After flying the inaugural ANA A380 flight in Business Class from Tokyo to Honolulu on 24 May 2019, I had a 2 day break in beautiful Hawaii before flying back to Tokyo in luxury and style; on The ANA A380 First Class suite!
The ANA Lounge and the gate is quite far from the check-in area, walking time is about 15 minutes. ANA operates a lounge shuttle for premium guests, after the security checkpoint, to the lounge near by area. Other passengers can use the airport Wiki-Wiki free shuttle.
We got a great view of the ANA A380 Flying Honu from both the gate and the lounge windows.
ANA Suite Lounge Honolulu
ANA have 2 lounges at Honolulu; the ANA Suite Lounge and the Main Lounge. First Class and ANA Mileage Club Platinum can use the Suite Lounge, which is on the right hand side of the lounge entrance. The Suite Lounge is smaller than the Main Lounge and was quite crowded.
There were a lot of food and drink options in the Suite Lounge, including a made to order noodle bar and a bar service. I particularly liked the sukiyaki in the lounge which has a very authentic flavor. Personally, I think this is one of the best lounges, in terms of food, in North America!
ANA Lounge Honolulu
I also took the opportunity to visit the Main Lounge, which is 3 times bigger. There are amazing views of the apron and you can see the A380 Flying Honu directly from the lounge window. The Main Lounge is also crowded during peak times as ANA have several flights to Japan including the A380 flight.
The food and beverages are largely the same as the Suite Lounge. I think this is great for the Main Lounge user, as the food is of very high quality. Grill mahi mahi, ginger pork, BBQ chicken, sukiyaki and tomato bisque were but a few of the dishes on offer.
For those who find the lounge to crowded you should head to the rear side, which is far quieter. There is also a children's area here as well.
During my time at the lounge, I met many AvGeek and Flying Honu fans from all over the world. Many brought their own costume/creations to share their love of the Flying Honu!
One of the nice perks of the lounge is that passengers can board directly from the lounge (there is also the choice to board from main jetbridge at the gate, if you wish to do so)
Welcome On-board ANA A380 First Class Suite
Once boarded I was escorted to my window suite, 2K. I was offered a glass of Krug Champagne (I took my favourite drink Mimosa instead)
What was impressive was not only that there were pyjamas available, but that there were two sets of PJs at my disposal, in different sizes. In addition to the pyjamas, the crew also offered me a cardigan for on-board comfort. There was also a blue Samsonite brand hard case kit with all the usual amenities inside.
Here are the amenities inside the blue Samsonite hard case kit. It contained Ginza branded lotion and moisturizer.
In addition to the above amenities, the crew came around with a full tray of extra amenities such as: eye mask, lip balm, ear plugs (all of these were included in the Samsonite amenity kit) they also gave out a free internet voucher, valid for the entire flight!
We took off at 12:00 from the reef runway (08R) with a right turn after getting airborne heading over the Pacific. Flight time was 7 hours 35 minutes.
After takeoff I changed into the comfortable pyjamas. Clothes can be hanged next to the door of the suite.
The ANA A380 First Class bathroom is in the forefront of the upper deck. It is bigger than the other bathrooms on-board.
After takeoff, the crew came around with a folder presenting both the food and beverage menu. It was dense, like a book, with so many options in Japanese and English. I chose the International cuisine on this flight, knowing that the ANA standard is always high.
To start the fine dining, three kinds of amuse-bouche were presented including: caviar with black pearl spoon, truffle tart and prosciutto with melon.
I had the Ahi tuna tataki as my starter, followed with a salad and corn soup. I paired the food with an excellent Swiss wine, Amigne de Vetorz 2016.
My main course was braised veal cheek with foie gras. To wash it down I had a special watermelon dessert, which was specially designed by Four Seasons Resorts Lanai in Hawaii.
The meals were really excellent in both presentation and taste. The service wasn't rushed but it did take a little over 3 hours to finish; it was a full cabin with 8 passengers dining at the same time. I enjoyed watching a movie on the huge 32" IFE screen during my meal.
After a big meal, it was time for a nap; that's what you do in First Class, dine and rest! 🙂
I must say the ANA A380 first class bed was huge, linen was very crisp and smooth. I had a good 3 hours sleep!
I woke up about 1.5 hours before landing into Narita. I was surprised that I still had enough of an appetite to try out some light meal items on the menu.
I had the ANA Blue Hawaii cocktail, ANA original curry rice and an Angus beef cheeseburger. The curry rice was rich and tasty with chunks of beef.
There is no second meal service on this flight, as all the light meal options were on a demand basis only.
We landed 20 minutes ahead of schedule at 14:35 local time in Tokyo Narita. We arrived on runway 16R with a short taxi to our gate (45) in Terminal one.
Conclusion
ANA A380 First Class offers up one of the finest First Class experiences in the sky. It lived up to ANA's 5 star airline reputation and did not disappoint at all. The service was excellent and there were loads of on-board amenities, with the best Japanese attention to details. I really enjoyed the spacious suite and I understand the upcoming 777-9, as well as the current 777-300/ER, will also receive the suite as part of a First Class refresh.
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How to redeem miles for flights on ANA A380?
ANA made it clear they will release seats for flyers to enjoy the premium classes on their new A380 Flying Honu service. Blog editor Steven Ganeles wrote an excellent article highlighting all the options to redeem miles flying on ANA A380 here.