All Nippon Airways, or “ANA”, is Japan’s largest 5-star airline, which will launch three new routes in Milan, Stockholm and Istanbul this winter 2024-2025. ANA offers one of the most amazing seats in the sky. “THE Room” not only is one of the widest Business Class seats in the world, it’s also one of the most technologically advanced. Combined with an impressive food and beverage offer and the signature Japanese hospitality, a flight in “THE Room” can be considered as a holiday in itself.

ANA’s “THE Room”: The World’s Best Business Class Seat?

We experienced the incredible “THE Room” seats of All Nippon Airways on our trip from London to Tokyo in May 2024. This direct flight takes around 14 hours. Check-in is a breeze for Business Class travellers, with lounge access, priority check-in and boarding, and fast track security (available at some airports).

On ANA’s Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, there are no less than 64 ANA “THE Room” Busines Class seats, or better, suites, which are divided into three areas. Directly behind ANA First Class is a mini-cabin with two rows of Business Class. Behind that is the main Business Class cabin with 10 rows of suites. And finally, there is a last Business Class cabin with four rows of suites. “THE Room” seats are arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration, with each row facing alternately forward and backwards.

The best choice for couples are the rear-facing suites (centre aisle) in the odd-numbered rows. With some distance from the corridor, they’re very close to each other and are also very private. There is a partition at leg level, but apart from that, in these two suites together you’d almost have the space of a king-size bed to share.

For individuals who want the best outside views, the best seats are the rear-facing window seats.

The incredibly wide seats were designed by British design company Acumen, under the supervision of the famous architect Kengo Kuma (who also designed the Japanese national stadium for the Olympic Games in Tokyo). They are considered some of the best and most beautiful Business Class seats in the world. “Spacious seat” is an understatement for ANA’s “THE Room”. At its widest, the seat is almost 1 metre wide (37,5 inches), making it the widest Business Class seat in the world and wider than many First Class seats. Two passengers could easily fit in this seat.

They also make for an incredibly wide bed in the air. However, is slightly longer than 1.9 metres (75 inches). When the seat is fully reclined and the mattress topper is in place, the suite transforms into one of the most spacious Business Class beds we’ve ever flown in.

One of the most remarkable features of ANA’s “THE Room” seats is that each suite has a sliding door. When closed, these doors create truly private Business Class seats. This level of privacy is something that even many First Class seats lack.

The design is also stunning, with wood panelling reminiscent of the lush nature of Japan, a calming colour scheme of blues, greys and browns, and innovative layouts inspired by traditional Japanese living spaces. There are multiple reading lights, which can be adjusted in colour and position. Other technological highlights include intuitive seat controls, multiple USB and AC power sockets and an impressive 24-inch 4K UHD touchscreen.

From January 2024, ANA introduced new sustainable amenity kits in international First and Business Class. The kits come in ‘ETTINGER’ branded bags.  First Class passengers will receive a kit of SENSAI, while in Business Class, the kit provided is from AVEDA, a brand that does not conduct any animal testing and is committed to developing products that include the use of materials derived from natural resources.

 Stunning Food & Beverage offer 

When you fly Business Class with ANA, the food and beverages will be a highlight of your flight. A great feature is that ANA publishes its menus online, so you can see what’s available before you fly. Even better, you can pre-order the Japanese or Western option online so you don’t miss out. And that’s exactly what we did – we booked the Japanese meals in advance so we could be sure to enjoy them during the flight.

Before take-off, the crew came by and offered sparkling wine or orange juice. After an amuse bouche, we enjoyed the following 5 (or rather 10) course meal:

• Zensai (A Selection of Morsels): Simmered Shrimp in Ginger Sauce, Broccolini Rolled with Smoked Salmon, Japanese Omelet & Simmered Octopus in Soy-based Sauce
• Kobachi (Tasty Tidbits): Asparagus Tofu
• Nimono (Simmered Plate): Simmered Chicken Meatball in White Miso Sauce
• Shusai (Main Dish): Beef Sukiyaki, Steamed Rice, Miso Soup & Japanese Pickles
• Dessert: Cherry Mascarpone, Cheese (Semi-hard, Blue, Goat Milk) &Fruits

After the first meal, guests could choose from an à la carte menu with a selection of light dishes, soup, noodles, refreshments, snacks, Japanese and international cuisine. A very wide selection of drinks is made available to guests. Champagne Castelnau – Cuvée Brut Réserve is an excellent drink to start the ANA flight, followed by a sake tasting during the meal. The sake selection is extensive and truly excellent, so be sure to try it during your flight. To end your meal, we recommend the excellent Suntory single malt whisky Hakushu.

Impressive entertainment system

In typical Japanese fashion, and in keeping with the spacious suite itself, ANA THE Room’s Business Class entertainment screens are the best you’ll find in Business Class. They’re huge – 24 inches! -, incredibly sharp – in 4K, of course – and quick and easy to operate via a touchscreen or wired remote control. Guests can even pair their smartphone with the screen to control it. This is a truly impressive screen in the sky.

ANA Sky Channel, the in-flight entertainment system, offers a selection of new movies, television series and more, as well as an extensive audio catalogue. See this page for more information on what you can watch on board. ANA noise-cancelling headphones are provided and are of good quality and comfort. There is also an on-board camera – a great advantage for flight enthusiasts.

THE Room cabin already received the following Awards:

• Selling Travel- Agents Choice Awards(Airline for Business Class)
• TheDesignAir Awards (Best New Business Class)
• TheDesignAir Awards (Design Innovation Awards)

More about all nippon airways

​All Nippon Airways, or “ANA” for short, is Japan’s largest airline. ANA, based in Japan’s exciting capital Tokyo, flies to both domestic and international destinations. ANA will launch three new routes from Milan, Stockholm and Istanbul this winter 2024-2025. It is one of the best-known airlines in the world and is praised for its punctuality and excellent service.

The airline operates on over 50 international routes to/from Haneda and Narita airports and has a large domestic network, more than 130 routes.(As of July 2024) With five daily flights from London, Paris (from July, 2024), Frankfurt (x 2) and Munich (from July , 2024) as well as a regular service from Brussels and Vienna (from August, 2024) to Tokyo, ANA is fast becoming one of the most convenient airlines to fly from Europe to Japan. They are further extending their European network this winter 2024-2025 with flights from Milan, Stockholm and Istanbul.

With its slogan “Inspiration of Japan”, it is not surprising that ANA is known for its excellent service and Japanese hospitality. “Always sincere, always humble and always polite” is ANA’s promise. Striving for excellence and working together as a unit – very Japanese traits indeed – ensures not only safe and reliable flights, but also on-time and punctual flights. No less than 84% of ANA’s scheduled flights are operated on time, a percentage that ranks among the top 10 among international airlines. Because ANA places great emphasis on comfort and guest experience, it has been recognised as a 5-star airline by Skytrax since 2013.

ANA believes that corporate sustainability is based on a healthy global environment. Therefore, the airline contributes to the protection of the global environment, including the management of climate change, the effective use of limited resources and the preservation of biodiversity. ANA aims to be an environmentally leading airline and puts this into practice during flights through the use of paper straws, recyclable food trays and much more.

ANA flies on international flights with the following aircraft (click on the links for seat maps):

• Boeing 787-10 (781) (Number of seats: 294)
• Boeing 787-9 (789) (Number of seats: 246/215)
• Boeing 787-8 (788) (Number of seats: 240/184)
• Boeing 777-300ER (77W) (Number of seats: 212)
• Boeing 767-300ER (763) (Number of seats: 202)
• Airbus A380-800 (388) (Number of seats: 520)
• Airbus A320neo (320) (Number of seats: 146)

ANA already received the following Awards:

• Business Travel Awards (Best Business Airline)
• ULTRAs by Telegraph (Most Innovative Airline)
• TTG Luxury Travel Awards ( Premium Airline of the Year)
• Aspire Awards (Premium Airline of the Year)

ANA All Nippon Airways Business Class

ANA offers four types of Business Class product: the famous, extremely spacious “THE Room” available on the B777-300ER; the ANA Business Staggered available on the B787-9, B787-8 (184 seats), B777-300ER, and the A380; the ANA Business Cradle available on the B787-8 (240 seats) and the B767-300ER (202 seats), and the smaller Business Class seats on the A320neo planes.

We flew from London to Haneda on the Boeing 777-300ER (77W) in “THE Room”, and from Haneda to Paris on the Boeing 787-9 in the “Business Staggered” seats. Both experiences were excellent. World class comfort, Japanese style functionality, completely flat seats, large LCD widescreen monitors, lockers for storage and of course the excellent ANA service were aspects that both flights had in common.

The ANA Business Class flights can be booked with cash or miles, but the latter can be difficult as Japan is a very popular destination these days. However, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday flights generally have more availability, so if you are looking for the best price, try searching for these mid-week flights. Another useful tip is that if you subscribe to ANA’s Newsletter, you will get the latest info on special promotions