Of the twenty or so domestic airlines flying around Japan, only two – ANA and JAL – offer first class. ANA’s domestic first class is called Premium Class and, in addition to larger seats, also offers considerably differentiated service. That said, it comes at a non-negligible price premium.
Continue reading to learn all you need to know about ANA Premium Class including which aircraft and routes it is available on, what types of seats it offers, what service it comes with, and whether it’s worth the extra cost.
How Much Does ANA Premium Class Cost?
When booking ANA Premium Class flights in advance, the difference in price compared to economy class varies depending on the route, available fare types, date, and specific flight. That said, when upgrading on the same day (or up to two days before departure in the case of ANA Mileage Club members), the upgrade fees are fixed.
In the past, there was one same-day upgrade fee that applied to all routes. A few years ago, that changed and the pricing was segmented by flight length – i.e. upgrades on shorter flights became cheaper while upgrades on longer flights became more expensive.
Same-day upgrades from economy class to Premium Class now cost:
- 4,000 yen (approx. 28 dollars)
- Osaka – Kochi and Matsuyama
- Sapporo – Hakodate, Kushiro, Memanbetsu, Nakashibetsu, Rishiri, and Wakkanai
- Fukuoka – Goto Fukue, Miyazaki, and Tsushima
- Naha – Ishigaki and Miyako
- 6,000 yen (approx. 42 dollars)
- Tokyo – Akita, Hachijojima, Komatsu, Niigata, Noto, Odate Noshiro, Sendai, Shonai, Takamatsu, and Toyama
- Osaka – Fukushima, Hagi Iwami, Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Miyazaki, Nagasaki, Niigata, and Oita
- Nagoya – Akita, Fukuoka, Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Matsuyama, Miyazaki, Nagasaki, Niigata, and Sendai
- Sapporo – Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Komatsu, Niigata, Sendai, and Toyama
- Fukuoka – Komatsu
- 8,000 yen (approx. 56 dollars)
- Tokyo – Hagi Iwami, Hakodate, Kochi, Kushiro, Mombetsu, Nagoya, Nakashibetsu, Okayama, Takamatsu, Tokushima, Tottori, Wakkanai, Yamaguchi Ube, and Yonago
- Osaka/Kobe – Akita, Aomori, Fukuoka, Hakodate, and Sendai
- Nagoya – Asahikawa, Hakodate, and Memanbetsu
- Sapporo – Fukuoka, Hiroshima, and Okayama
- Naha – Hiroshima, Iwakuni, Kumamoto, Matsuyama, Nagasaki, Niigata, Shizuoka, and Takamatsu
- 11,000 yen (approx. 77 dollars)
- Tokyo – Hiroshima, Iwakuni, Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Matsuyama, Miyazaki, Nagasaki, Oita, and Osaka
- Osaka – Ishigaki, Miyako, and Naha
- Fukuoka – Miyako and Naha
- 15,000 yen (approx. 105 dollars)
- Tokyo – Fukuoka, Ishigaki, Miyako, Naha, Saga, and Sapporo
- Sapporo – Fukuoka, Kobe, Nagoya, Naha, and Osaka
- Naha – Sendai
Upgrades done in advance cost 1,000 yen (approx. 7 dollars) less.
Which Domestic ANA Aircraft Have Premium Class Seats?
ANA has Premium Class on all of the jet aircraft it uses on domestic flights. In other words, the only aircraft in ANA’s fleet that do not have Premium Class are its Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 turboprops.
The seating layout, and number of Premium Class seats depends on aircraft type and configuration:
- Boeing 787 (all in a 2-2-2 layout)
- 787-8 (335-seat configuration, 78P): 12 seats
- 787-8 (240-seat configuration, 78M): 42 seats
- 787-9 (395-seat configuration, 789): 18 seats
- 787-9 (375-seat configuration, 78G): 28 seats
- 787-10: 28 seats
- Boeing 777 (all in a 2-3-2 layout)
- 777-200ER (405-seat configuration, 772): 21 seats
- 777-200ER (392-seat configuration, 722): 28 seats
- 777-300: 21 seats
- Boeing 767 (all in a 2-1-2 layout)
- 767-300ER (270-seat configuration, 76P): 10 seats
- 767-300ER (202-seat configuration, 76E): 35 seats
- Narrowbodies (all in a 2-2 layout)
- 737-800: 8 seats
- A320neo: 8 seats
- A321-200: 8 seats
- A321neo: 8 seats
What Are ANA Premium Class Seats Like?
Currently, ANA has five types of Premium Class seats in service. All of those are considerably larger than its economy class seats, recline more, and offer more privacy. All Premium Class seats are also equipped with universal power outlets. With the exception of some 737-800s, they are also all equipped with USB charging ports.
The different Premium Class seat types differ in the material they are upholstered in, color, and some of the features they offer:
- 777-200ER (722), 787-9 (78G), and 787-10: These aircraft are equipped with ANA’s latest Premium Class seat model. Rather than being blue, like the previous models, they are grey. They are equipped with 15.6-inch touchscreens.
- 737-800 (non-refurbished), 767-300ER (76P), 777-200ER (772), 777-300, 787-8 (78P), and 787-9 (789): These aircraft feature ANA’s original leather Premium Class seats. The seats lack electrical reclining and personal screens.
- 737-800 (refurbished) and A321neo: These aircraft are equipped with seats upholstered with blue cloth. They have considerably smaller privacy partitions than the two types above. They are equipped with personal screens.
- A321ceo: These aircraft are equipped with seats similar to the above but without any privacy partitions and personal screens.
- 787-8 (78M): These aircraft were originally used on international flights around Asia and so are equipped with ANA Business Cradle seats. The seats recline considerably more than standard Premium Class seats. They are equipped with personal screens.
What Is ANA Premium Class Service Like?
In addition to offering a larger, more comfortable seat onboard, ANA Premium Class service is considerably differentiated from its economy class counterpart throughout the journey.
Ground Service
At many departure airports, ANA Premium Class passengers can enjoy priority check-in and security. The way this works depends on the airport.
Major airports including Tokyo Haneda, Osaka Itami, Fukuoka, and Sapporo New Chitose have Premium Check-in Areas with staffed desks, check-in kiosks, and a dedicated security checkpoint. The checkpoint also leads directly to ANA Lounges at these airports. It’s worth keeping in mind, though, that occasionally, the regular security lanes might be quicker.
In Naha, there is a dedicated security checkpoint for, among others, ANA Premium Class passengers but check-in has to be done in the regular check-in area. That said, like at other airports that lack dedicated check-in facilities, there are desks reserved for Premium Class passengers.
ANA Premium Class Passengers also get to board earlier than economy class passengers. That said, rather than being Group 1, which is reserved for ANA Mileage Club Diamond members (the airline’s frequent flyer program’s top-tier status holders), Premium Class passengers board as a part of Group 2 (together with Star Alliance Gold members)
Lastly, since Premium Class passengers’ checked baggage gets handled with priority, it comes out on the belt at the arrival airport earlier than that of economy class passengers without a frequent flyer status.
Baggage Allowance
ANA Premium Class passengers get extra baggage allowance compared to economy class passengers. They can check-in up to 40 kg of baggage (with each piece weighing a maximum of 32 kg) for free compared to the 20 kg that economy class passengers can.
Star Alliance Gold members get an additional 20 kg of baggage allowance for free for a total of 60 kg.
The carry-on baggage allowance ANA Premium Class passengers get is the same as that of economy class passengers. That is, a maximum of 10 kg combined for a personal item and a larger bag with the latter being at most 55 x 40 x 25 cm.
With that said, I never had an issue carrying all the baggage I needed onboard ANA domestic flights – whether traveling in economy class or Premium Class. As such, I wouldn’t worry about the restriction too much (within reason, of course).
Lounge Access
While ANA’s lounge access policy allows Premium Class passengers to use lounges, they can only use the lower-tier ANA Lounges and “shared lounges.” They cannot use the better ANA Suite Lounges which are reserved for ANA Diamond members.
In practice, this means that while ANA Premium Class passengers have access to lounges with a good variety of seating and a decent selection of drinks, they do not have access to lounges with food more substantial than small packs of rice crackers.
This is one of the weakest points of ANA Premium Class in my opinion and is in contrast with JAL’s domestic first class which provides access to its higher-tier JAL Diamond Premier Lounges.
Meal Service
ANA serves its Premium Class passengers a meal on all but the shortest routes. The meals themselves vary depending on the route, the flight’s date (the menu changes a couple of times each month), and the time of the day.
While in the past ANA used to segment the day into more parts, now it offers just two types of meals:
- Breakfast on flights departing before 11AM
- Lunch/dinner on flights departing after 11AM
The former typically consists of two types of sandwiches, soup, and fruits. The latter is more substantial and very Japanese – it consists of rice and a fairly large number of other dishes (albeit in small portions).
On very short routes like Sapporo New Chitose – Rishiri and Tokyo Haneda – Hachijojima, “today’s sweets” are served. Additionally, packaged snacks (rice crackers) are available to Premium Class passengers.
You can find ANA Premium Class menus for upcoming (and past flights) here. Unlike JAL’s, they are available in English.
Drink Service
The selection of drinks available in Premium Class is more extensive than that in ANA’s domestic economy class. While the availability of alcoholic beverages is the thing that stands out the most, the soft drink menu offers some extra options too.
Cold soft drinks available onboard include (those exclusive to Premium Class are in italics):
- Green tea
- Apple juice
- Orange juice
- Tomato juice
- Coca-Cola
- Coca-Cola Zero
- Still water
- Sparkling water (Perrier)
Hot drinks include:
- Coffee
- Black tea
- Green tea
- Consomme soup
Lastly, alcoholic drinks include:
- Sake
- Shochu
- White wine
- Red wine
- Sparkling wine
- Beer (Asahi Super Dry, Kirin Ichiban Shibori, Suntory The Premium Malt’s, Sapporo Yebisu Beer, Orion Draft Beer)
- Highball
Non-alcoholic beer (Suntory All-Free) is available onboard as well.
Other Onboard Service
In addition to food and drinks, ANA also offers its Premium Class passengers:
- Blankets
- Slippers
- Eye masks
- Ear plugs
- Mouthwash
In-Flight Wi-Fi, Entertainment & Charging
On all domestic flights in all classes, ANA offers a free, reasonably fast onboard wi-fi.
In addition to in-flight entertainment being available via streaming, as mentioned earlier, newer Premium Class seat types are equipped with personal screens too. Unlike in the past, there is now also a decent (for the length of domestic flights in Japan) selection of English content.
The only issue is that domestic flights around Japan are generally shorter than most movies. As such, you will either have to watch a movie across two flights or, if your aircraft is equipped with a personal screen, watch a movie from boarding until arrival.
Lastly, you will be able to keep your devices charged during your flights in ANA Premium Class as all aircraft are equipped with universal power outlets and the vast majority (the exception being some 737s) also have USB charging ports.
Is ANA Premium Class Worth It?
If you are purchasing Premium Class in advance, then whether or not it is worth it will depend a lot on how much of a budget you are traveling on and what the price difference between economy and Premium Class is when you are making your booking.
In most cases, however, I’d say you should just book economy class considering that flights around Japan are rarely longer than an hour and a half or two. That said, on longer flights like those between Tokyo and Naha or Ishigaki, the extra comfort might be worth it.
The case for upgrading is much stronger at the same-day upgrade fees if you are lucky enough to have an empty Premium Class seat on your flight. Especially so since ANA doesn’t have a mid-tier offering like JAL does in the form of Class J.
