[Trip Report] MNL-TYO-MNL on ANA (May 2017)

[cabinpressure]

While we're waiting for news about, well, anything really, I thought that I might as well post a trip report from my latest flight. One of the best things about my last flight was actually going to the airport. I had to leave the family house in Laguna on a Monday morning. Not the most ideal situation, but it all wondrously worked out. From Calamba, I boarded a bus to Alabang where there is an airport shuttle to NAIA-3. All in all, I got to Terminal 3 in a little over 90 minutes for P110. Incredible in my book! I planned to arrive two hours before departure but got to the airport 30 minutes before check-in opened. To be fair, I didn't have any large suitcases, but if I did, I'd just leave earlier.



Flight: NH 870
Route: MNL-HND
Aircraft: Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner

Fortunately, I had access to the Sky View Lounge which also happened to be ANA lounge. Check-in was a breeze, especially since I only had cabin luggage. There was a bit of a wait on the immigration counters but not like what was reported in the news. The food in the lounge tasted free, which explains this:



I did take a shower, though. The staff told me that there was no hot water, but I guess I was lucky:

 

Boarding started half an hour before departure. ANA used to operate the 788 with 2-4-2 configuration in Economy but has since changed it to 3-3-3. I prefer these 3-3-3 seats despite the density. The older ones did not recline at all.

 

Trying out the window shades:

 

Legroom could be better but I had the whole row to myself, so no problems there. The flight was about 70-80% full. The safety video had Filipino subtitles.

 

The flight attendant allowed me to keep my bag on the seat beside. She even buckled it down with the seatbelt. Kinda cute.



Views from the window.

 

Cabin service began after we reached cruising altitude. While waiting, I decided to check out the IFE system. This aircraft had live television channels: CNN, NHK World, and a Sports channel. I ended up watching the film Hidden Figures.

 

The choice for the meal was between braised pork and roasted chicken. The latter was the western option, so thinking that the Japanese option would be better, I chose the pork. It was okay, but disappointing when compared to my previous flights with ANA. As usual, I loaded up on the airline's Kabosu juice for the drink.



I checked out the lavatory an hour before landing. It had one of those washlet toilets and a window. What a treat! I don't think I've ever used a toilet with a window fully opened before.





It took me less than 20 minutes to get from the aircraft to the arrivals lobby. Our gate was the closest one to the CIQ, a pleasant surprise as my flights from Manila usually are parked at the farthest gate. I had to wait for my travel companions who were traveling on Cathay, so I had some time to check out the observation deck.

 

 

My return flight on the next post...
[Edited: 2017-09-11 to relink some of the photos]

[cabinpressure]

For my return flight, I took the afternoon flight that departed from Narita. I've been to Japan several times, but I've never been to Narita, so I was kinda looking forward to the experience.

Flight: NH 819
Route: NRT-MNL
Aircraft: Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner

First, I had to send-off my travel companions a day later back over at Haneda. I love riding the monorail, so I really didn't mind. I also passed by the ANA store in Terminal 2 to check out the aircraft models as well as some merchandise. But, back to the observation deck first. I saw some couples checking out the airplanes, so this counts as a dating spot. Actually, when I went to the Maintenance tours for ANA and JAL a few years back, a lot of the visitors were couples.



Terminal 2. Good old friend. Er, terminal.
 

And now, the ANA store in terminal 2. You're reading it correctly, that model costs almost JPY 200,000! I ended up buying some stickers and clear files.


 



Having had way too much fun before my flight, I made a mad dash to the Access Narita bus which took me from Tokyo Station to the Airport. The fare for the 90-minute ride is just JPY 1,000. I arrived at the check-in desk an hour before departure which explains the lack of pictures.



Narita is one huge airport, that I would never use again given the choice. To be fair, it's not bad at all: everything runs smoothly, but there are way more people here than Haneda. Of course, I'm more familiar with Haneda, so there's that. On the tarmac, the ground crew waves us off.



Catering was so much better than the inbound flight. By the time the flight attendant got to us, we were left with chicken and beans. I question the wisdom of serving beans onboard a flight, but it was actually delicious. Mid-way through the flight, I ordered ANA Star Wars pins from the duty-free catalogue. I never buy anything on the plane, but as I collect pins I had to have this for my collection. I also asked for a postcard, and the flight attendant happily obliged with a small set.




End of the flight. As you may have gathered, I'm a bit of an ANA otaku, so it's no question that I will definitely fly with them again. I appreciate the consistent service standard they have from the ground to the air. Plus, the postcards were a good extra!




'Til next time, Fujisan.

[Edited: 2017-09-11 to relink some of the photos]