Last week I wrote about ANA’s significant schedule changes.
More first class service to more destinations!
With these schedule changes, ANA upgauged select routes to Boeing 777-300ERs, signifying the introduction of first class service (in the process their Paris route is losing first class service, though).
A
ANA’s 777-300ER first class cabin
These new 777-300ER routes include the following:
Tokyo Narita to Singapore NH801/802 as of March 29, 2015
NH801 Narita to Singapore departing 6:05PM arriving 12:05AM (+1 day)
NH802 Singapore to Narita departing 5:50AM arriving 2:00PM
Tokyo Narita to Seattle NH178/177 as of May 6, 2015
NH178 Narita to Seattle departing 5:55PM arriving 11:15AM
NH177 Seattle to Narita departing 1:15PM arriving 3:40PM
Tokyo Haneda to Frankfurt NH203/204 as of May 7, 2015
NH203 Haneda to Frankfurt departing 12:55AM arriving 6:05AM
NH204 Frankfurt to Haneda departing 12:10PM arriving 6:35AM (+1 day)
Tokyo Narita to Houston NH174/173 as of June 12, 2015
NH174 Narita to Houston departing 11:15AM arriving 9:30AM
NH173 Houston to Narita departing 11:20AM arriving 3:20PM (+1 day)
First class award availability wide open
For whatever reason ANA was slow to actually update the GDS to reflect these aircraft substitutions.
Anyway, ANA has finally updated all of these routes, and first class award availability is wide open across the board.
ANA is releasing two first class seats on virtually every flight between Tokyo Narita and Singapore:
They’re also releasing two first class seats on virtually every flight between Seattle and Tokyo Narita:
Meanwhile on Houston to Tokyo Narita they’re releasing one first class award seat most flights:
And for what it’s worth, first class award availability on ANA in general continues to be excellent, which is a trend we’ve seen for a while now. Generally they only release one first class seat per flight, though, and not two.
Best way to redeem miles for ANA first class?
Premium cabin Star Alliance redemptions aren’t nearly as lucrative as they used to be, given that most of the best options have been devalued in the past few years.
Let’s look at the cost of a New York to Tokyo to Singapore first class award, for example. United MileagePlus would charge 130,000 miles for that ticket one-way with their devalued Star Alliance partner award chart:
Meanwhile Air Canada Aeroplan would charge 105,000 miles plus fuel surcharges of $300+:
Avianca LifeMiles charges 99,000 miles without fuel surcharges under their devalued award chart, which is probably the best way to book this:
Bottom line
ANA has one of my favorite first class products, so it’s great to see that offering not only expanded to more cities in the US, but also for travel within Asia. I expect that ANA will offer full first class service on the flight to Singapore, including Rimowa amenity kits, caviar, pajamas, etc.
ANA’s first class caviar service
ANA’s Rimowa amenity kit
I just wish the Star Alliance premium cabin redemption rates nowadays were more lucrative…
Do you plan on booking an award ticket on one of these new ANA first class routes?
The best miles to use on ana currently would be virgin Atlantic, it goes by distance 14000 miles only for 120k points of virgin Atlantic first class would be best choice currently Amex offer 25% bonus offer so Wich only requires 96k of Amex points to get 120k virgin Atlantic points not sure how much taxes going to cost any one have an idea ?
@ Curtis -- There would be fuel surcharges, but with such a low price it could still be a good deal.
I saw good availability in September '15. Snagged roundtrip from LAX to SIN (NH 5 to NH 801), and back (NH 802/NH 6). I'm using this award flight (wow, that was a lot of UAL miles) to go to the Singapore GP. Combining this with the Ritz Carlton Visa Card 140K award applied towards 5 nights at the Marriott Singapore (200K MR points) makes this trip an awesomely inexpensive way to go see what should be an amazing race!
@ David -- Have a blast!
Hmm... Still perplexed about booking RT US->SIN for 140 UA miles... I check both charts (UA and *A) and neither have anything for 70K each-way in F to South Asia.
Hey Lucky,
it seems like ANA only release 2 seats per flight in C and F. Any experience if seats will get loaded back automatically like it used to be with TG? Looking for 3 C seats... Thanks man!
@Lucky, very true --- though I think it is possible to book through miles but only as 2 one-ways: Garuda Miles for NRT-CGK in GA F, and Flying Blue (must come from an elite member account) to fly La Prem CGK-SIN.
This is one of those times when I wish airlines in the skyteam alliance had access to redeem miles on each other's first class products (similar to the way oneworld does it.)
@Todd -- an update: ANA has loaded the seatmaps, it is the most up-to-date "square" first class and lie-flat business class product on the NRT-SEA flight, judging from the seat maps (my flight is July 6, but I would assume that the product is fairly consistent on the route - it's ANA and not United after all :)
@Todd: I think we have to wait a while longer for the seatmaps to get loaded by ANA (right now one can't view them yet) for the SEA-NRT flight - then, by looking at the business class cabin, we should be able to see if it's one of the old layouts or the new one with lieflats (which would then also have the newest top-notch first class cabin).
Hey Lucky... I think you might have missed my question. I'd love to hear your thoughts/clarifications:
Apologies that I’m a little confused… after your original post there was some speculation that the new F routes (especially NRT-SEA I think) might be summer only and/or might not have ANA’s top-line first class cabin. Is any of this true? Or will NRT-SEA be their best F for the entire schedule for the foreseeable future? Same questions about...
Hey Lucky... I think you might have missed my question. I'd love to hear your thoughts/clarifications:
Apologies that I’m a little confused… after your original post there was some speculation that the new F routes (especially NRT-SEA I think) might be summer only and/or might not have ANA’s top-line first class cabin. Is any of this true? Or will NRT-SEA be their best F for the entire schedule for the foreseeable future? Same questions about NRT-SIN. (Since we’ll be trying to go from SEA to SIN and it sounds like this would make a great option without having to take a positioning flight to LAX/SFO/YVR for Singapore, Emirates (a380), and Cathay.) While I’ve got you, would you agree with that — would you take ANA F direct from Seattle over Singapore, Emirates, Cathay F involving positioning flights? Thanks!
Thanks!
@ Todd -- I don't know, they haven't updated their winter schedule yet. It's anyone's guess. I would probably do ANA direct for the convenience in one direction.
Lucky, I tried looking up this F award space on NH801 NRT-SIN for a variety of dates in July through United's website, but none of it showing at all. Haven't had a chance yet to call United to ask. But I also noticed that somehow NH801 doesn't seem to show up on United or ANA websites for revenue flights in any class of service either... Any idea what's going on?
@ Marc -- Hmmm, not sure where you're looking, but I see availability almost every day for awards on both United and ANA's website.
In addition, it's arguable that the best First class from NRT to SIN would be Garuda First NRT-CGK and then Air France La Premiere CGK-SIN if you're a skyteam flyer.
@ Joey -- Hah, if only there were a way to book that on miles!
Ben does the IAH - NRT flight go to 2-class later in the year?
@ UnLuCkY -- Not as far as I know.
@ Kevin:
I’m trying to digest the suggestion that you gave above. So the best route to SIN, as you said is : NH F from US-Tokyo, TG F from Tokyo-Bangkok – Hong Kong and then SQ in J from Hong Kong to Singapore.
NH is ANA, TG is Thai Airways, isn’t it?
Also if you fly NH F from US – Tokyo, is that meant that you can stop over in...
@ Kevin:
I’m trying to digest the suggestion that you gave above. So the best route to SIN, as you said is : NH F from US-Tokyo, TG F from Tokyo-Bangkok – Hong Kong and then SQ in J from Hong Kong to Singapore.
NH is ANA, TG is Thai Airways, isn’t it?
Also if you fly NH F from US – Tokyo, is that meant that you can stop over in Tokyo? then continue your journey with TG F to Bangkok and have stop over again, then to Hongkong and stop over again before flying to final destination which is Singapore.
All of these segments in one route can be booked by 130,000 UA miles oneway? how to find the award seat availability?
@ Kevin: mine is : jalaneropa2 at gmail
Please shoot me an email.
@Dave...let me see if I can get lucky to forward my email address to you.
@ Kevin:
Thanks a lot for your help! and it's nice to meet you as a fellow flyers who based in SFO! :)
By the way, what is your email, I would like to send you e-mail if you don't mind.
@Dave...I will chime in on getting there via the Pacific using Star Alliance given your destination of SIN. If you plan on going on SQ you will need to have KrisFlyer miles as on those flights from the US-SIN they don't open up Suites/First Class space on those routes to *A partner redemption. If you book online with SQ and your itinerary is solely on SQ metal you get a 15% discount. From SFO/LAX to...
@Dave...I will chime in on getting there via the Pacific using Star Alliance given your destination of SIN. If you plan on going on SQ you will need to have KrisFlyer miles as on those flights from the US-SIN they don't open up Suites/First Class space on those routes to *A partner redemption. If you book online with SQ and your itinerary is solely on SQ metal you get a 15% discount. From SFO/LAX to SIN the flights are 91,375 KrisFlyer miles one way after the discount. From IAH/JFK the flights to SIN are 93,500 KF miles via DME/FRA respectively.
Up until ANA's recent announcement the options for First Class travel from Tokyo to Singapore were quite slim, with SQ and UA being the only carriers to offer non-stop service. I have done the US-Southeast Asia award quite a few times and the best I could do was NH F from US-Tokyo, TG F from Tokyo-Bangkok - Hong Kong and then SQ in J from Hong Kong to Singapore. I know UA offers F on HKG-SIN, but I will take SQ in J over UA F as they are far superior on that route. With the change in the award chart this is suppose to cost 130,000 UA miles oneway.
I too am based in SFO and service on foreign carriers tends to be at a much slower pace than on domestic carriers where there usually seems to be a race to see who can finish first. With that in mind I find the San Francisco - Tokyo flights to be a bit short for my taste. On my recent flight on NH I actually originated from IAD for a longer flight even though it meant buying a one way positioning flight to IAD which was about $170. I could have added that segment to my award, but I already had 4 segments on my one-way award which is the limit.
Originating from the US the options for First Class Lounges are quite bleak so to speak. I have not seen the First Class Star Alliance lounge in LAX so I can't comment on that one. As for the ones in SFO, ORD, and IAD, the United IFL at SFO is the nicest of the bunch. Quite frankly the United IFL seem more like glorified United Clubs with better offerings, yet these lounges still pale in comparison to the First Class Lounges for SQ in SIN or for NH in NRT. If you were going to fly SQ I likely would do it ex-SIN so you can use the Private Room, which only SQ passengers in First Class or Suites have access to.
Hope this helps in your quest for booking your awards :)
@ Todd,
SFO is my home airport, and I am also trying to go to SIN in F class, you said in your comments above that there are Emirates (A380) and ANA flights from SFO to SIN? How’s the award space and how many miles needed? So far I know is flight with Cathay and SQ but I really want to try ANA and Emirates so I really appreciate your help. Please pardon me as I am new to this and this will be my first award flights to SIN. Thanks in advance.
Oh no - you mean they are pulling the 787 off these routes (with it's wonderful, delightful business class product) and replacing it with - ewwww - a 777 with a first cabin? Please, no….that would be a disaster. The 787 biz experience is wonderful, my favorite way to cross the Pacific, I love love love it. First, schmirst, only snobs with more miles than sense would want this change. Ugh, this is awful. : (
;) When you say "Full first class service", did you forget to mention Krug?
Apologies that I'm a little confused... after your original post there was some speculation that the new F routes (especially NRT-SEA I think) might be summer only and/or might not have ANA's top-line first class cabin. Is any of this true? Or will NRT-SEA be their best F for the entire schedule for the foreseeable future? Same questions about NRT-SIN. (Since we'll be trying to go from SEA to SIN and it sounds like this...
Apologies that I'm a little confused... after your original post there was some speculation that the new F routes (especially NRT-SEA I think) might be summer only and/or might not have ANA's top-line first class cabin. Is any of this true? Or will NRT-SEA be their best F for the entire schedule for the foreseeable future? Same questions about NRT-SIN. (Since we'll be trying to go from SEA to SIN and it sounds like this would make a great option without having to take a positioning flight to LAX/SFO/YVR for Singapore, Emirates (a380), and Cathay.) While I've got you, would you agree with that -- would you take ANA F direct from Seattle over Singapore, Emirates, Cathay F involving positioning flights? Thanks!
@ Lucky,
Quoting from WingedWorldExplorer : “There is a way to do this with United for under 140k in F round trip with one special combination”.
How to do this? Hope you can shed a light to all of us. Thank you in advance.
@Heather, augias, and Jon, c'mon --- we've all been readers of Lucky's blog for quite some time now so I know you guys can figure it out. I don't know which special combination WingedWorldExplorer is referring to but I bet you his routing doesn't originate in North America. ;)
One of the things I've learned from WanderingAramean & Lucky is that the UA award search engine can give some crazy routings at times and...
@Heather, augias, and Jon, c'mon --- we've all been readers of Lucky's blog for quite some time now so I know you guys can figure it out. I don't know which special combination WingedWorldExplorer is referring to but I bet you his routing doesn't originate in North America. ;)
One of the things I've learned from WanderingAramean & Lucky is that the UA award search engine can give some crazy routings at times and from looking at the star alliance/partner award chart of UA, I can see some possible routings WingedWorldExplorer may be referring to. One leg would have UA F and the other leg will have ANA F, for example. Take a look and you'll see some that prices less than 100k miles one-way.
@worldwingedexplorer won't tell us, comments like this help to boost the ego. Wouldn't you all want people salivating over your tricks too?
@worldwingedexplorer: how on earth would you book it with 140k? I'm dying to know...
@WingedWorldExplorer-How you tease. I wish I knew how to do this. If you are interested in sharing would you comment in the comments and I will let you know how to find me.
Lucky, I am booked NRT-SEA in first class (used to be on a 787 in business, but I upgraded a few days ago). I can't load the seat maps though... why is that? And on my reservation it still says 787, but also 'first class'.
Do you think this is full first class with everything (caviar etc) or just first class seats? Because I don't want to pay 35k miles extra if it's not the actual first class experience.
@ augias -- They're just really slow to fully update the aircraft type. I wouldn't be worried.
I'll admit though ever since the UA devaluation on its partner awards, it has been easier to find first class availability on its partners like ANA and Asiana.
Regardless, I still miss the old rates, especially when US Airways was still part of star alliance ---- 120k miles roundtrip from North America to North Asia!
There is a way to do this with United for under 140k in F round trip with one special combination.
Great deal with LifeMiles. If only ANA released two seats on their JFK-NRT flights in advance.