I fly All Nippon Airways (ANA) a lot, both internationally and domestically. It’s a fantastic airline if you’re headed to Japan, especially from the US (whose carriers leave a great deal to be desired).
At the same time, I sometimes wonder whether ANA isn’t a bit overrated. Sure, it undoubtedly deserves its perennial Skytrax five-star rating, particularly for its premium cabins. From personalized service, to restaurant-quality food, to one of the best business class seats in the sky, ANA is truly excellent.
Indeed, the answer to the question “is ANA a good airline?” is certainly, obviously yes. But it’s not the best airline in the world, and these days might even be falling a bit behind its main Japanese competitor. Allow me to explain.
Why Everyone Seems to Love ANA
Is All Nippon Airways good? Judging by the way the airline is covered in the press, you’d think the ANA was the best airline that ever existed. From fawning travel bloggers, to glowing profiles in legacy media, to a five-star Skytrax that, while deserved, is also trotted out a little bit too often for my tastes, the word on the street is that ANA is all that and a bag of chips.
What I wonder, cynically, is how much of this is real, and how much of it is people believing what they’re told. Like, I can understand why travelers lucky enough to fly ANA first or business class would sing the airline’s praises, even if only to justify their expenditure. But I’ve flown ANA’s long-haul economy many times and…well, I’ll explain my feelings about it in more detail here shortly.
Important Things to Know About Flying ANA
International first and business classes are fabulous
As I’ve detailed both in this post and my many other posts about flying in the pointy end of an ANA plane, ANA is just fantastic in business or first class. From restaurant-style dining (especially if you choose the Japanese meal), to fancy champagne and caviar (in first class), to one of the widest seats (and beds!) in the sky, ANA does luxury very, very well.
(But economy is average, at best)
Is All Nippon Airways a good airline? For economy class passengers, that’s an open question. On one hand, ANA’s intercontinental aircraft (the 777-300ER and all 787 Dreamliners) feature up to 34″ of legroom, as well as free meals and alcohol, plus ANA’s signature service. On the other hand, seating can be much more cramped on regionally-configured aircraft, and nothing about any experience in ANA economy is significantly better than any other airline.
ANA’s set-up at Haneda Airport is confusing
Prior to a few years ago, Haneda Airport had a simple concept: Terminal 1 was JAL domestic; Terminal 2 was ANA domestic; and all international flights on all airlines departed from Terminal 3. Today, ANA has moved some (though not all) of its international flights to Terminal 2. This can be convenient if you’re arriving on one of them and connecting domestically (or vice-versa), but confusing otherwise.
Your “ANA” flight might be operated by United
Think you’re flying ANA on a near-future trip? You might want to make sure of that. ANA has a close-knit “joint venture” relationship with United, which means that from the business side, transpacific flights on both airlines are interchangeable. It’s not uncommon for ANA to sell flights with high numbers (i.e. 7000+), which indicates that the flight is United-operated. United is fine in economy, but pales in comparison to ANA in business class.
ANA is more useful domestically than it is internationally
Note that I didn’t say better—I don’t think there’s any country where domestic flights are “better” than international ones. Still, while ANA has a limited range of destinations in Europe, North America and beyond, it flies to virtually every major metro area in Japan, and to plenty of smaller cities as well. If your Japan itinerary includes Japanese domestic flights, you’ll almost certainly fly ANA.
ANA’s Low-Cost Subsidiaries
No matter how you feel about ANA, it is undoubtedly a full-service airline. All passengers in every class will enjoy free meals and alcohol, free checked bags and free seat selection. While it’s true that ANA has become slightly stingier over the years, the fact is that you receive much more bang for you buck on ANA than you do on most other airlines, and certainly compared with US airlines. Why is ANA so expensive? This is why.
The same can’t be said for ANA’s low-cost subsidiaries: Peach (which flies domestic and short-haul international segments) and Air Japan, a nascent medium-to-long haul low-cost carrier. Both airlines nickel-and-dime their passengers for everything, and feature all-economy configurations that, at least in the case of Peach, make passengers suffer with some of the least-generous legroom in the world.
Other FAQ About ANA Airlines
Is ANA the best airline in the world?
ANA is a fantastic airline, particularly on long-haul segments and especially in first and business class. With this being said, I have a difficult time saying that ANA is the absolute best airline in the world, even compared to Japan’s own JAL, which bests it in many ways.
Is ANA a luxury airline?
ANA is certainly a full-service airline, with its first and business class cabins routinely ranking among the most luxurious in the world. Still, I’m not sure I would say that ANA is a “luxury airline” on the whole. Great service notwithstanding, the experience of flying in ANA economy on long flights is not especially different from what you’d experience flying most other airlines.
Do you get food on ANA flights?
ANA offers meal service on all international flights, with long-haul flights to North America and Europe featuring two or even three meals per flight. By contrast, economy class passengers on domestic ANA flights will receive a free beverage; meals are only available to those in so-called “Premium Class.”
The Bottom Line
Is ANA a good airline? Yes, and arguably a great one—an excellent one, even! But whether because its “new” first class pales in comparison to JAL’s, or because anything that receives relentless praise also deserves intense scrutiny, I somehow feel like ANA might be slightly overhyped. Now, with this being said, I don’t think I’ve ever had a “bad” flight on ANA; many of the flights I’ve taken with them have been near-perfect, particularly in business and first class. They’re also fantastic domestically, even in regular economy. So, if you have the chance to fly ANA, do it! Another thing you should do, if you get the chance? Hire me to plan a custom Japan itinerary!
