There are a few scenarios where a few inches makes all the difference – flying in Economy is one of them. Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) stands out by offering about 2″ (5.1cm) more leg space than Qantas, Singapore Airlines, or Emirates does on their long-haul jets, as standard.
It might not seem a lot, but every centimetre counts when knees and seatbacks are concerned. Curious about what else ANA offers in the long-haul Economy? Here’s our full review.
To celebrate ANA’s return to Perth, you could win a pair of return Economy flights to Japan, thanks to ANA, JNTO and Linkd Tourism. Enter here!
Check-in, lounge and boarding
While ANA flies from Tokyo-Haneda to Sydney (a flight I’ve previously reviewed in Business Class), flights to Perth depart from Tokyo-Narita, further out from the city. We leave our Shinjuku hotel around 7:30am to get to the airport roughly 90 minutes later by car.
Tokyo-Narita isn’t too busy in the morning, so check-in goes by quickly. I use a Face Express-enabled kiosk to register my face for quick passage throughout the airport. (At the time of writing, you still need your passport for immigration, but not for boarding if you’ve done Face Express).
Economy passengers don’t ordinarily get lounge access with ANA. You’ll need Star Alliance Gold status with ANA or an alliance partner such as Singapore Airlines or Air Canada. Unfortunately, Virgin Australia Velocity members can’t access ANA lounges, even with Gold or Platinum status.
The ANA Business Class Lounge offers a varied breakfast with signature chicken curry & rice, ramen, and more. But if you don’t have lounge access, don’t worry. Airport dining and shopping are reasonably priced.
When it’s time to board, most Economy passengers will be in Groups 3 to 5. With Face Express, I whiz through the dedicated lane without digging out my passport or scanning my boarding pass.
Seat and layout
ANA flies the denser variant of its Boeing 787-9s to Perth, equipped with 40 Business Class seats, 14 Premium Economy seats and 192 Economy Class seats. Down the back, Economy is in a typical 3-3-3 layout with around 17″ (43.2cm) of width and the aforementioned 34″ (86.4cm) of pitch.
The increase in pitch is immediately noticeable as I can comfortably stretch out my legs. Along with an adjustable headrest, there’s also a fold-down footrest which isn’t a feature we see much in Economy anymore. The seat is a tad on the narrower side, which would be a more noticeable issue if the flight was full.
(Interestingly, ANA used to have a wider 2-4-2 layout on its Boeing 787s, but later switched to 3-3-3 in line with almost all other airlines. Only its competitor, Japan Airlines, maintains an eight-abreast layout on its 787s.)
Each Economy seat is also outfitted with a 9″ touchscreen with a remote, a USB-A outlet under the screen, and two shared AC power outlets per row. The screen is small but responsive.
In short: it’s not the latest or greatest Economy seat, but it does the job while offering lots of leg space.
Food and beverage
Flying out of the airline’s base in Tokyo, Economy passengers can pre-order an elevated onboard meal from the ‘Paid Exclusive Dining’ menu. It costs ¥2,500 (around $25), and you can browse the menu, with photos, in advance. I check it out a few days before and the seafood option looks interesting, so it’s a done deal for me.
To be fair, the standard Economy menu also looks fine. On this flight, it’s a choice of chicken and eggs over steamed rice or hashed beef stewed in a red wine sauce.
Lunch
Shortly after take-off, the crew hand out moreish snack packs alongside a drink service. In Economy, sake is a rare treat and I can’t resist the opportunity to request a cup. It goes down beautifully.
Soon after, lunch begins with passengers who’ve pre-ordered special meals or opted for Paid Exclusive Dining. When my tray arrives, I’m left in awe. This three-course meal rivals short-haul Business Class standards with a presentation that’s nothing short of elegant – complete with proper crockery, cutlery and a linen napkin.
The marinated shrimp starter bursts with vibrant colours and bold flavours, while simmered Alfonsino fish in a soy-based sauce melts effortlessly on my tongue. Japanese chestnut cream cake offers a perfect, refined finish, and to top it all off, every passenger is treated to a tub of Häagen-Dazs ice cream.
It’s a bit of a splurge, but I would happily pay $25 for this again. I wish more airlines would offer paid, enhanced meals. At least for me, the small pleasures make flying more enjoyable.
Snacks and pre-landing meal box
Throughout the remaining seven hours, the crew regularly checks on passengers with water and drinks on request. I tuck into the cheese and crackers squirelled away from lunch, along with a Pepsi Zero.
Unfortunately, the pre-landing meal box is far less impressive. The ‘vegetable ciabatta’ roll is unappetising, stale and lightly filled. A hot meal before arrival wouldn’t be out of place for this 10-hour flight.
But even if it’s just sandwiches, ANA can do much better. Perhaps the popular 7-Eleven-style egg sandwiches could make an appearance here!
Service and amenities
ANA’s inflight entertainment system is fine, though not spectacular. There’s a decent range of new-release movies, a small assortment of ‘box set’ shows, news, music and games. Standard wired headphones are provided, but I don’t try them on as I always travel with my noise-cancelling earbuds and Bluetooth adaptor.
Economy and Premium Economy passengers enjoy complimentary messaging over Wi-Fi. For full internet access, you’ll have to pay. At the start of the flight, I fork out US$21.95 (A$35.6) for the full flight plan as it’s a work day. There are no data caps with these plans.
Speeds are pretty good, with my phone recording 27 Mbps down and 3.5 Mbps up. One downside of ANA Wi-Fi is you can’t switch the plan to other devices, but I successfully use Bluetooth Tethering to send the connection to my laptop. It’s stable enough for me to download images and file a story about Singapore Airlines from scratch while in the air.
There’s not much else in the way of amenities in Economy, so make sure to bring anything you might need to make yourself more comfortable. ANA’s crew deliver polite and efficient service, as expected. Another cool feature is all the lavatories are equipped with Japanese bidets.
How to book this flight with points
As ANA’s Perth route is currently seasonal, you’ll have the best shot at booking reward seats with Velocity Points when the airline releases all the dates for its upcoming season. Last year, they came out mid-April 2024 for travel from October 2024 onwards.
Otherwise, ANA does sporadically release Economy rewards throughout the year and then again (alongside more Business Rewards) from 14 days before departure. Until 20 January 2025, you’ll pay 42,000 Velocity Points + just $62 in fees and taxes for an Economy seat, one-way.
(From 21 January 2025, Economy rises to 45,000 Velocity Points. Business Class similarly becomes 82,000 points).
If you’re booking ANA Economy with cash, be sure to check out the free domestic flight offer. Essentially, if you book a return trip from Perth to Tokyo, you can add on connecting domestic flights to anywhere ANA serves at no extra cost (except for some slightly higher taxes if you’re having a stopover in Tokyo as well).
Summing up
ANA’s Boeing 787 Economy Class isn’t perfect, but it performs well where it matters the most. The spacious 34″ seat pitch is a compelling reason to book, especially when taking advantage of the convenient, 10-hour non-stop flight back to Australia. I also enjoy the food and beverage onboard, especially with the $25 meal upgrade.
If the entertainment system and pre-landing meal were improved, ANA could easily elevate the experience to higher standards. But even with those few areas to refine, I’d still happily fly ANA Economy again.
Win two return Economy flights from Perth to Japan with ANA →
Photography by Brandon Loo, who travelled as a guest of ANA and JNTO. Additional services were paid at Point Hacks’ expense. All opinions are his own.
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