This Tuesday, I attended the ANA "Inspiration of Japan" open house at San Jose City Hall, also known as, The Rotunda.
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| "Inspiration of Japan" Open House |
Opened to ANA Mileage Club members on Tuesday morning, I arrived early with membership card in hand and, as promised, received ANA amenity goods and a mini tote bag. Sweet!
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| All the good stuff! |
My brand-new ANA Mileage Club card also gave me an entry to the drawing of free roundtrip ticket to Tokyo. But I have not heard from them yet. So that means I didn't win.
The economy cabin features new fixed-back shell seats, which won't recline into the passenger behind. Thus, legroom will be a little more spacious than their current economy cabin. And I found it's close to Economy Plus. IFE and other gadgets look somewhat similar to the current Singapore Airlines product, with in-seat power, USB port, iPod connector, cup-holder, footrest and a nice big 10.6" touch panel monitor.
Business class features staggered layout on their newly-designed Boeing 777-300ER, which makes sure each seat has aisle access.
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| Full flat seat capable of fine adjustment! |
The seat is designed to maximize personal space and provide great privacy. Sliding table is 150 percent larger than before. The LCD touch panel screen is huge.
First class completely blew my mind.
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| ANA First Square |
This is indeed a masterpiece that marries aviation comfort with Japanese culture. The ingenuity can be seen in the design of storage space.
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| Many little storage cabinets for personal belongings. |
This is such an amazing product! On ANA's own website, they have created a virtual tour.
According to a staff at the open house, United and ANA have started to share revenue through a joint venture. Members of the both airlines can choose to earn and credit base miles and bonus miles in each other's program!
ANA has been one of my favorite airlines. I had the best airline food ever on their Osaka Kansai to Shanghai flight in July, 2011. A staff there told me that ANA actually cooks the rice up in the air.
"We don't just heat it up in the microwave", he said. "We are the only one figured out how to cook that right mid-air."
He mentioned that ANA is considering adding a daily service between San Jose and Narita.
"With many high-tech companies in south bay and peninsula, we see a stronger growth potential for passengers from these areas than San Francisco", he said.
The San Jose - Narita route will possibly be operated with their new Boeing 787.
"Inspiration of Japan" is a work of art, and it makes me wonder: Who is not tempted to fly with ANA?
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