ANA First off the checklist too!

Flown August 2016
Published January 2017

At Narita Airport

It has been some time since my last entry and I finally got the time to share my first flight report for this blog, which is not going to be very common since I prefer to focus on hotels.

Maybe this is considered the second, but I guess my Medical Emergency does not really count as a flight report, does it?

Anyway, I planned this trip to Tokyo and I wanted to experience something different from Singapore Airlines.

ANA is probably easier for redemption compared to our great Singapore Airlines, and is also frequently listed as one of the best airlines to fly.

The flight to Tokyo was scheduled to depart at 6 am, so I had to wake up pretty early and was afraid I would oversleep.

Thankfully, everything was uneventfully and I arrived at the airport without a hitch.

As a First Class passenger, I was directed to the First Lounge Class at Terminal 2. The Private Room is only for passengers flying on Singapore Airlines Suites and First Class.

The lounge was rather empty with 1 other passenger when I arrived, which grew to 5 other people upon leaving. Well, it was 5 am in the morning…

The food selection was fair (for Changi Airport standard), but is much better than many lounges overseas.

The most striking feature of the lounge would be the toilet in my opinion, which could fit into any luxury hotel.

From the lounge, I headed directly for boarding, as it was still dark, I did not manage to take a picture of the plane at Changi Airport.

For those who do not know, ANA has a partnership with the Star Wars franchise named the ANA STAR WARS Project and some of the planes are coloured after the famous robots R2-D2, C-3PO and BB-8.

Did I know it was a BB-8 plane?

Only the night before.

I was checking which plane was being flown on FlightAware and I saw that plane that landed in Singapore, the night before, had the tail number of the BB-8 plane.

On entering the cabin, I was quickly shown to my seat at the front.

There was only 1 other passenger in the First Class, so I was asked if I wanted my original window seat or change to an aisle seat.

The seats are arranged in individual cubicles in a 1-2-1 plan and provide quite a bit of privacy.

This also means you can’t convert the aisle seats into a ‘double bed’ like Singapore Airlines Suites.

My traveling companions

A small window to the other aisle seat

The screen for the inflight entertainment was rather big and a set of pajamas and cardigan was placed below the screen.

The amenity bag came in a Samsonite shell and the headphones are by Sony.

The seat was adjusted by a touch screen and was easy to use.

There was not much storage space at the seat, mainly for a bottle of water and the headphones.

The inflight menu came in a nice book and the range was really quite good as shown.

Can anyone comment on the wine and champagne selection? I am really clueless as I do not take alcohol.

The flight also had WIFI service with 15 min free.

I managed to upload a picture as a status update on my Facebook with it.

I ordered the Japanese breakfast and I must say I didn’t quite like it.

The turbulence during the meal probably made my stomach churn and reject the food even more.

Sencha split from the turbulence

With that, the cabin crew adjusted the seat to a full-flat bed and I went to sleep.

The mattress is quite thick and comfortable.

So after a good nap, I woke up to order ramen which is from ‘Ippudo’, and completed with ice-cream.

During the flight, the cabin crew also gave me some BB-8 memorabilia.

Just before landing, I was offered a picture with Master Yoda and some sweets from Darth Varder.

Well, the head of Darth Vader to be precise.

Polarbear giving a look of disbelief

The cabin crew from this flight was really good and always smiling.

My return flight (in First as well) experience paled in comparison, but I am glad to have had the chance to check out the ANA Star Wars plane.

Happy and Healthy Travels!