glorialf

Has anyone flown this? How is it? I gather they have the new seats on the NY route and the old ones on the LAX route. I live in Chicago so could go either way -- how much of a difference does it make?

I can get these ff tickets for a lot fewer miles than I can get Japan and I can book it immediately without having to buy $600 worth of miles so I think it's the way to go for me -- just can't decide which departure city.

cjackson

Gloria - I'm flying them on Monday. Out of IAD, which has the "old" seats. If I flew to New York, I'd have to go into LGA and bus/cab it to JFK, which didn't appeal to me at all - so I'm just taking the "old" seats. And I didn't want to fly coach over to LAX. Biz class is sooooo much better. If Passportcontrol reads this, she's traveled in the New Club on ANA, and as I recall, she said that old seats or new, the service on ANA is superb. I'm from Chicago too - currently at my desk in DesPlaines. Where are you?

glorialf

My message disappeared so I'll try again.

I'm in the loop -- also at my desk!

Hmm-- I hadn't thought about flying to DC. Probably because I usually fly to the departure city a day ahead in the winter (and this if for next winter) and I can stay with friends in NY and LAX. But I'd forgotten about having to go from LaGuardia to JFK!

Looking forward to hearing your report.
Maybe we can get together sometime. I think there are a few other fodorites from the Chicago area.

Why did you do ANA rather than JAL?

cjackson

Smart cookie. When I told my boyfriend we were going to spend Sunday night at a hotel near IAD, he thought I was nuts. Then the snowstorm hit last weekend and he finally agreed with me! We're flying ANA 'cause we got free tickets. What's not to like?

glorialf

How long ago did you have to book your tickets to get theM? Did you use their ff program or someone else's?

The only reason I asked about JAL is that it's the only asian airline that flys direct from Chicago. Makes life a lot easier. But being able to fly ANA biz for only 90,000 miles seems like the way to go for me (I'll transfer AmEx miles to US Air which partners with ANA). From comments on other boards, people seem pretty happy with the old style business.

Aren't you the one who is also going to check out Baan Orapin?

glorialf

CJackson--
Another memory is niggling at me. Are you using Ratt and/or Poon? If so, please say hello to them for me. I used them in December.

cjackson

I'm not using FF miles. They're really FREE. Won them at a company meeting last year. Yes, I'll be checking out Baan Orapin - can't wait to see it!

I've got Ratt for a couple of mornings in BKK. Will be sure to say hi for you!

mrwunrfl

I flew JAL business class in their regular seats and it was excellent. They have a better seat called Shell Flat Seat that is available on the ORD-NRT route.
http://www.japanair.com/e/travelplan/cabin_c.php

Flying nonstop on JAL from ORD seems to me to be the no-brainer choice over making a connection to fly ANA.

I recently flew the ANA flights between D.C. and Tokyo in first class. I tried out the seat in business class. No better than United. The b.c. cabin was packed. I have a hard time believing that bc service on ANA is so much better than United that it is better to make a connection that flying nonstop on United from ORD. We get snowstorms in D.C. If you are able to fly out of Chicago to D.C. the day before your flight to Tokyo, then you could just as easily flown out of ORD that day.

mrwunrfl

I didn't mean to sound negative. Bottom line is that you made an excellent choice in ANA and I am sure that you will enjoy your flights.

Hanuman

Fly ANA out of JFK on their new Business and First Class seats - it's much better than the old seats on their 777s out of LAX.

1. The new seats are "flat bed" type seats.
2. The IFE(In flight Entertainment) are on demand and bigger better screen with the new seats.
3. ANA uses BA lounge at JFK which is superb.

I think does make a big difference if you were to fly on their newer planes.

lcuy

Although Jal business class is very nice, and United's Asian flights are better than their domestic, I prefer the service and the food on ANA.

Of course, I'd choose the airplane with the flat seats on either over better food with old seats!

glorialf

I'd LOVE to fly JAL from ORD but it would cost me $650 to get the number of miles I would need. That's why I was thinking about ANA-- they use fewere miles.

I will NOT fly United. I made that mistake once and never will again.

orgy7

where are ya going?

too which ff programs does the AMEX card tranfer too...

glorialf

Orgy-- I'm going to Bangkok. AmEx transgers to US Air, Delta. Delta's partners require 120,000 miles for business class. US Air's partners only require 90,000. The two non US carriers that work for me via them are ANA and Thai but I know that the business class on Thai is not very good seat wise.

mrwunrfl

I would definitely make the connection to save the 30,000 miles.

ANA and told me that there is no plan for expanding their use of New Style seats beyond JFK. Their LAX flight is a 747 and the others are 777. For that reason alone, I would not connect through LAX.

It's 13 hrs 15 min from ORD to NRT nonstop.

ORD - SFO is 4.5 hrs
SFO - NRT is 11 hrs

ORD - IAD is 2 hrs
IAD - NRT is 14 hrs

Only nonstop ORD-JFK that I could find was Delta, so either a connecting flight or shuttle from LGA.
ORD - JFK is 4 hrs, connecting at IAD
JFK - NRT is 14 hrs

The SFO routing had 90 minutes connecting time. If you got the same connecting time at all three airports, then travel times would be:

via SFO: 17 hours
via IAD: 17 hours 20 min
via JFK: 19 hours 30 min
nonstop: 13 hours 15 min

glorialf

Thanks for laying it out. If I connect either via LAX or JFK I would go at least a day ahead and stay with friends or relatives -- actually the woman I'm traveling with lives in NYC so I would stay with her. She's probably flying Cathay because that's where her miles are. If I flew out of DC of SF I'd have to stay in a hotel so I prefer avoiding them.

I had a long talk with ANA and they don't guarantee the new seats even on the JFK route. But I checked the recline on the old seats and it's 140 degrees which is exactly what my first class seat was on Malaysia and I was able to sleep just fine -- I'm only five feet and tend to sleep with 2-3 pillows at home.

The NY route actually has the best connection time. The LAX probably has the worst coming back.

Now Thai will also have a new non stop to Bangkok from NY by the time I go but I suspect it will be impossible to get connections.

mrwunrfl

There are both USAir and United nonstops ORD-SFO that connect to the ANA fly from SFO to NRT. Your Amex award covers the domestic flights to the ANA gateways. Am sure there are same day connections at IAD for the ANA 1 and 2.

ANA has good AV and entertainment systems on their 777s. I'd check to see what that is like on their 747 from LAX before going that route, if that makes a difference for you.

I think that the ANA person was just giving you the CYA statement saying that the New Style was not guaranteed on the JFK flights.

As far as the Thai flight JFK to BKK, it departs at noon, so it does look impossible for making same day connections on your outbound trip. But if you are going to go a day ahead (to LGA), so what? On return, you wouldn't have to come back via JFK, but the Thai Air nonstop arrives very early in the morning so you would be have all day to shuttle to LGA and go on to ORD.

Thai first class on a 747 between NRT and BKK was not as good as the ANA f.c. from IAD to NRT. I flew b.c. on Thai on the return BKK - NRT. Because it was a redeye it was a two-class 767. Seat was fine for a 6 hour flight, I had no complaints. For a long haul JFK - BKK in b.c., I would definitely check on what seats they used but not making a second stop would be a big bonus to me.

Good luck. It might be impossible to make a bad choice in this situation.