Flight Review: ANA 777-300ER Business Class from Beijing to Tokyo Haneda

Flight Review: ANA 777-300ER Business Class from Beijing to Tokyo Haneda

Flight Information
Date
: March 22, 2018
Flight No.: NH962
Route: Beijing Capital to Tokyo Haneda
Airline: ANA All Nippon Airways
Type: Boeing 777-300ER
Registration: JA735A

After trying out Asiana Airlines and Thai Airways business class, and spotting in Phuket and Beijing, it was time to take the final flight of the spotting trip. The flight took me from Beijing to Tokyo Haneda, and it was operated by ANA’s Boeing 777-300ER.

Boarding Flight NH962 from Beijing to Tokyo

After a quick lunch at BGS Premier Lounge and an afternoon spotting session inside the terminal, I headed to the flight’s boarding gate around 2:45PM in order to get there on time for the 3PM scheduled boarding time.

When I got to the gate, boarding was already in progress. And, since I was flying in business class, I was able to get onboard almost right away.

ANA Boeing 777-300ER at Its Gate in Beijing

ANA 777-300ER waiting for the flight to Tokyo.
ANA Boeing 777-300ER in Beijing

Almost ready to go.
 Beijing Airport Gate E26

Boarding in progress.
Boarding ANA PEK-HND

The aircraft as seen during boarding.
Business Class Boarding Bridge

Business class passengers turn left.

ANA 777-300ER Business Class Cabin and Seat

Once I got onboard, I first passed through the first class cabin. Interestingly, ANA operates a four-class Boeing 777-300ER on this flight, however, it does not sell first class tickets. As such, the first class seats are available to some (full-fare paying and status-holding) business class passengers.

ANA 777-300ER First Class Seat

ANA 777-300ER first class seat.

Then, I entered the business class cabin and settled in my bulkhead window seat, 7A.

ANA 777-300ER Business Class Seat

ANA 777-300ER business class seat.

Since the seats were staggered in a 1-2-1 layout, each of the seats offered direct aisle access. And, just like on my Asiana and Thai Airways flights, the outer seats were altering between being closer to the window and to the aisle, and the seats in the center section were altering between being right next to each other and being further apart from each other.

ANA 777-300ER Business Class Cabin

Row of single seats along the windows.
ANA Business Class 777-300ER Aisle Seat

Aisle seat.
ANA 777-300ER Business Class Window Seat

Window seat.

As for my seat, since it was one of the “real” window seats, it was right by the windows and was separated from the aisle by a big console that providing a fair amount of privacy.

On the top of the console was a counter that was large enough to hold a laptop. And, besides that, it also featured the reading material rack, a small enclosed storage space, a bottle holder and the audio output. Above the console, there was a reading light.

And, upon boarding, a noise-cancelling headset could be found on the console.

Console

Console.
Storage Box

Storage box.
ANA Business Class Headset

Noise cancelling headset.

On the console’s wall, there were the seat controls, the side table light control, a do not disturb button which was connected to an indicator on the top of the seat, and a separate pair of buttons for controlling the seat when in recline mode. There was also the IFE remote control.

Seat Controls

Seat controls.
IFE Remote

IFE remote.
Extra Seat Controls

More seat controls.
Do Not Disturb Sign

“Do not disturb” indicator.

On the seat itself, there was a blanket waiting upon boarding. And, under the seat, there was a shoebox which included a pair of slippers.

Blanket

Blanket.
Shoebox

Shoebox and slippers.

In front of the seat itself, there was a large IFE screen and a coat hook to the left it. While it took me a bit of time to figure it out, under the screen, there was a little box with a power outlet and a USB port. And, under that, the fairly large and sturdy tray table could be found.

Bulkhead

Looking towards the front of my seat.
Tray Table

Tray table.
Power Outlets

Charging ports.

Finally, under the screen, there was the foot cubby which was quite deep, and decently wide and high. For some reason, there was a (blue) light in the foot cubby as well. Not sure what purpose it served, but I guess it’s better to have it than not to have it.

Legroom

Legroom.
Foot Cubby Light

Foot cubby light.

ANA Regional Business Class Pre-Departure Service

Going back to the flight, around 3:15PM, one of the cabin crew members came to ask me for the meal I wanted to have. Since I didn’t realize the menu was in the magazine rack on the console, I asked her to give me some more time to take a look at the menu.

ANA Business Class Menu

Menu.
ANA Meal Menu

Meals.
ANA Drink Menu

Drinks.
ANA Sake and Wine Menu

Sake and shochu.
ANA Wine Menu

Wine.
ANA Champagne Menu

Champagne.

Shortly after, she brought me an immigration form, and another couple of minutes later she came back to take the order. I opted for the Western choice and also asked for a cup of water since neither JAL nor ANA serve welcome drinks in business class.

Immigration Form

Immigration form.
Water

Water.

Then at 3:20PM, one of the cabin crew members announced “cabin attendants, set slide bar,” and the aircraft doors were closed. Just three minutes later, at 3:23PM, we were pushed back. And, another couple of minutes later, one of the flight attendants came to take my empty cup in preparation for take-off.

Taxiing for Departure

Taxiing for departure.
Air China Aircraft in Beijing

Air China aircraft waiting for their next flights.
Air China 747

Air China 747-400.

Soon, we reached the end of runway 19, and after letting a United 777 land, we took off at exactly 4PM.

United 777 Landing

United 777 landing.
ANA 777 Lining Up for Departure from Beijing

Lining up.
Seconds After Take-Off

Seconds after take-off.
View After Take-Off from Beijing Capital Airport

View of Beijing after take-off.
Take-Off

Climbing.

ANA Business Class Dinner

The seatbelt signs were switched off about five minutes after take off, and at that point, the crew could commence the dinner service.

First, a (luke)warm towel was brought, and that was followed by a single-use (quite cheap looking) table cloth, a drink (Coke in my case), and a pack of rice crackers. The rice crackers were served in a plastic package which wasn’t nearly as nice as when an airline serves nuts in actual glassware. However, at least there was a plastic tray inside the package which made it easy to eat the crackers.

Coke and Snack

Rice crackers and Coke.
Rice Crackers

Rice crackers.
Window View

View out of the window.

About twenty minutes later, the main was served on a single tray together with a trio of appetizers and a bread roll. While the appetizers were nicely presented, the main came with an aluminum cover which made it look a bit like an economy class meal.

What was inside the cover, however, was a fairly nicely presented (and tasty) steak with sauce and some vegetables. It was well done, though, and so it might not have been to everyone’s liking.

ANA Business Class Dinner

Meal after I removed the main’s cover.
ANA Business Class Meal Presentation

The presentation could have been better.
Steak

Steak.
Appetizer

Appetizers.

Together with the meal, I was also served a cup of green tea.

Around the same time, we were cruising at 37,000 feet, and a welcome announcement was made by one of the pilots mentioning that it was 13 degrees and cloudy in Tokyo, and that we were expecting an on-time arrival.

Green Tea Onboard ANA Flight from Beijing to Tokyo

Green tea.
Cruising Towards Tokyo

Cruising towards Tokyo.

After the meal, vanilla Hagen-Dazs ice cream was served. While I am a fan of Hagen-Dazs and I enjoyed the ice cream, it would have been nice if there was also a “real” dessert.

As by this time, I finished my tea, I asked crew for one more. And, it came in a slightly different – “more Japanese” cup this time.

Haagen-Dazs

Haagen-Dazs ice cream.
Tea

More green tea.

Last Moments Before Descent

When I finished the ice cream, there was still about an hour and a half of flight time left, and so I decided to work a bit and back up some of the photos I took during the trip. I also checked the in-flight entertainment system a bit, but I won’t be writing about it in detail here since I already reviewed it here.

Besides the actual IFE, there was also in-flight wi-fi which was priced based on data usage (on domestic flights it’s free).

ANA Onboard Internet Pricing

In-flight wi-fi pricing.
Working Onboard All Nippon Airways Flight to Tokyo

Editing photos.

Landing at Tokyo Haneda Airport

We started descending shortly before 7:20PM Japan time. And, another ten minutes later, the seatbelt signs were switched on.

The landing gear was lowered yet another ten minutes later, and at 7:41PM, we touched down on Tokyo Haneda airport’s runway 34L. It took another seven minutes of taxiing before we reached our parking gate 108 at 7:48PM.

Sunset

Sunset.
Approaching Tokyo Haneda Airport

Approaching Tokyo Haneda airport.
ANA 777-300ER After Arrival in Tokyo from Beijing

The 777-300ER after arrival in Tokyo.

ANA 777-300ER Business Class Beijing – Tokyo Summary

The overall quality of the flight was certainly more than good enough for a sub-3-hour regional sector, and the hard product was excellent given that it was an aircraft configured for long-haul flights.

There were some areas of the flight where ANA disappointed me a bit, though. One of those was the presentation of the main meal. And another was the lack of a proper dessert.

 

Click here to see more ANA All Nippon Airways flight, lounge & hotel reviews

 

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