ANA Dreamliner
 

We are planning on flying the Dreamliner on an ANA Tokyo to Seattle segment for our trip in November (Houston to BKK ( 5 days) , BKK to MNL (5 days) then , MNL to Houston via Tokyo and Seattle.
We will be using United FF miles (economy). My question is- it is easy to select seats at the time of booking for the ANA segments. The United site does not show seat plans so would I be able to go on the ANA site and plug in my United confirmation number and then pick my seats? What has been your experience in this regard. Also flying from Tokyo to Seattle is there a preferred side of the plane that I should pick my seats?

Yup, definitely.

Once you're ticketed through United, they will issue you a United confirmation as well as an ANA confirmation #. Just go to ANA's website and click on the 'View Reservation' link on the left-hand raill. From there, use the 'Non-Member' section to look up your reservation. Just a word to the wise on that part: make sure you use your full name in order to access your reservation. So, for instance, if your name is JOSEPH ROBERT STEPHENS, you'll enter in the Last Name field: STEPHENS and First Name: JOSEPHROBERT.

If you don't fill out the name fields correctly, you won't be able to view your reservation online.

Good luck!

Bill, if you look at the top of your UA reservation, there is a note about "Other reservation numbers" and that is where you will find your ANA #. It's like a drop down menu.

Good luck selecting your seats. I have April reservations on ANA in biz and I have tried putting in my number that is on the drop down menu. It doesn't seem to work!

Anyway, the 787 is a nice plane, although it never gets really dark, due to the big windows that do not have pull-down shades. (It is neat seeing the scenery though) Hope you can find enough leg room for you!! I know you are tall, like I am. I am staying away from economy on the Asian carriers other than on a short haul of 2-3 hours or less.

Just to dispel the notion that "the Asian carriers" are somehow woefully inadequate when it comes to legroom compared to US Legacy Carriers in Economy, let's take a look:

ANA 773 = 34 pitch 16.5 width
Thai 773 = 32 pitch 18 width
Asiana 772 = 34 pitch 18 width
Singapore 380 = 32 pitch 19 width

United 777 = 31 pitch 18 width
Delta 747 = 31 pitch 17 width

Clearly, United and Delta are no better (in fact worse seat pitch and comparably low width) compared to the major Asian carriers. One might argue that they are, in fact, horribly worse, compared to these Asian carriers. I'd argue, at least, that in terms of service, they most certainly are.

Any, just two cents to throw into the mix when we're talking in generalities.

filmwill, thanks for the tip about the First Name field on the ANA site. I just booked a trip involving ANA and will be using that soon to choose a seat. Can't add my middle name to my ANA Mileage Club profile and also can't add my trusted traveler ID, which is not surprising, but maybe there is another way to use a TSA pre-check line at the TBIT.

BillT, I would sit on the right side of the plane going from SEA to NRT and the left side coming back. That is, sit on the north side as the sun will be on the south side. Better that way to ensure that when looking out the window you won't get blinded.

Thanks to all for tips on booking ANA with United miles. That might end up being our new airline to Bangkok.

mrwunrfl, just an additional clarification: you should enter your first/middle name on ANA's site exactly the same way it appears on your booking through United. So if it's JOSEPH R STEVENS then you enter is STEPHENS and JOSEPHR. This is where a lot of folks get frustrated trying to access their reservations on ANA's site.

Also, regarding your question on TBIT, they unfortunately still do not have a PreCheck line. Only a Priority Line for First & Biz passengers. Perhaps when they finish renovating the upper lobby with the new screening area to the new Int'l terminal, they'll include one.

we just flew the Dreamliner and it was quite decent, but on japan air. we were near the front of coach.. the window darkening was a bit annoying.. also window coach seats are a bit tight--no recess around the window and the arm rest is stationary and right up to the wall.

windows are big and at a decent height.

I would just call the airline and book seats that way.

Don't we english speakers have a special word for the traveler who crosses the ocean and who likes to sit in the sun? POSH, which means 'Port Out Starboard Home' and worked well on the old Cunard liners steaming from London to New York City. Like many of today's travelers, those POSH folks paid dearly for that upper class privilege and maybe really enjoyed sitting in the sun, on the North Atlantic for 5 days.

I was able to get a seat assignment on ANA. It did not like STEPHENS JOSEPHROBERT, so I check my United confo which had STEPHENS/JOSEPHRMR and so I tried STEPHENS JOSEPHR and that worked. The actual passenger name was sent to ANA correctly and filled in as STEPHENS JOSEPH ROBERT. Anyway, I did see the instructions and got it to work. It was a bit of a process getting all the info (passport and contact info) in but am all set.

Too bad UA only shows the ANA res code and not the Thai and EVA ones.

jobin, considering that I won't be sitting on a deck chair I chose to use the SOPH rule to Asia.

ANA has two configurations for the 787 and SEA-NRT has the good one (I checked the seat maps for March 1). That is, it has 1-2-1 seats across in biz class and 2-4-2 in economy.
Like this: http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/ANA...ng_787-800.php

I flew the ANA 787 in Japan two years ago and it was 2-4-2 in economy. The seats may be different now but maybe not. The interesting thing was that the four seats in the center were in two pairs. and there was a gap between the pairs.

Seats are AC DEFG HK and the small gap means that seats E and F don't share armrests. Thus, all the economy pax have one armrest to themselves. This is better than the 3x3x3 seats where the middle pax in each 3-group shares both armrests. Not a huge deal, but it is nicer for the center seats.

I sat in seat C and did not notice if there was space between the window seat armrest and the wall. The JAL seat map for BOS-NRT on the March 1 787 shows 2x4x2, so maybe it is the same on ANA as Bob experienced on JAL.

Kathie, I booked EVA recently. Learned that they have two kinds of business class. The better one is called Royal Laurel and is available on 777-300ER. Good for me, as it will be on my long TPE-LAX leg if not also BKK-TPE.

The SEA-TPE flight is a 747 and I think that means it is Premium Laurel, so not as nice.

There are links to both here:
http://www.evaair.com/en-us/flying-w...class/onboard/
Notice the nice big photos of the seats on the Royal Laurel page compared with the one small photo of the Premium Laurel page. This one, I mean:
http://www.evaair.com/en-us/flying-w...class/onboard/

I think the ANA seat for SEA-NRT 787 is exactly the same as the one on LAX-NRT on the 300ER. That is, it is (I think) the "ANA Business Class Staggered" seat and not the "Cradle", both shown here:
http://www.ana.co.jp/wws/us/e/asw_co.../guide/c/seat/

Ok, i'm done.

The ANA biz seat on the 787 is slightly narrower and has less "desk" space than its 777-300ER counterpart. We flew from San Jose to Narita on the 787 in biz and it was lovely. I still prefer the 300ER -- it feels noticeably larger and more comfortable. That said, ANA is really one of the most fantastic airlines I've flown. Amazing service, amazing food and very comfortable seats.

Filmwill, I am on the 300ER, I think, from LAX to NRT in biz. Is it lie flat? Still have not figured out if NRT to BKK is in a barcalounger seat instead of lie flat.

Re: leg room... I am going by flyertalk. Mind you, I am 1K and always select econ+ seating on UA. I think the majority of FTers are all status flyers as well. That is why I am concerned. I know that econ on Swiss is a knee crusher for me... but luckily I just hsd two seats to myself (window, aisle) and could sit crosswise on my ZRH to ORD flight last week.

Mrwunrfl, if you email Thai at lax they will respond quickly with your res number.

[email protected]

That reminds me.. I failed to log in and select our first class meals for tomorrow, FRA to BKK! Oh well, I am sure the menu on board will have something delicious for us.

United got me the Thai code which is the same one for EVA.

ANA LAX-NRT, flight NH5, is a 300ER with lie-flat.

Looks like ANA NRT-BKK is a 777-200 with recliner seats, both types shown in my last link above (click See Details and scroll down). Appears that one is a shell (seat slides forward and then the seat-back tilts back) and the other just has the seat-back reclines back.

You could connect from NH5 at NRT to a Thai A380 for NRT-BKK in C or F. ANA ORD-NRT has a first class cabin, unlike LAX-NRT. Flight NH11 would be the best choice. It does connect to the Thai A380 which, you know, has F.

MrW, thanks so much for all of that detail. We haven't decided yet exactly when we are going to Bangkok next Nov/Dec and what routes we will try for. But your info will be very helpful.

Kathie since you are so well knowledgable about BKK can you tell me something. I am checking temps there and see that today it's in the low to mid 80's so is this typical for mid Dec. or say the winter mos. Ae want to go back but for us Oct. Was pretty warm. Mid 80's would be fine.

Thanks, Larry. :)

BTW we loved ANA and if you get the 777 with the modular seats in biz it's quite nice. They go fully flat and give you a pad to lay on for additional comfort. The 17 yr. old Yamakazi single alt wasn't bad either. :S-

Larry, low to mid-80 is typical for Dec-Jan in Bangkok. When I've been there in Oct, the problem hasn't been so much the temperatures, but the rain. October is much rainier than Nov. Of course, with climate change, predictions are more uncertain than before. I use www.weatherbase.com for historic weather info.