i told them that it was originally a Delta booking and transferred to ANA, i gave my Delta's reservation code and ANA code and seems still cant find it, then i gave my flight number and they found it. it take some times and a little help from her colleagues to settle and found my booking. It took around 10-15 minutes to find my booking and checking in my 1 pc luggage.
It was a very busy afternoon. there where queues on every counters.
After i checked in, we went to Terminal 3 to send off my friend and visit the terminal. We went to arrival hall to catch the free shuttle bus going to Terminal 3. the curb side and waiting area for shuttle bus going to other terminals. Terminal 3 is small terminal for low cost airlines. I can say that this terminal is a Budget terminal that houses to all low cost airlines like Jetstar, Peach and Vanila airlines. There were some money changer, convenient store around the area. my friend told me that it also has a food court that houses more variety of Japanese cuisine and others. This terminal also dont uses airbridges instead they use airstairs, which is very low cost.
Did not managed to wander around the terminal as i rushed back to Terminal 1 to get into the airside and left my friend at Terminal 3 and still not yet accepting for check in.
Back at Terminal 1
at arrival level there are tourist centre, transfer service and hotel services.
Flight information displays are also available everywhere.
Main Flight information before security check.
Since it was busy afternoon there were long line for security checks. there is separate security check for premium passengers. Even if there were long lines, it was moving fast. i managed to clear the process in less than 10 minutes.
After security, the next process is the immigration. 1 level down from the check in and security area. There where automated clearance and manned counter. The assitant asked me " do you have ….." those are the only words that i understand from her and answered her "What?" then she directed me to the manned counter for clearance. there were like 2 passengers ahead of me and it was quick for us to clear immigration.
Escalator going down to the immigration.
Definitely will go back to Japan.
air side and boarding
after you got departured stamp from immigration Duty free shopping Area will great you as you enter airside. Gates 52 and onwards is on the left side while other gates is at the right side as well as leading to the satellite boarding gates. tried to wander around the terminal to look for any fastfood or restaurant for me to feed my growling stomach, tried going to the right side of the terminal but i failed to found a meal for me. there were some directory of food choices but i tried to look for them but not to avail, so i failed.
since my boarding gate is on the other side and less that 1 hour before boarding i decided to go back to my side of my gate. since i dont find any food for me i decided to spent my remaining yen to buy some souvenir and food to share when i get back to Singapore. lucky i there were shops jus opposite of our boarding gate.
As i expected, boarding commenced on time and priority boarding took place and called by group. it was a full load for the flight to Singapore, thou boarding is done in an orderly manner.
Boarding through gate 51. Airbridge going to our plane. The plane that flew us from NRT to SIN with Tomo Dachi decal.
on board
We boarded through door 2L. and you will passed by a small section of Business class in 1x2x1 configuration followed by 3 rows of Premium economy in 2x4x2 configuration and economy class at the back of the plane in 2x4x3 configuration.
It was weird for me to see this kind of configuration for a wide body aircraft. Tho as ANA planned this, it would cater to suit to all different types of traveler. A 2 seater row for couple or a group of friends or family travelling together on a row of 3 or 4 seats. It was a great idea but a little weird for me as it was against the norm.
When i did Online check in, i was hoping to find a window seat but there were no avail seat on window side, oly available are aisle or middle seat. so i chose the Aisle seat on a 2 seater row. I chose the seat on the intention to visit the lavatory frequently and sneak on the galleys.
Legroom is decent but less than compared to the newer 787. Pillow, blanket and headphones are pre placed on each seats. The seat?!?! hmmm it was uncomfortable for me. it has a hardshell back seat which means the the seat just slide a little bit and not really fully recline. Recline is minimal and there is no back spine support, so i just put the pillow on my back. i dont remember i slept on this flight as it was really uncomfortable for me. i stood up several times to stretch myself and relieved some back pains.
As usual of me, i explored the seatback pocket content, which has service information menu, B777 safety card, magazines and sky shop. im the kind of person who doesn't read much so i skipped those ;)
i explored the IFE, content is the same as my SIN-NRT flight its just the monitor is more dated compared to the B787 planes of ANA. On the high note, B777 has a camera while 787 don't have, thou it was night flight so i dont see much outside the aircraft and it was switched of during landing.
I paid visit to the lavatory on the left side of the plane, it was the biggest lavatory in the air that i seen, maybe because it was meant for wheelchair access, it was spacious. Amenities are usual and basic. im expecting some dental kit available there but there is none, only sanitary napkin is available.
as we reach cruising altitude after the seat sign was switched off, they start the drink service. there where several drinks to choose from, from soft drinks to juices and beers to wine. my first choice was the yuzu drink, which i liked so much, needed vitamin C after getting flu and olds due the weather.
After 2 hours from take off, dinner service started. Crew handed out a laminated paper which my seat-mate and i shared. there were 2 options, Chicken Curry or Braised seafood and i chose the former. my seat mate also ordered the Chicken Curry and handed out to him the last curry on their cart. then the crew politely told me that she will get back to me with my order, after 5-10 minutes she came back with my chicken curry. the meal tray consists of Vegetable salad, potato salad with shrimp, a slice of maki, edamame and some Japanese pickles. The main is so delicious, i love the sauce/gravy it was so flavourful, it says spicy but not too much. it was one of the best mains that i eaten on a plane, while the rest is taste normal and nothing to rave about.
After the meal, cabin crew handed out the dessert, it was haagendazs ice cream, it was frozen hard, i let it stand for quite some time before i can scoop on it.
after a few minutes crew came back to action to gave out cinnamon roll. since im still full i kept it aside.
Same as on my previous flight Cabin crews always walk around to keep their passenger hydrated, carrying different drinks each time they passed by.
i checked the galley mid flight to check if there are some snack available, there is none.
i was waiting for the snack service prior to arrival but there is none. then i remember that they handed out the roll just after the meal service i thought it still part of the dinner service but it turns out that they already distributed before hand, which disappoints me.
singapore changi
We landed at SIN Changi ahead of schedule even there is a 40 minutes delayed in departure.
it was a relax ambiance in Changi, as we cleared immigration, our bags are not yet ready.
Thanks for the report.
Assuming you flew the 787 with 34" pitch, this aircraft also has that much pitch but since the recline is not really a traditional recline and slides forward instead, you tend to lose a couple inches of legroom which makes you "feel" like there's not as much legroom as their other aircraft. I actually prefer these seats over their other ones as the person in front of you cannot recline into your space.
I was expecting one as well on my long haul flight with them, but there wasn't any. When I asked a cabin attendant, she told me that there are actually available ones, but upon request.
These are how my experiences are like whenever I transit through Narita. In fact, there's a larger selection of shops and places to eat landside. If I were to transit through Tokyo, I generally would choose Haneda over Narita as their immigration lines are shorter IME and the airport landside has a great selection of shops and places to eat.
On my experiences with them, they're only available on long haul flights to America and Europe.
Thanks for a good report on ANA, hope you had a fun time in Japan.