What's ANA ?
Written: Feb 16 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Star Alliance, well covered domestic route, Excellent Service,
Japan Airpass fares!
Cons: stupid 2 month domestic rule, still not available everywhere!
The Bottom Line: Just try it out. I'll nearly guarantee no dissapointment
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| can_of_beans's Full Review: ANA All Nippon Airways |
Pretext
When my friends find out I'm going home (Japan is my second home), they ask me "who you flying with?" I answer "ANA." And always the response is "what's ANA?" ANA is an old airline in Japan, but relatively new to the international market. Their first flight to the US was in 1997 so not suprisingly, most people do not even know they exist (I mean most people don't exactly go to Japan over Hawaii for their honeymoon!). So it is about time to give recognition to this great Japanese airline, and my favorite (although for some you might not)
My history with ANA
Quite extensive. When I was little, my last leg of flight was Osaka to Tokushima when they still operated this. Then it became the frequent shuttle from Tokushima to Tokyo. But ANA canceled both services and I'm left with JAL and an airline called Skymark (I dunno). Roughly used them 16 times.
Check-in
Like JAL and many other great airlines (Cathay, Singapore etc.), ANA is very efficient and customer curteous. Lines can get long, but they proceed quickly (what lines never go long?). I actually prefer ANA more than JAL as their uniform s are a little more laid back and you feel that the staff are relaxed. I mean both airline staff go all the way for you so you feel guilty when they have dozens of customers to deal with.
Seating
ANA on domestic is kind of like Southwest in which your seat is determined at the airport (at check-in though). But unlike them, ANA never overbooks your seats (to my knowledge). ANA planes are newer and are comfortable. Although note like JAL, taller caucasians may find the seats crampt. The only downer of ANA over JAL is that ANA's domestic business class 'Super Seat' is ¥5000 (about $50) then JAL's J class at only ¥1000. But if you request it during reservations, they sometimes can lower the fare.
Inflight Crew
Excellent service crew. Much better than North American Airlines. You just can't beat ANA's crew (well you maybe able to match it). Extremely helpful and knowledgeble, they will go front and end to try to satisfy customers. Note some like JAL in domestic may have problems with english so for those non Japanese, be patient and talk slowly. They will try to do their best.
Entertainment
Better than JAL. Not sure of International recently. ANA usually shows TV broadcast from NHK and handed out free headphones on flights. On my international flight a few years back, they showed good movies (forgot what they were),
and screens were posted every other row. Also on domestic, they showed a video camera of an aerial shot of outside, so you can see the plane taking off and coming in! It's really cool.
Food
They offer very good menus for Western and Japanese tastes. Not as good as JAL. Domestically, they usually never provide a full service meal, although they provide snacks and drinks (once again, the short flights make it unneccesary). The one time a flight from Tokyo to Okinawa. But sometimes they don't so the best way to be sure is to ask when making reservations. Foreigners should be aware that most domestic do not offer meals, which I see some Epinion members were dissapointed on. Most Japanese people are accustomed to this. For pictures of food on ANA, go to http://www.airlinemeals.net , click on browse thousands of meals, then on ANA.
Destinations
This is where ANA lacks JAL. ANA is just starting to emerge into the International. No flights to Canada other than Air Canada code-share (doesn't count!). Even flights to the US, many are United code-share. They do fly around Asia and Europe. Star alliance also makes up for this. They used to be #1 in Japan domestically, but JAL merged with JAS so that spot was taken away.
ANA Mileage Club
Because of the near equal size in Japan, ANA Mileage Club and JAL's Mileage Bank are very similar. But why ANA wins is becase it is in the Star Alliance. This gives a member a better opportunity to earn miles. But like JAL, miles expire within 3 years despite activity so saving miles become very futile unless you fly a lot or use it's partners very frequently.
Fares
Very similar to JAL. Only business class domestically is somewhat more than JAL. But considering service, this is very reasonable.
Other Notes
This is why ANA doesn't get 5 out of 5. Strict reservations!
ANA is my favorite over JAL, but it only gets 4 because of the stupid rule on domestic flights. You can only reserve domestic flights 2 months prior to travel. This means you cannot book ahead or ensure your seat before it is too late.
Oddly, international customers can book ahead of that if they book international tickets. This means their home base customers are left in the dust.
Also if your planning to travel to Japan, try considering the Japan Air Pass by ANA. One domestic leg of ANA coinciding with ticket to Japan gives you automatic fixed price of about ¥11,000 per leg of flight in Japan! This saves about 50% from normal fare. Call 1-800-2FLY-ANA for more info.
Overall
ANA is my favorite in Japan. But because of the stupid rule, many maynot like it. But maybe if enough people grumble, they'll change it. But if good service and friendly staff are in mind, ANA is no disappointment.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
can_of_beans
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Reviews written: 12
Trusted by: 1 member
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