ANA’s new cabin upgrade raises the bar in all classes

11 November 2009 | Japanese carrier ANA has unveiled a serious upgrade of all its four cabins, as part of its ‘Inspiration of Japan’ campaign. The new classes of service where originally meant for the Boeing 787 of which ANA will be the launch customer in late 2010, but due to the B787’s production delays the new cabins will already appear on ANA’s new B777-300ER in February 2010 (Tokyo to New York). According to the ANA: “We were hoping to unveil our new cabin experience on the 787, but we decided we couldn’t wait anymore, so it’s going on our new 777s from early in the new year”. ANA’s new 777s will have eight first-class seats, 68 business-class seats, 24 premium-economy seats and 112 seats in economy. 

Re-branded as ANA First Square, ANA’s new first class features a private suite with a fully lie-flat bed, a 23-inch LCD touch screen, a baggage compartment and coat closet. At Tokyo Narita airport, ANA will introduce a ‘Suite Lounge’ in October 2010 for First Class passengers and Diamond tier members. Passengers will have their own private suite on the ground as well, where they can work or relax while they get checked-in and wait for their flight. Two other eye-catching features in the premium cabins are washrooms with warm-water bidet-toilets by Toto, which ANA says is a world’s first, and the option for passengers to select and order their meals via the touch screen of their IFE system (from April 2010). ANA’s new business class also has a full-flat bed (configuration is 1-2-1, so all seats have aisle acces), a 17-inch LCD touch screen, a large side table, and storage space for shoes.

In ANA’s new Premium Economy and Economy cabins, seats will have a very generous pitch at 42″ and 34″ respectively. Both types of seats have a fixed back shell, so passengers recline inside their seat and not into the lap of the passenger behind them. Premium economy seats also have double-wide armrests and dividers between seats to ensure more privacy. Raising the bar in the inflight entertainment department, all classes feature AVOD, iPod and USB connections and an universal power outlet. 

At a time when Japan’s ailing flag carrier JAL is struggling to avoid bankrupcy, ANA seems to become Japan’s answer to the likes of Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines. With the upcoming upgrade ANA also joins a number of carriers (Swiss, Korean Air, Etihad, Oman Air) that continue to invest in the passenger experience during the current recession.

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