This is my second ANA error fare ticket. I have shared plenty on the ANA error fare and I managed to get myself on two of them which led to me going on two whirlwind trips to North America. I went to Los Angeles previously and this time around I will be heading to Vancouver! Woohoo! This is a new country and a new city for me! I have never been to Canada before! I will be taking a total of 3 flights to get there. I will be flying from Singapore to Tokyo and then to San Francisco before transiting on a United Airlines flight to Vancouver! Phew! I will not be sharing on my Singapore to Tokyo flight since it is rather similar. This time around, I will be flying from HND to SFO, another one of ANA’s signature routes. It will also be on their 777 with their latest business-class product. The new business class “The Room” is revolutionary and a game changer! I am super excited to check out this hard product. Hopefully, there will not be any last-minute equipment changes. You can check out my reviews of the staggered old business-class seats here and here.

Checking In

I arrive at Haneda Airport at around 8pm after a lovely afternoon in Tokyo! I have already checked in at Singapore earlier and got my boarding pass. I just need to recheck my baggage at the airport. The rather near location of Haneda airport makes it so convenient. My flight is departing from terminal 3. You can find the ANA business class counters easily and there were six of them in operation. While there is a queue, it clears up rather fast. I was helped by a friendly agent. While my bag was checked to Vancouver, I had to pick up the bags in SFO and clear CBP before rechecking them to Canada. Transiting in the States is not the easiest thing to do in the world.

Security and immigration are very efficient here and I was through to the transit area in no time. Off I go to the ANA Lounge! I have reviewed this previously when flying on SQ. I wanted to review the lounge but couldn’t do so since the lounge was crazily packed. I would be even thankful just to get a shower.

Boarding Process

Boarding was scheduled for 10.25pm and I was right there on the dot since I wanted to be one of the first to board to get some good pictures of the cabin. It is always so exciting to be flying a new product. The Room is single-handedly the one item that I was most looking forward to on this trip. Boarding started late and with those needing assistance, Diamond Premier Members and then Business Class. Boarding was very neat and efficient as with ANA. There was a long snaking queue given how crowded business class is. The cabin is huge! It is always a struggle to take pictures on ANA. I was warmly welcomed by the crew and once I was on my seat, the crew in charge of my aisle came over to introduce herself and welcomed me onboard. I love the new Business Class seats!

Backward facing seats are available too.

Given that this is a red-eye and a long-haul flight, a set of amenities consisting of headphones, slippers, a mattress pad, a blanket as well and an amenity kit was left on the seat. This is only provided for long-haul flights. I am not a fan of them leaving all these items right at the start of the flight but these business class seats do offer more storage than the staggered ones. The pre-departure experience felt very rushed since the crew wanted to make out for the late boarding. I was originally seated in 15K and that turned out to be back facing. I switched over to 20H. I will share more soon. I am not a fan of travelling backwards, be it by train or plane.

The crew then came over with pre-departure drinks with a choice of sparkling wine or orange juice. I was then offered Pajamas, as per ANA, these are on loan and not offered to passengers.

Air Nippon Airlines 777 “The Room” New Business Class

The Room is Air Nippon Airlines’ latest business class seats and the flagship product. Kudos to them for launching right in the middle of the pandemic back then. I am super excited to check out this flagship product. This is exclusively found on several 777s with plans to roll out fleet-wide. This configuration does come with a rather heavy business class load. There is a total of 20 rows of business classes. The business class takes up the most number of rows. There are 4 cabins on this flight with 8 First Class Suites, 80 Business Class seats, 24 Premium Economy and 116 Economy seats.

Business class or The Room is found across 3 cabins and the first cabin will be the most exclusive one since there are only two rows of seats. Seats are in a 1-2-1 configuration. The seats alternate between forward-facing and backward-facing. I am a forward-facing person so do choose your seat well. Let me introduce you to the suite.

This is by far one of the best business-class products out there. I believe that it ranks among the very top with Q Suites in terms of hard products. The seat comes with a door that can be extended out to increase the privacy, It isn’t fully enclosed but it is very private. You will not be able to see anyone else once inside.

Controls for the screens are located on the side of the seat and this is also where you can find the ports for the headphones. They are very intuitive. I do wish that they had installed a headset holder or something as they are just left dangling around all over the place.

The window seats are awesome for solo travellers! Check out how spacious this is. This is as good as first class and there is even space for 2 small passengers side by side. The seats are in fabric finishes. Left on the seat is a full set of amenities given that this is an overnight flight. I love those memory foam pillows. I am not a huge fan of having everything left on the seat, including the mattress pad and blanket but it is better here since there is more space in these seats. The lights are located on either side of the seat.

One of the highlights of these seats is the TV screens. The seat comes with a 4K definition high-quality TV and it is huge. They were a gem to watch on. I do have to state that the IFE doesn’t have much 4K content. This is an aspect that ANA can improve on. You have a handheld touchscreen remote to control the screen and IFE. Wi-Fi is also available but complimentary access is not extended for business class passengers.

There is plenty of storage space beside the television. This comes in handy to store some personal items and it is also where the power sockets for the seat are located. There is also a HDMI and USB port. The vanity mirror will be useful after a long flight. This is a huge improvement over the old seat since I struggled for spots to place my items.

The tables slide out under the television. It is of a good size and great for both meals and working from. I am glad to see that air vents are installed. ANA and in general Japanese airlines tend to keep the cabin rather warm so it is nice to have these within your control.

Let me also mention that for takeoff and landing, you will have to wear the shoulder strap which is extremely uncomfortable and this is so badly designed. It comes out right in the middle of the seat and the position is so badly designed. They should just stick to the old standard waist belt. I also find that the seats are rather low in the standard takeoff and landing position.

The seat can be converted to bed mode and fully flat using the controls. ANA does not provide any turndown service. You will have to set up your bed. It is a comfortable space to sleep since it is very wide. The length is a little short and you will have to sleep at an angle. It feels private when you close the screens to make it into a mini-suite. The mattress pad doesn’t cover the entire surface though. I am disappointed that they did not specifically design one for this seat but rather used the same one as the staggered business class. I would rather sleep without the pad. The bedding is something that they should improve on.

The toilets here are more spacious and brighter. It is stocked with all sorts of amenities from toothbrushes, mouthwash and cleansing wipes.

Meal Service

I am very surprised by the meals for this flight. Being one of the longest and signature routes of ANA they only have one main meal service for this flight. This is extremely lacking and super underwhelming. Yes, we had a late departure at 11pm but you should still be able to serve a late dinner/supper service and breakfast before landing. Instead, they only offer after-take-off drinks and a small bite. That’s it! How ridiculous is this? If you ever complain about SQ’s underwhelming supper service, just remember that ANA is doing this! If you want anything more substantial, you will have to order from the snacks menu. I got some fruits and udon. I am always amazed by how good the plant-based Ippudo ramen can be.

On my previous flights, I also tried the spicy chicken sandwich which was disgusting.

The only main meal was served roughly 2 hours before landing with them brightening up the cabin. I got a Japanese meal and an orange juice. The meal was the same as the one I had before. ANA only switches their menu 4 times a year. The main dish was lovely. I enjoyed the Sake Steam Perch. There are some slight changes to the side dishes. The tamago and grilled squid are wonderful.

The lack of variation and a decent first meal is the main criticism of this flight service. This is not acceptable for a flight that is 10 hours long. They should have more options for their meals. At the very least, SQ changes their menu every month and you also have the BTC menu to supplement your choices. ANA meals will be very boring for frequent fliers and business travellers.

Conclusion

This hard product is leaps ahead of the old staggered business class. For long-haul flights the difference is apparent. Sadly, the seats are still rolling out and only selected 777 comes with this new business class. The staggered business class seats are still the main seats out there. Similarly, with my previous flights, ANA kept the cabin way too warm. I also wish that they could provide complimentary wifi. The 4K TV is amazing but they need matching quality IFE system and content. I hope that this product can roll out to more 777 and be the standard product. It is hands down one of the best business-class products. This can be as good as first class on other airlines. The meal service can also be improved. They can’t just have 1 main meal on a flight this long. If you are flying on ANA to the US, it is worth seeking a route with this product.