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In late 2019, ANA made a splash with its refreshed luxury cabins in business and first class. While available on only a very small selection of flights, these premium cabin options — dubbed “The Room” and “The Suite” — immediately rivaled the best hard products in the sky. What makes these flight options to and from Tokyo even better? And how can travelers book these flights to fly in style? Here's everything you need to know.
ANA Luxury Cabins: The Room and The Suite
ANA’s retrofitting of select Boeing 777-300ER planes turned what was already a top-notch experience into an over-the-top luxurious one. The new ANA luxury cabins, both equipped with individual seat door enclosures, bring a five-star hotel setting to the sky. Even just exploring the pictures on ANA’s website will pique the interest of would-be travelers.
Currently, aircraft equipped with The Room (business class) and The Suite (first class) options only fly between Tokyo and select international destinations:
- Tokyo–Haneda (HND) to/from London (LHR)
- Distance: 5,974 miles
- Outbound flght: NH 211
- Inbound flight: NH 212
- Tokyo–Haneda (HND) to/from New York City (JFK)
- Distance: 6,772 miles
- Outbound flight: NH 110 & 160
- Inbound flight: NH 109 & 159
- Tokyo–Haneda (HND) to San Francisco (SFO)
- Distance: 5,160 miles
- Outbound flight: NH 108
- Inbound flight: NH 107
Other airports have enjoyed service from the retrofitted aircraft at various points in time, so it pays to check which planes are flying where. I recommend checking the ANA website and searching a desired route to check for updated cabins. If you search for business or first class, results will include an indicator for “THE Room” or “THE Suite” along the left-hand side of the results screen:
An alternative way to identify one of these updated aircraft is to search Google Flights for the route in question. The “Legrooms for Google Flights” extension shows the kind of seat, by cabin, for each itinerary. Business- and first-class itineraries where updated ANA cabins are present will show up as “Individual Suite” instead of “Lie Flat Seat” and will have a slightly different icon next to the description:
Even more options exist to check the aircraft, such as looking up the seat map on ExpertFlyer (potentially). Retrofitted planes have 64 business-class seats, while older variations have either 52 or 68 business-class seats.
Worth The Hype?
In a word, yes. Business class seat enclosures (doors) are becoming more and more common. Qatar's Qsuite was the first product to offer this. Now, airlines such as British Airways, China Eastern, Delta, and JetBlue offer the same on select planes. However, those seats don’t offer the same amount of physical space that The Room provides. A throne seat on JetBlue Mint might give passengers a great amount of headroom, or even the feeling of isolation, but you can quite literally fit two people side-by-side in a seat in ANA’s refreshed business class.
When it comes to First Class, The Suite can’t compete with the truly opulent products available. ANA has no on-board showers like the luxury cabins of Etihad and Emirates, nor does it offer swiveling leather armchairs and separate beds like Singapore Airlines does. However, a 43-inch 4K display at each enclosed seat should help pass the time on these long-haul journeys.
Often overlooked, each seat in both cabins has individual air nozzles to help passengers stay comfortable during the flight. When you’re trapped in a metal tube for hours on end, this feature is invaluable.
Identifying Award Space
Despite a plethora of search tools available to award travelers, I still prefer a more rudimentary option to find ANA award space. United's award search remains my personal favorite way to look for this award space, thanks to its calendar view option and available filters. Use the airport code (e.g., JFK) rather than the city code (e.g., NYC) to aid any award space searches. Plus, use any of the methods above to double-check search results, United or otherwise.
Frankly, award space in either business or first class in these refreshed cabins eludes even the most diligent travelers. Anecdotally, I have found that award space becomes available very far out and very close in, with some consistency. Every so often, a random date here or there in the middle of the schedule will have award space, too.
Best Ways To Book ANA The Room and The Suite
ANA belongs to the Star Alliance global network of airlines. This means virtually any Star Alliance carrier’s frequent flyer program provides an opportunity to book ANA's luxury cabins. Below are a handful of airlines whose loyalty program points/miles can be obtained easily:
- ANA Mileage Club
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Avianca LifeMiles
- Turkish Miles & Smiles
- United MileagePlus
However, perhaps the most intriguing option to book The Room or The Suite comes from a non-alliance partner of ANA: Virgin Atlantic.
Below, the comparison of various award booking possibilities will help you decide on your preferred booking method.
Mileage cost
The tables below compare the one-way mileage cost of all three routes with ANA's refreshed premium cabins, for both business- and first-class travel. Note that ANA's own program does not allow one-way awards; the mileage costs shown are half the round-trip costs whenever programs mandate round-trip bookings.
| Route | ANA Mileage Club (Low/Regular/High) | Air Canada Aeroplan | Avianca LifeMiles | Turkish Miles & Miles | United MileagePlus | Virgin Atlantic Flying Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HND–LHR (Business) | 40,000/57,500/60,000 | 80,000 | 75,000 | 90,000 | 140,000 | 60,000 |
| HND–LHR (First) | 82,500/95,000/110,000 | 100,000 | 115,000 | 135,000 | N/A | 85,000 |
| HND–JFK (Business) | 50,000/52,500/55,000 | 87,500 | 90,000 | 130,000 | 110,000 | 60,000 |
| HND–JFK (First) | 75,000/85,000/100,000 | 130,000 | 120,000 | 195,000 | 220,000 | 85,000 |
| HND–SFO (Business) | 50,000/52,500/55,000 | 87,500 | 90,000 | 130,000 | 110,000 | 52,500 |
| HND–SFO (First) | 75,000/85,000/100,000 | 130,000 | 120,000 | 195,000 | 220,000 | 72,500 |
| HND/NRT- ORD (Business) | 50,000/52,500/55,000 | 87,500 | 90,000 | 130,000 | 110,000 | 60,000 |
| HND/NRT- ORD (First) | 75,000/85,000/100,000 | 130,000 | 120,000 | 195,000 | 220,000 | 85,000 |
A few things stand out from this chart. First, ANA's own award chart beats all others in most situations, although ANA awards require round-trip travel. Because award seats on these flights can be so difficult to find, booking a round-trip award poses a tough challenge for even the most discerning award traveler.
Second, Virgin Atlantic provides travelers based in North America the best opportunity for premium cabin one-way awards based on cost alone. Virgin's first-class award cost for flights between Tokyo and San Francisco beats even ANA's own pricing. Additionally, Turkish provides another good option for lower-cost awards between Europe and Tokyo.
Taxes and fees
The biggest determinant of taxes and fees for these award flights comes down to the origin airport. Depending on your location, that might be a blessing or a curse. And some programs (like Virgin Atlantic and ANA) are more prone to passing along these fees to customers than others (such as Avianca and United).
Here's an example from a recent first-class redemption between Tokyo and San Francisco, booked with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club:
- Base Fare: $0
- Carrier-imposed Surcharge (YQ): $382.10
- Japan – Passenger Service Facilities Charge (SW): $22.70
- United States – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Fee (APHIS) User Fee – Passengers (XA): $3.83
- United States – Custom User Fee (YC): $6.52
- International Tourist Tax – Japan: $7.70
- United States – Immigration and Naturalization Fee(Immigration User Fee) (XY): $7
- United States – Transportation Tax (US): $21.10
- Total: $450.95
Use the ITA Software Matrix to get a good sense of any taxes and fees you can expect to pay for your trip.
Points and miles accessibility
Of the six airline programs discussed, all receive at least one of the major transferrable points currencies. Each person will have their own points program preference, but a comparison of points transfer options can help. All partners use a 1:1 ratio for points transfers. Note that Marriott Bonvoy points can be transferred to all six of these programs at a 3:1 ratio also.
- 1 partner: ANA (Amex Membership Rewards)
- 2 partners: United (Bilt Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards)
- 3 partners:
- Avianca (Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One miles, and Citi ThankYou Points)
- Turkish (Bilt Rewards, Capital One miles, and Citi ThankYou Points)
- 4 partners: Air Canada (Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Capital One)
- 5 partners: Virgin Atlantic (Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou Points)
Before making any transfer, be sure to check average transfer times so you know when your points will hit your account. Additionally, some programs mentioned above, such as Avianca LifeMiles, frequently put their points on sale. This provides travelers another opportunity to accrue large amounts of points at once.
Flexibility
As always, travelers should consider flexibility when booking these flights. Future plans may change, and not every airline program handles these situations the same way. United offers travelers the greatest flexibility, where canceling an award flight incurs no extra cost.
ANA charges a fairly modest cost of 3,000 miles to cancel an award and allows free changes more than 96 hours from departure. Meanwhile, Avianca charges $150 or more, depending on what kind of changes might be required. Make sure to check out the change and cancellation policies by airline, as this might influence your booking preferences.
Other considerations
Points aside, not all award programs are created equal. Avianca LifeMiles' customer service is much easier to navigate if you speak Spanish. Meanwhile, the Turkish Airlines booking process can be pretty cumbersome and convoluted, especially if the award does not show up on the Turkish website. Virgin Atlantic is the gold standard for customer service, but there are no online options available for booking ANA award flights. Flying Club members must call (800-365-9500) or text (97634) for all ANA award travel needs. Before transferring points and proceeding with an award booking, be mindful of these additional factors that could have big impacts in the future. And make sure you confirm award availability before transferring points.
Our Take
Japan offers numerous types of trips for travelers. Culinary delights, cultural experiences, or even connecting with nature could be the basis for a journey to Japan. Regardless of your purpose for visiting the country, one of the most enjoyable ways to get there comes courtesy of the new ANA luxury cabins. The splashy, refreshed B777-300ER cabins that All Nippon Airways offers on select routes mean that a trip of a lifetime can be extended just a bit longer.
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