ANA have launched a new Business Class “The Room” on their B777-300/ER aircraft. Currently, the new Business Class is available between Tokyo Haneda and London Heathrow. There will be a total of 12 completely redesigned B777-300/ER’s featuring this new product.
Upgraded aircraft will have four cabins, including 8 First Class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, 64 Business Class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, 24 Premium Economy Class in a 2-4-2 configuration, and 116 Economy Class seats in a 3-4-3 configuration, making a total of just 212 seats.
I started my journey at Tokyo Haneda Airport. This trip is an invite from ANA. Opinions are my own.
ANA Lounge Haneda Airport
There are 2 ANA Lounges at Haneda Airport. One is near gate 110 and the other one is near gate 140 with limited operating hours. I visited the one near gate 110, which is closer to the boarding gate.
The ANA Lounge is well designed and organized, it has a minimalistic feel. I was visiting around 15:00 so it wasn’t overly crowded as compared to morning or evening peak hours. I strongly recommend a walk inside the lounge (turn left) as it is quieter toward the back side of the lounge.
ANA Lounge Haneda Airport 
ANA Lounge Haneda Airport 
ANA Lounge Haneda Airport 
ANA Lounge Haneda Airport 
ANA Lounge Haneda Airport
In terms of food, ANA Lounge didn’t disappoint. There is a cold salad bar, sushi, rice balls and several hot items such as beef hamburg and Japanese chicken curry with rice. There is sake, beer machines and soda machines around.
There are 2 food serving areas, my advice is to use the one towards the rear of the lounge (left) as it is much quieter as most people use the one closer to the entrance.
There is also a ramen bar near the main food area. It is by order only. The lounge is very bright and I could enjoy food and watch planes go by from the window.
There were a few shower suites in the ANA Lounge, of which I took advantage of to freshen up before my 12 hour flight to London. Notably, There is a Dyson hair dryer!
ANA Lounge Shower Room
Boarding of my flight was given in the priority order of First Class and ANA Diamond members, then Business Class then Premium Economy and finally Economy. It was done with utmost efficient and in a very organised manner.
There was a typhoon that swept over Tokyo 2 days ago prior to my journey, so ANA flight network operation was disrupted and there was a 5 hour delay on my flight. Luckily, the flight was still operated by the new Business Class configured B777-300/ER.
The Room – New Business Class
There are 3 sections of New Business Class (total 64 seats) which span over more than half of the B777-300/ER fuselage. My seat was 17K, located in the 3rd section. It is a reverse facing seat. You can notice how wide the seat is immediately.
If you happened to sit in the middle seat, there is a divider to protect your privacy. It can also be lowered to create a pair seat for 2.
The seat felt a bit short/stubby from the first glance but I didn’t have any problem sitting up right. There was good legroom in the up right position.
I was very impressed with all the features and its design. All very clean and neat.
A very long footwell space
“The Room” is really wide, it can comfortably fit 2 passengers. Here is a photo of my next door neighbour and myself sitting together in my seat.
We took off around 17:10, flight time to London was 11 hours and 45 minutes. The routing was flying North over to Hokkaido, then towards Far East Russia, then head NW over Siberia and finally towards Northern Europe on a great circle route, which is faster than a straight line.
The aircraft registered as JA793A was just 1 month old delivered new from Boeing.
4k Resolution Camera View
I enjoyed watching the forward and downward camera with a 4k clear resolution view. I could also see the full moon rising over the horizon. Watch the takeoff video here.
As we departed at 17:00 and were heading West, we were chasing the setting sun on the whole flight towards London. Lucky I got to see the full moon rising on the horizon.
On-board Amenities
ANA is one of the few airlines providing pyjamas in Business Class. There is also a “Globetrotter” brand amenity kit placed on each seat.
ANA Business Class “Globetrotter” Amenity Kit 
ANA Business Class Pyjamas
On-board Cuisine
The in-flight service started once we reached cruising altitude. The ANA menu was like a book and came in 4 different language (Japanese, English, French and German)
I had the Amuse-bouche and mimosa (my favourite drink). Then I chose the Japanese Washoku (Japanese meal) for dinner.
The starter was pre-dominantly fish and served on 3 small plates (Bonito fish sashimi, sushi and duck). To drink with my starter, the flight attendant recommended that I have a glass of mild sake.
I had the Japanese braise beef “sukiyaki” as my main course. The beef was very soft and almost melted inside my mouth. The portion, however, was a bit on the small side.
Dessert was a fusion between Japanese and French pastry, from the chef Pierre Hermé collaboration.
Chloe From the UK and Pierre from France were on my flight.
IFE and Wi-Fi
The ANA IFE is fantastic, the 24″ inch screen supports 4K resolution viewing and there was also 3 live TV channels (News and Sports). The camera view is so very clear in 4K resolution. I was told that you could hook up your laptop screen to display on the 24″ screen with a HDMI cable.
I used the on-board Wi-Fi internet, which doesn’t restrict usage. The whole 12 hour flight costs $21.95, which is comparatively quite reasonable. The speed was also relatively fast.
Full Flat Bed Position
When the seat goes fully flat and turns into a bed, it is really wide at the upper end and much narrower at the footwell space. Because of the shape of the bed, you can either sleep straight or sleep diagonally; I had to sleep diagonally, as there was not enough space for me to sleep straight, my feet did not touch the wall in front when I slept diagonally. The privacy is also excellent when the dividers are deployed.
Second Meal
I had a Japanese pancake Okonomiyaki snack about half way through the flight and a bowl of ramen with chicken risotto before landing. The ramen I had was easily one of the best tasting! However, in my opinion the meal portion could have been bigger.
We landed at Heathrow around 20:30. Watch the smooth landing from the on-board 4k camera view here.
Final Verdict
I was very impressed with the New Business Class “The Room” of ANA and I think it is a vast improvement over their current staggered Business Class. Both the hard and soft product are of high quality. Here are some of the pros and cons from my experience.
Pros:
- Widest Business Class seat and double the width compared to the previous seat.
- Personal doors for privacy.
- 4K resolution entertainment on 24″ monitor, fast internet Wi-Fi connection and electric window blinds with two shades.
Cons:
- In full flat position, the upper half is very wide but the width and space is reduced towards the leg and foot area, due to the design.
- A tall person may have to sleep diagonally to be able to fully stretch out.
- The seat cushion is a little hard. The second meal could be presented better without trays (more restaurant style dining as many airlines do in Business Class).
Currently, this product is available between Tokyo and London. ANA will introduce journeys between Tokyo and New York JFK (2 flights a day) from the start of 2019 winter schedule. Next year, it will also be available on the Tokyo and Frankfurt route. (date TBA)
It’s always something special in Ana the Crew are so kind and pretty much everything is always excited to fly in Japanese based airline
Will this product be available on any LAX-HANEDA flights?
It is hard to say during COVID as things change quickly. Before COVID it was planned on LHR, FRA, JFK routes.
Thanks for your many great reviews. This ANA BC “The Room” review inspired me to book the leg LHR to HND on our way to Melbourne next January. This will be my second time I fly in a reverse seat – the first time was on BA´s first klass cabin on a Triple Trident back in 1979/80 when I was little and a long time ago:).
I have a question for you. Would you recommend the forward cabin with the 2 rows (seat 5a or k) instead of the main cabin? I have booked seat 9k for the flight from LHR to HND ? I thought 9 k would give a nice view of the engine/wing, but maybe the forward cabin would give a better experiense? Would you recommend the forward cabin ot should i stick to seat 9K and the main cabin.
Mini cabins are usually quieter and feel more exclusive.
Hey Sam would you rather fly in F on the old ANA 777 or in J on the reconfigured planes? Trying to decide for an upcoming trip to Tokyo. I’ve flown in both on the old product many times.
The soft product is distinctly different. I’d say First Class is always better!
Hi Sam, can you please comment on the reverse seat experience? I’ve never seated that way before, and I’m curious to know if it felt awkward or if it was alright. Thanks!
The experience may differ, to me it is ok no major issues.
Hey Sam. Do you know when it will it come to LAX-NRT? I’m flying to Tokyo in March. Doing Business class for the first time in my life!
I think just LHR, JFK and FRA for the start.
Will ANA’s new business class be flying out of IAH by January or February of 2020?
No, it will only be LHR and JFK.
When are getting a Johannesburg to Heathrow?
Now thats how it should be with all airlines !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DONE.
The EU lot could learn a thing or too with the service and standards of Asian and Arabic airlines on ,quality of dining, seats/room, customer service! Any EU airlines service managers reading,watch and learn what consumers want for their hard earn’t money and especially in these classes!!! Oh my, their First class looks beyond belief !!!!!!!!!!! 🙂
ANA ,well never flown with them but i assume the superior airline of the 2 from Japan? Besides that i have an associate of mine who has gone their to a rock event in Japan with ANA from Heathrow,so i wonder if he will fly on that exact plane? Could have gone on the return flight from Sam Chui flight? I will have to ask the dates but i am sure it would be a B777-300er or B787 more likely the B777 and their best as its a premium route for ANA i assume? Whether that seat has been fitted to all the other B777-300’s yet i am not sure but maybe only the planes fitted with those new class seats are flying to important hubs like Paris and London ,Frankfurt etc, so my friend may have flown on that exact plane to Japan!
Besides that, what a seat! Width is an ‘important factor’ for me as i am big ,i am 6ft.1 with a 50inch chest so width is more important than leg room frankly! All airlines in most classes are doing good leg room now,well the real airlines not the ‘comedy-act’ the likes of Ryan Air or Easy Jet etc.You get what you pay for so you’s expect cattle class etc.Though the main airlines that are Flag-carriers or international generally offer decent leg-room in all classes but WIDTH is the new battle ground as its there where they are cutting back and i know why!
You see with the Tristar ,B747 and A380, B777 they all have an interior cabin width that was 19ft plus! I really did not relize how brillant the old Tristar was for passanger comfort as generally it had a wider cabin throughout than a B747!! Though i did notice how big a plane it was for its time as i flew on Tristars atleast 20 times!! Way better than DC-10’s ! Trouble is the B787 and A350 fall just short of this 20ft decent cabin width,so seats are being made less wide!! 🙁 BA and Virgin are down to 18inch now in Upper and Clubclass ,thats bad!!!!!
Regarding the ANA service it looks very tailored made to you as an individual! Beautiful delivery and presentation with the food and customer interest but for me unless the menu has any western dishes i personally would have been very miserable! Nothing i saw in the video being eaten i would have liked as it was to a fish lovers dream come true! Being someone who eats little amount of fish i think i would be very hungry on board unless the menu did have other stuff for western tastes?? Though i cannot fault the the presentation by the the air-stewardess/steward in service or presentation but at those prices i am sure you expect it! First class looked amazing but on a route like that probably 15K one way? Alot of dough. I wonder if they do Western food?
Overall the width was impressive,interesting new cabin indeed.
Thanks for your comment. ANA have Western food option but on my flight I chose Japanese so that’s why you don’t see it.
Great article! When are they bringing this new designs to NY?
Let me check and get back to you on exact date. I think in Q4
Do you have an update on when this will come to NY? Love reading your articles!
It should start from this winter’s schedule according to ANA.
Thanks for the review.
I’m 6’3/1.90m and prefer the old ANA seat over the SQ seat – its longer and more comfortable to sit, lounge or sleep for me. The extra width doesnt help me and the window seats in the old layout are already very private, even without a door…
I will give the room a try, but not excited about it…
6”3 would have a problem. I think this seat is designed for the height on most Japanese customer.
Hello Sam! What is the best business class in the world for your opinion ANA NEW BUSINESS CLASS “THE ROOM” or QATAR AIRWAYS Q SUITE on Airbus A350-1000?
I think they’re both (ANA and QR) are super premium business class which makes another airline envy. On soft product wise, I think Q suite have a clear edge. Restaurant style dining, better bedding and more luxury finishing on the suite seat.
Great Review- What do you think the odds are of having this updated cabin on the ORD- HND or ORD – NRT route by next May?? Please say 50/50 – ha
They mentioned only LHR, JFK and FRA initially. But I’d imagine more planes will be refitted so ORD will be included at some point.
Nice post. You mention that a dozen planes will be fitted with this seat. Any idea about what will determine which planes or routes get the new setup?
So far only 2 planes are fitted JA793A and JA795A on daily flight to London. JFK will be next (double daily) with this config. (212 seats, 64 J class)
Sam,
Great review, thx. Glad to see this detail about the in-flight meal service (finally) on this new product.
Was this a points or cash booking?
Did ANA provide you with any fast-track immigration upon arrival into LHR?
I use the E gate so I didn’t need a fast track card. I believe they do or you can show your boarding pass. I was invited on the flight to provide feedback on the new product.
Is this related to the previous SQ business class seat? At first glance it looks pretty similar except for different finishes
It is an improved version of old SQ business class. You find dividers, side table and storage space on the table which SQ old seat didn’t have. A bigger footwell as well.
Finally!!!!
Someone actually takes a picture of the Dyson Supersonic, a $400 hair drier that sets apart ANA lounges vs. other lounges, because let’s face it, otherwise these ANA lounges are fairly drab.
Attention to details! I was amazed they have Dyson hairdryers! I think ANA Lounge isn’t too bad given how busy and crowded it can be.
As usual with Sam, this is an interesting flight report. Amazing to see that ANA provides pyjama for business passengers, or just for Sam?
I follow other bloggers but if I do it, thanks to Sam to be my first blogger i followed.
Pyjamas are available on request to all Business Class passengers.