ANA Reveals Cabin, Seat Map and Destination for Its New A380s
All Nippon Airways detailed the plans for its new fleet of Airbus A380 aircraft on Wednesday. With the delivery of its first A380, ANA will launch the aircraft into service in spring 2019, featuring four cabins — first, business, premium economy and economy.
ANA placed a firm order for three A380s in 2016, and will take delivery of the first in spring 2019 — likely in March. That first aircraft will be operated on the carrier's route between Tokyo and Honolulu (HNL). Not only will it operate on its high-density Honolulu route, but the three A380s will feature ANA's unique livery schemes, as well as a character for each of the aircraft.
Prior to Wednesday's announcement, we knew that the carrier had placed an order for A380s and that Airbus had received the parts for the first aircraft, but we didn't know how it would be configured. Now we know that in total, the aircraft will feature 520 seats across four cabins.
The top level of the double-decker A380 will feature eight first class seats, 56 business class seats and 73 premium economy seats. Each of the three cabins will feature a bar counter.
The first class cabin is arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration, with each seat featuring a private suite with a door. Inside each suite you'll find a 32-inch monitor, table and a personal linen closet.
Meanwhile the business class cabin will also be arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration but will not offer a door. Because the cabin's arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration, each passenger will have direct aisle access, as well as an 18-inch touch screen IFE screen, wide table and side table.
Further back in the premium economy cabin, passengers can expect seats to be arranged in a 2-3-2 configuration, each with 38 inches of pitch. Each of the seats will have a 15.6-inch touch screen monitor. (The first row in the cabin will have 11.6-inch monitors.) There's also a head and leg rest on all seats and storage space.
The bottom level of the aircraft will be composed entirely of economy seats — 383 in total, arranged in a 3-4-3 configuration, and each with a generous 34 inches of pitch. The cabin will feature two bars and a multi-purpose room. The seats in the economy cabin will feature a 13.3-inch touch screen monitor. (The very first row will have a 11.6-inch monitor.)
The highlight of the economy cabin is that it will feature 60 couch seats, each comprised of three or four seats, and each with 32 inches of pitch. The couch will allow passengers to be able to lie-flat across the row by folding up the leg rests. Plus, passengers who have an ANA Couch seat will also get a mattress to go on top of the seats.
Seats across all four cabins will feature full power and USB outlets, as well as seat-back IFE screens. The IFE system will be the same that ANA uses on its A320neo and A321neo aircraft. But, these screens will feature a Hawaiian design.
Because ANA plans to use the A380 only on its Honolulu route, the cabin lighting has been customized to offer passengers an experience to "feel the spirit of Hawaii from the moment they board the aircraft."
The one cringeworthy part of ANA's announcement comes in the form of the specific branding of this new service to Hawaii, which it's calling "ANA HAWAii." Here's how the press release reads:
"By flipping the 'ii' 180 degrees, it turns into two exclamation points. This symbolizes the numerous excitements that passengers are able to experience including cabin features, and promotions, as well as the grand opening of a new ANA Lounge at Honolulu Airport."
While the cabin breakdown is nice for travelers — both business and leisure — it's really nothing new for ANA. The carrier is known for its premium product offering when it comes to both the hard product and soft product. Nonetheless, it's an interesting move from ANA to dedicate the aircraft entirely to Hawaii. Check out these TPG reviews of ANA for an idea of what you can expect:
- Dated But Great: A Review of ANA (777-300ER) Business From Tokyo to New York
- Flight Review: ANA (787-8) Business Class from Brussels to Tokyo
- Too Close for Comfort: A Review of ANA's (787-8) Regional Business Class
- Flying First Class on ANA's Star Wars Jet For (Almost) Free
- Flight Review: ANA 777-300ER First Class Tokyo-New York
- Flight Review: ANA Boeing 777-300ER Premium Economy, Tokyo to Singapore
- Flight Review: ANA (777-300ER) Economy From Los Angeles to Tokyo
All images courtesy of ANA.
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