On my return flight from Japan, I had the incredible opportunity to fly on ANA’s new first class product (The Suite), one of the most premium flying experiences out there. This is arguably one of the best deals in travel out there, especially when you consider how many points you need to actually book this flight (just 40,833 points in my case).
How I Booked ANA First Class For 40,833 Points
In summary, I used Roame’s SkyView tool to set alerts and monitor for award availability from Tokyo to California since I had already booked my flight into Tokyo on Japan Airline’s incredible new business class seat. One day when I was looking, I noticed the elusive ANA availability on both Velocity and United Airlines, which meant that it would be available via Virgin Atlantic for booking.
Before Virgin Atlantic devalued their tickets, it was possible to book this seat using just 72,500 miles one way. I gave Virgin Atlantic a quick call and the agent was able to book the seat after a few minutes of searching. I expand on my step by step in my article explaining my entire process here.
How Much Does It Cost To Book ANA First Class Now?
After a slew of various devaluations, here’s how much it costs to book ANA First Class across various methods now (NRT <> ORD for this example):
- United Airlines: 220k miles+ ~$43.40
- Velocity: 134k miles + ~$65.30
- ANA: (roundtrip booking required) 75k miles (low), 85k miles (regular), 100k miles (peak)
- Virgin Atlantic: 85k miles + ~$300 (72.5k via the West Coast)
As you can see, booking via points can differ wildly from source to source. Virgin Atlantic is the best way to book this flight, as it offers the most flexibility (you only need to book one way legs).
Checking Into ANA First Class
Haneda’s ANA first class check in is not as boujee as Narita’s. While Narita has a whole separate special, black marble clad check in for its most valuable passengers, Haneda just has some red carpet. Not that I’m complaining, but it is funny seeing the differences.
Check in was smooth—the agent just asked for my passport and was able to verify all the details of my flight and helped me add my Turkish Airlines Gold status to my reservation. I was able to check in two bags relatively easily with no weight concerns (both were under 23 kg each).
The agent then showed me where the lounge was and ushered me over to the immigrations/customs line, where there was a special area for first/business class passengers. The other line for other passengers was already getting busy, so I was glad to be able to use this line.
There was a human verifying my ticket right before I entered this priority check-in area. No one else was in this line, so it was really fast and simple—I think they just scanned my face.
After this, there were a bunch of scary signs to not take photos... so I did not take photos. I first went through a security check (kind of like TSA) and then an immigrations check, where I just scanned my passport and had my face scanned again. Super quick, super easy.
Finding The ANA Lounge
Haneda’s international terminal is big, with many lounges scattered throughout the place. I was mainly focused on finding the ANA “Suites” lounge, which was located somewhere to the right post security. According to the terminal nap, it is located right across Gate 110, so I set off to find the lounge.
After a bit of a walk, I managed to find it under a big sign saying “Airline lounges.” It seemed like it housed just the ANA lounges, with the JAL lounge being next door?
Once you go up a fancy escalator, you’ll be greeted with two large doors and a sign that asks you if you want the red or blue pill—in this case, the red pill is the ANA Suite Lounge and the blue pill is the ANA Business Class Lounge. While I did spend some time checking out the business class lounge, let’s just the first class lounge is worlds better (you can read my full review here).
To keep things short, this lounge was dark and sleek, which matches up with the general feel that the ANA first class product tries to give. There was ample seating, with some very nice, private booths and a full a la carte menu alongside a hot buffet.
You could even order sushi from the a la carte menu, alongside some decent champagnes/drinks.
I’ll save the full lounge review for later, but after taking a nap and showering at the lounge, it was time for me to find my flight.
Boarding ANA First Class
My gate was unfortunately moved from 110 (right outside the lounge) to gate 106A, which was all the way down at the end of the terminal. Since I still wanted to board early, I scurried over and managed to be the second person in line to board. Yay! ANA boards based on the following:
- Pre boarding
- Group 1: First class, ANA Diamond
- Group 2: Business class, ANA Platinum, ANA Super Flyers, Star Alliance Gold
- Group 3: Window seat passengers in Premium Economy and Economy class
- Group 4: Middle seat passengers in Premium Economy and Economy Class
- Group 5: Aisle seat passengers in Premium Economy and Economy Class
Once boarding started, I walked down the bridge to find a sign—seems like all first class passengers take a left here, which helps provide a more exclusive experience. I also snapped a very bad photo of the plane while I was on the move.
I was happily greeted by the flight attendants, who graciously helped me get to my seat... and I was immediately blown away by the cabin. For some reason, I had thought this entire time I was going to be flying on ANA’s old first class (the Square), but I immediately realized I was actually in the new first class seats (the Suite).
First Impressions Of ANA First Class: No Words... Just :0
Wow, this was one beautiful cabin. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.
There are a total of 8 first class seats, organized in a 1-2-1 formation. The screen is ridiculously large and each suite is also similar enormous. There is seemingly endless leg room accompanying each seat.
Each suite comes with a set of sliding doors that you can use for ultimate privacy. Additionally, the privacy barrier between the two middle seats can be lowered so that you can socialize with a companion throughout the course of the flight.
There’s just something about the dark color scheme that I really like here, which uses a mixture of dark grays, browns, and blacks to create a sleek, modern feeling throughout the entire cabin.
The seat also came with ample storage all around, including 1 AC port, 1 USB-A port, and 1 HDMI port.
There was also significant arm rests and a spot for you to also put magazines/books.
The flight attendants soon came back to ask if I wanted a welcome drink—turns out they were not serving the famous Krug before departure, so I asked politely to wait until after departure before having anything. I just took a bottle of the water instead for hydration purposes.
I also decided to start exploring the various amenities provided, which included a long list of items:
- Amenity kit
- Sony headphones (to borrow & return)
- Pajamas set
- Slippers
The amenity kit was cocreated with Ettinger London, featuring Sensai products, a leather coin pouch, and a collapsible bag. I quickly discovered that the Sensai products were worth quite a bit... The Sensai Ultimate “The Cream” product retails at around $750.00 USD per 40 mL, meaning my 6 mL sample was worth over $100. Pretty crazy products there in itself.
I could not really tell what brand the pillow was, but it provided some great lumbar support throughout my flight. Additionally, the seat came with one WiFi pass—I think I maybe should have asked for more passes since it would have been great to have WiFi on both my phone and my computer, but oh well.
Something I really enjoyed about the seat was the ample lighting and cooling options available. While the Japan Airlines A350-1000 and the Singapore Airlines A350 did not have the air nozzles available, this Boeing 777 did, which helped cool me down since the cabin was a tad warm.
The seat also came with multiple reading lights, one to the left and right of the headrest, which also provided ample lighting at a variety of angles. There was also a light in front of the TV that helped to provide plenty of visibility, especially when eating (great for photos).
Since I generally run a bit warm on planes, I didn’t get a chance to try out the pajamas, but they’re a set of high quality tops and bottoms that you’re allowed to take home. I have mine with me at home, but still have yet to wear them...
After settling down and getting all my stuff in order, I was able to really examine all the leg room available, which easily fit my backpack and my shoes with no issues.
When the doors shut, I realized something interesting: I was actually the only person in the entire first class cabin. My flight attendant informed me that the other passenger had actually canceled their flight, and that this was probably the first time she had flown with only one first class passenger. Nice!
The In-flight Experience: Spectacular Drinks & Service
Before we took off, I spent a good deal of time looking through the menu to figure out what I wanted to eat and drink. Here are the main course dinner menus:
And here are the light dishes/anytime menus:
I decided I wanted to go with the Japanese meal, since, you know, I was leaving Japan and already missed the food :(
Shortly after take-off, the FAs offered me the prized champagne: Krug Crande Cuvee. This champagne is pretty famous among airlines, as its a popular choice served across some first class seats. I’m no sommelier, but this is one damn tasty and pretty champagne—clean, rich, and bright. Not too difficult to drink, but also very palatable with many of the following foods I ate.
After the FAs realized I liked the champagne, they provided excellent service, asking every so often if I wanted more.
Shortly after the pour, they started dinner service, which first started with the Amuse: ANA’s signature breadsticks, smoked salmon, crab meat, and vegetable crudités:
Since I had chosen the Japanese cuisine menu, here began the flurry of my multicourse dinner. Next came the Sakizuke, which was a starter comprised of jellyfish, prawn, sea urchin, okra, yuzu, and zucchini alongside Zensai, a selection of morsels like eel sushi, roast beef, and more. This was pretty good, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about the jelly holding all the seafood together:
Then, I was given Owan, a clear soup with pike conger and then a sashimi plate with seared largehead hairtail and squid.
Afterwards, I was served the main course, which featured a grilled tilefish, simmered eggplant, carrot, and burdock root. There was also tasty tidbits comprised of taro, octopus, and pumpkin alongside some Japanese pickled vegetables. This was a super tasty meal—really liked the sauce combination alongside the fish.
At the start of this meal, I also asked if I could have the main entree from the International menu, which was a wagyu filet. This came out after my main Japanese course, and the meat turned out to be incredibly tender and delicious as well. It was served among a unique Japanese-style sauce that paired well with the meat.
I then decided to close out my meal with a glass of the sparkling sake alongside the Japanese menu dessert: Kanmi, comprised of cut fruit, agar, bean paste, and matcha syrup. It was a delicious way to conclude the meal.
After finishing dinner service, I went to go check out the bathroom. The first class bathroom was completely isolated from the rest of the cabin, so I basically had it to myself, which was nice. Not only did it smell great, but it came with several amenities like mouthwash, cleaning sheets, toothbrushes, and little towelettes. In Japanese fashion, there was also a bidet built into the toilet.
As a testament to the wonderful service, even though I was just brushing my teeth, when I stepped out of the bathroom, the flight attendants had already made my bed for me in a separate suite. Since I was the only person in the first class cabin, they let me basically set up however I wanted across the entire cabin (albeit, I only fiddled around in two seats).
It still blows my mind that you can basically have a full twin bed in the sky.
The FAs dimmed the cabin, which allowed me to take a brief nap.
When I woke up, I was feeling a bit hungry and groggy, so I ordered a special ANA matcha alongside a Japanese Washoku meal, which came with vegetables, grilled sea bass, cod roe, and natto. And as the food came out, the wonderful staff asked if I wanted more Krug champagne, which I gladly obliged.
The matcha was delicious and was a great way to get some energy in my system. Likewise, I really enjoyed the Washoku meal, which was basically my last full Japanese meal before landing in the states.
While I spent some time scouting the menu, I realized the red wine Tignanello 2015 was a $200 bottle, and thus I immediately wanted to try some. Unfortunately, in my excitement, I spilled some natto sauce on my computer, but I think everything is ok so far...
The wine was served with a side of nuts and Japanese sweets, which I thought went very well together. I was a big fan of the mochi dessert.
In my menu adventure, I also discovered my flight was serving 17 year Suntory Hibiki whiskey. I’m not a hard alc type of person, but I wanted to give it a try nonetheless. With it, the FAs gave me some fruit, which was very fresh and delicious. The whiskey proved to be strong, yet not too difficult to drink. I did enjoy it quite a bit, and I could imagine it doing very nicely in mixed drinks.
About an hour after this meal service, the FAs started preparing the cabin for arrival... well the cabin just being me made it pretty easy. I got some shots of the outside world and sadly got myself put together to leave.
My Overall Rating Of The ANA First Class Suite: 10/10
I rate flights on a few general criteria:
- Food Quality: 9/10
- Drinks Quality: 10/10
- Cleanliness: 10/10
- Cabin Design: 10/10
- Seat: 10/10
- Service: 10/10
I’m not even sure where to start. This flight overall was spectacular! Maybe it was just me being the only first class passenger, but I felt like the service was definitely incredible—the attendants were always there, making sure I was being fed and hydrated (albeit, with champagne). Additionally, I really liked the seat. It was large, spacious, and came with an excellent amenity kit. While I was a little sad there wasn’t any caviar, I was still super happy with the existing food and the drinks were awesome all around. Maybe I just wish they had that even more exclusive 21 Year Hibiki or some Dom Perignon champagne.
For how much I paid, this was an absolute steal of a flight. I will always try to find ANA first class when flying to/from Japan, as I think the extra points are worth it.
