ANA operates a large fleet of Boeing 767-300ERs on both domestic and international routes. While I flew one within Japan numerous times, I never had a chance to fly one internationally until earlier this month on the first flight of my trip to Africa.
Continue reading this review to see what the economy class hop from Tokyo Haneda to Seoul Gimpo, which also happened to be my first international flight out of Haneda Airport’s Terminal 2, was like.
Check-in, Lounge & Boarding at Tokyo Haneda Airport
I got to Haneda Airport’s recently reopened international section of Terminal 2 around 6:30AM, just over two hours before my flight’s scheduled departure time of 8:40AM.
While I selected my seat and checked in online beforehand, I had to stop by the counters to drop off my bag. Doing so took a few minutes since I could not use the automated machines. It turned out the staff had to check my onward ticket from South Korea given that the itinerary I was traveling on was one-way into the country.
With very few passengers being in the terminal in the early morning hours, going through security and immigration was a breeze.
I appreciated the compactness of Terminal 2’s international area, which makes traveling through Haneda feel like using a relatively small regional airport rather than one of the largest airports in the world. Terminal 3, which is the main terminal used for international flights, is quite similar in that regard.
It’s also worth pointing out that taking laptop out of carry-on baggage at security was not necessary thanks to the use of advanced scanners. I certainly wish all airports installed them.
Airside, I headed straight to the new ANA Lounge that I could access thanks to my Star Alliance Gold status.
In many regards the lounge was similar to all of the other international ANA Lounges. That said, it was more spacious and offered some elements such as a large open seating area right after its entrance and a live kitchen not seen in the older lounges.
I stayed in the lounge until just before 8AM when I headed to gate 66 where the flight to Seoul was departing from.
Passengers requiring assistance were invited to board at 8:12AM, and a couple of minutes later, boarding group 1 (ANA Mileage Club Diamond members) were invited to board.
At 8:15AM, group 2, which included business class passengers and Star Alliance Gold members, was called. At that point, I had my boarding pass scanned, walked down the jetway, and stepped onboard a Boeing 767-300ER registered JA625A, which was delivered to ANA brand new in 2011.
ANA 767-300ER (International) Cabin & Seats
ANA operates Boeing 767-300ERs in two different configurations. While the aircraft used on domestic flights are equipped with 270 seats including 10 in Premium Class, the aircraft used on international flights only have 202 seats including 35 in business class.
Business class on the 767 configured for international flights consisted of cradle seats in the rather uncommon (at least for other aircraft types) 2-1-2 layout. The seats themselves were the same as those that can be found on some ANA 787-8s.
In economy class, the seats were in a 2-3-2 layout with a 31-inch seat pitch.
Rather than reclining the traditional way, they featured a “shell” design, which meant that the seat slid forward when “reclining” without affecting the passenger sitting behind.
The headrest was not adjustable. Interestingly, there were “Headrest Fixed” stickers on the seatbacks informing passengers about that.
There were no individual air vents on the overhead panels.
Zooming in, the seatback in front of me was equipped with a, for today’s standards, small nine-inch touchscreen, an in-flight entertainment controller, USB-A charging port, and even an eXport – an aged port that allowed passengers to connect their iPods to the system in the past. There was a coat hook.
Under the screen was a large, single-piece tray table. What was nice was that there were two cup holders – one that could be used when the tray table was closed and one that could be used when the tray table was open.
Each seat had access to a power outlet too.
ANA Flight 861 Departure
Given that the flight would be just about two hours long, I found it nice that ANA provided blankets by default (there was one on each seat upon boarding) rather than only offering them on demand.
Headphones were waiting in each seat pocket upon boarding too.
Just two minutes behind schedule, at 8:42AM, we were pushed back and started making our way toward our departure runway 34R.
While doing so, the safety video was played on the individual screens. Rather than trying to be creative, the video was simple and to the point, the way safety videos used to be in general before airline started to use them as marketing tools.
We took off at 8:54AM.
As can be expected from the rocket-like 767, the take-off run was very short and the angle very steep. During the initial climb, we were offered some excellent views of Haneda Airport and Tokyo Disney Resort.
About five minutes after take-off, one of the flight attendants announced that tray tables and seat reclining could be used, that onboard wi-fi would not be available on the flight, and that we were expecting to arrive in Seoul at 11:05AM.
ANA Short-Haul International Economy Class Meal
Seatbelt signs were switched off a bit more than 10 minutes after take-off.
Another 10 minutes later, breakfast service started with a packaged wet towel.
From there, it took another 15 minutes or so until the meal was served just after half past nine.
While there were no options to choose from, the portion (or even just the fact that a proper meal was served) was incredibly generous. The main “gyu-kalbi-don” beef rice bowl came with two sides – smoked duck and a salad. There were even a dessert in the form of fruit mousse on chocolate and a salty snack pack. For drink, I asked for some cold green tea.
Not only was the portion large, but the meal tasted good too. I especially enjoyed the duck, which went well with the potato salad it was served with, and the fresh salad.
One thing I appreciated about the meal was that proper metal cutlery was provided.
On the other hand, while the crew was nice and professional, when serving the meals, the flight attendants seemed to be a bit uncoordinated, which slowed things down a bit.
Still, the meal trays were cleared about an hour into the flight. After that, the crew went around the cabin offering hot green tea and coffee.
ANA 767-300ER (International) In-Flight Entertainment System
As mentioned earlier, the seat was equipped with an outdated, unresponsive nine-inch touchscreen. Combined with a terrible user interface, the in-flight entertainment system was not worth using on a two-hour flight.
That said, the provided headphones were decent.
In terms of content, the selection was not too great either. That said, there was plenty of movies, TV shows, and music to keep passengers entertained on the short flight. There were also news programs (BBC and NHK).
It’s worth noting that rather than TV shows having their own section and being displayed as shows and then episodes within each show, they were lumped together with movies and each episode was treated as a separate “movie.”
In addition to entertainment content, there was also an in-flight map. One could choose to either watch one of the four provided views or a loop of all of them. There was also an interactive mode where one could move around the map, however, given how slow the system was, I did not give it a try.
What I found nice was that in addition to the map, a downward-facing camera view was also offered.
ANA 767-300ER (International) Onboard Wi-Fi
ANA’s 767-300ERs in international configuration are equipped with OnAir in-flight connectivity hardware. That said, currently, the airline is not offering internet access on the type.
Arrival at Seoul Gimpo Airport
The rest of the flight was uneventful.
At some point, I paid a visit to one of the lavatories. While there were no amenities other than soap, as is generally the case with Japanese aircraft, the lavatory was very clean.
The flight started approaching its end when the seatbelt signs were switched on at 10:40AM in preparation for landing in Seoul.
We landed on Gimpo Airport’s runway 32R at 10:54AM. Given that Gimpo Airport is located close to Seoul’s city center and given the direction we were approaching from, amazing views of the city could be had shortly before landing.
Five minutes of taxiing later and six minutes ahead of schedule, at 10:59AM, we came to a full stop at one of the parking spots at Seoul Gimpo’s International Terminal.
ANA 767-300ER International Economy Class Summary
There is not much that can go wrong on a two-hour long flight as long as it arrives on time.
ANA managed to do that and more. The airline offered a full meal even though the flight departed relatively early in the morning and the seats were comfortable enough for the short hop. Power outlets and USB ports, and even in-flight entertainment system, were available onboard too.
That said, while the in-flight entertainment system had more than enough content for the short flight, it was extremely slow and the screen was fairly small.
