All Nippon Airways - Should be called "Always Nice Airline"
Written: May 13 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fast, Efficient and Friendly staff
Cons: No food or drink offered on "shorter" flights
The Bottom Line: I will not hesitate to use them again and would certainly do so over an American Air Carrier
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| LuzonTS's Full Review: ANA All Nippon Airways |
The dreaded semi annual trip to the corporate sub office in Albuquerque (ABQ) New Mexico was upon me! A 24-36 hour trip back to the US from Japan was the worst part of the whole trip.
The air carrier for the initial part of this trip was to be Air Nippon Airways (ANA). I opted not for Japan Airlines this time so as to give ANA a fair shake.
I was not unpleased with the decision. Reservations took a few minutes to make and my request for the back of the plane coupled with a window seat was granted in short order. The entire ticket price to include transfers was $1700.
Check in at Naha International was cake. They took my bags at check in after an initial x-ray screening. While there the staff helped me get signed up with the ANA Mileage Club. The had an application in English and within minutes I was earning Frequent Flyer Miles. The ANA airline is a partner with the STAR ALLIANCE so finding partners to get more frequent flyer miles was a piece of cake.
After check in it was off to the gate and we boarded a Boeing 777-200. Well cared for and mechanically sound I had no worries. The boarding calls were in English and Japanese(Nihongo) and being the aircraft was filled to only about 30% was done quickly resulting in an on time takeoff.
The Flight Attendants were all attractive and took great pride in their appearance and went out of their way to help make us all comfortable for the short 2 hour flight.
There were little TV's in the seatbacks with Playstation style game controllers in the armrests. There was a card swipe on the controller but I was afraid to find out I would be charged $30 for an hours worth of games so did not check out what it would come to if I did do it. There also appeared to be buttons on the controller for internet access.
They did not offer complimentary food, snacks or soft drinks but that was no big surprise as that is the norm for Japanese carriers. They did offer beers for Y500 (exchange rate 1USD = 130Y)
A big suprise was the lack of air vents that could be controlled, you got whatever cooling they gave you. There appeared to be some sort of master control near the front of the cabin the Flight Attendant kept fiddling with throughout the flight.
The interior of the craft was very clean to the point of spotless and the lavatories were very clean as well.
There was no smoking on this flight and as soon as we landed many of the smokers made beelines for the smoking areas they could find.
The return trip from Kansai in Osaka back to Naha was also on ANA and the service was just as stellar despite a completly filled cabin. The many Americans who were on this flight were much more "demanding" than the average Japanese passenger but the cabin staff kept up the trademark smiles and did their very best.
I would rate them on par with Japanese Airlines and at this point would be happy to take either one over an American air carrier if given the choice.
My bags were in one piece upon arrival and were quickly returned to us upon landing at our final destinations. The other bonus was that on return the Japanese were very strict about making sure the right people had the right bags. There was little chance of someone walking out with your bag.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
LuzonTS
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 - Top 1000 |
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Location: asia
Reviews written: 102
Trusted by: 46 members
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