REVIEW: Round the World Leg 1 - ANA Business Class (Sydney to Tokyo)

ANA Business Class Cabin

Leg 1: ANA Sydney to Tokyo

Aircraft: Boeing 787

Seat Configuration: 1-2-1

Duration: 9hr 40min

With a hectic travel itinerary covering three continents, Asia, North America and Europe, and seven flights (four of these longer than eight hours), I was looking forward to the comfort of business class between destinations.

Despite it being peak travel time both in Australia (winter school holidays) and in Europe (summer), I still had similar high expectations of each airline of the standard of service.

We opted to travel with hand luggage only for convenience due to the number of flights and connections. With business class baggage allowance that meant a standard cabin-compatible suitcase and a large tote bag. Although traveling light, we had enough each for our three week trip.

Online check-in allowed us to bypass the check-in queues at the airport and head straight to passport control, security and the airport lounge oasis.

Our ANA flight from Sydney to Tokyo Haneda left at 9PM which was a perfect time to allow for a good sleep.

We were in Row 5 in the middle seats (centre aisle) of a 1-2-1 arrangement. In between our seats there was a small retractable divider for privacy so you could open to engage with your travel partner, or close off. There was plenty of room to store personal items close at hand and we were welcomed with a warm smile, a cold drink and refreshing towel.

Also provided was a good quality, zipper-front pyjama jacket and toiletries, including slip-on slides. USB and standard universal PowerPoint outlets were accessible on the seat frame for mobile device charging and the TV system had an excellent choice of latest release movies, although we slept right through the flight and didn’t watch much!

A cushioned mattress cover and pillow made the lay flat bed extremely comfortable.

The food options were exceptional with a choice of Japanese or western menus. The Japanese menu was a no-brainer with a tasty selection of King Crabmeat, seared salmon, prawn sushi and Matcha Confectionery in different styles. Zensai (A Selection of Morsels), Otsukuri (A Selection of Sashimi) and Shusai (Mains).

There was an impressive choice of delicious snacks, and made to order meals, including the ANA’s famous Ramen that made me wish I had a day flight to try it all and wasn’t sleeping through.

I tried a traditional Japanese citrus drink, Aromatic Kabuso where ‘the sourness of the kabosu and the sweetness of the honey are well balanced to create a cup that will soothe both mind and body’ and it did the trick. 

The flight went all too quickly, and we disembarked at Haneda.