I Flew ANA FIRST CLASS (Not What I Expected)
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Date: 2026-09-04
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Comments and reviews: 20
DavidBurns-v2t
Having been privileged enough to fly First on both ANA and JAL, I actually think ANA has the better soft product.
JAL’s new A350 First suite is impressive & newer. But once you are already talking about enormous enclosed First Class suites, I think the marginal difference in the seat matters less than the service, catering, bedding, and overall execution.
That is where ANA wins for me because this noticeably better and the food more memorable.
One example that really stuck with me is that I have been sober for eight years. On JAL, they repeatedly brought or offered me alcoholic drinks. On ANA, the flight attendant noticed almost immediately that I had ordered a mocktail and quietly asked whether I did not drink alcohol. From that point on, she knew exactly how to handle my drinks without me having to keep explaining it. That kind of attentiveness is a big part of why I personally prefer ANA’s soft product.
ANA’s crew was also very accommodating with requests. On my last ANA First flight I asked for a second mattress topper and a second pillow, and they were happy to provide both.
And on the WiFi point, ANA’s is definitely slow, but at least in my experience it was usable enough to periodically check email or Reddit. On JAL, the WiFi basically never worked at all. If I had actually paid separately for it, I would have seriously considered disputing the charge.
So the one pillow criticism in the video made me laugh a little. Did you actually ask for another one
I would take JAL’s new suite with ANA’s soft product in a heartbeat. But if I had to choose between the two based on the complete experience rather than which cabin photographs better, I would probably take ANA.
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Having been privileged enough to fly First on both ANA and JAL, I actually think ANA has the better soft product.
JAL’s new A350 First suite is impressive & newer. But once you are already talking about enormous enclosed First Class suites, I think the marginal difference in the seat matters less than the service, catering, bedding, and overall execution.
That is where ANA wins for me because this noticeably better and the food more memorable.
One example that really stuck with me is that I have been sober for eight years. On JAL, they repeatedly brought or offered me alcoholic drinks. On ANA, the flight attendant noticed almost immediately that I had ordered a mocktail and quietly asked whether I did not drink alcohol. From that point on, she knew exactly how to handle my drinks without me having to keep explaining it. That kind of attentiveness is a big part of why I personally prefer ANA’s soft product.
ANA’s crew was also very accommodating with requests. On my last ANA First flight I asked for a second mattress topper and a second pillow, and they were happy to provide both.
And on the WiFi point, ANA’s is definitely slow, but at least in my experience it was usable enough to periodically check email or Reddit. On JAL, the WiFi basically never worked at all. If I had actually paid separately for it, I would have seriously considered disputing the charge.
So the one pillow criticism in the video made me laugh a little. Did you actually ask for another one
I would take JAL’s new suite with ANA’s soft product in a heartbeat. But if I had to choose between the two based on the complete experience rather than which cabin photographs better, I would probably take ANA.
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jessethelopez
Hey, Jeb. First off, I love your show, I’m always super excited when a new episode pops up on my feed. That being said, it feels really weird when you guys critique a $15K airline suite for only giving you 1 pillow. It makes me question who these videos are for and in a way alienates me. I’m not saying you need to cater to my wants and needs, but I am saying that your persona doesn’t give off the aura of someone who would care if you only got 1 pillow on a flight where you have the privilege to lay down and sleep on a 12 hour flight. You and Susan come across so humble and yet when you two point out tiny things like a pillow on a flight, that has nothing wrong with it, it takes me out of the video. The reason I personally watch your show is because even though the experiences you have might financially be unattainable for the average viewer, they don’t feel like it when we’re on the adventure with you. But when you nitpick like a spoiled rich person, it really takes me out of it. Again, I love your show but I wish you would come at these episodes from the perspective of what I believe are a good portion of your viewers who enjoy living vicariously through your travels. Any ways, sorry for the long diatribe, I still enjoy the show, just thought I’d share my opinion.
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Hey, Jeb. First off, I love your show, I’m always super excited when a new episode pops up on my feed. That being said, it feels really weird when you guys critique a $15K airline suite for only giving you 1 pillow. It makes me question who these videos are for and in a way alienates me. I’m not saying you need to cater to my wants and needs, but I am saying that your persona doesn’t give off the aura of someone who would care if you only got 1 pillow on a flight where you have the privilege to lay down and sleep on a 12 hour flight. You and Susan come across so humble and yet when you two point out tiny things like a pillow on a flight, that has nothing wrong with it, it takes me out of the video. The reason I personally watch your show is because even though the experiences you have might financially be unattainable for the average viewer, they don’t feel like it when we’re on the adventure with you. But when you nitpick like a spoiled rich person, it really takes me out of it. Again, I love your show but I wish you would come at these episodes from the perspective of what I believe are a good portion of your viewers who enjoy living vicariously through your travels. Any ways, sorry for the long diatribe, I still enjoy the show, just thought I’d share my opinion.
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Aviationneo
2: 59 Tell m about it. I've tried flying on the a350 5 times, and have always failed to do so. ironically my first attempt was flying both to and from Tokyo Haneda. We had booked the tickets a year in advance, and a week before our flight we got notified that our first leg to Japan was changed to the A330 neo. Ugh. Well at least we'll get it back, right Nope. Our A350 had a mechanical issue and was swapped to an a330-300. Next time was with Virgin to London Heathrow, supposed to be on the A350-1000. Unfortunately Virgin swapped to the 787 on both of the legs there and back for operational reasons. The final straw was also again with Delta. I was trying to get onboard their ATL-LAX domestic A350 repositioning route. I was coming all the way from DFW just to fly A350, and thunderstorms cancelled my DFW-ATL flight and I missed my connection. Ended up being rebooked via SEA on the A220 and 737. At this point I wonder if I'm eternally cursed, and if I should even bother trying to book the A350 anyways
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2: 59 Tell m about it. I've tried flying on the a350 5 times, and have always failed to do so. ironically my first attempt was flying both to and from Tokyo Haneda. We had booked the tickets a year in advance, and a week before our flight we got notified that our first leg to Japan was changed to the A330 neo. Ugh. Well at least we'll get it back, right Nope. Our A350 had a mechanical issue and was swapped to an a330-300. Next time was with Virgin to London Heathrow, supposed to be on the A350-1000. Unfortunately Virgin swapped to the 787 on both of the legs there and back for operational reasons. The final straw was also again with Delta. I was trying to get onboard their ATL-LAX domestic A350 repositioning route. I was coming all the way from DFW just to fly A350, and thunderstorms cancelled my DFW-ATL flight and I missed my connection. Ended up being rebooked via SEA on the A220 and 737. At this point I wonder if I'm eternally cursed, and if I should even bother trying to book the A350 anyways
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dmaste5599
I have watched and enjoyed Jeb because mostly you seem nice and make nice comments where credit is due. But this video was incredibly disappointing to me as I have multiple first-class flights with ANA, and you just seemed to look for faults. It wasn't their fault that JAL switched an airplane. Receiving a handwritten welcome note from my ANA flight attendant made me feel special. And from then on, that lady could not have done more for me. I cannot believe that you could complain about one pillow on your video, without asking the flight attendant. I am so sure they would have found you one, even if they went upstairs and stripped their own bed. That comment made this story feel intentionally discourteous. Where would you stow the extra pillow during take-off I am really wondering whether Jeb is just becoming too self-important to be a quality reviewer.
My score, 2 stars, and that is stretching it.
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I have watched and enjoyed Jeb because mostly you seem nice and make nice comments where credit is due. But this video was incredibly disappointing to me as I have multiple first-class flights with ANA, and you just seemed to look for faults. It wasn't their fault that JAL switched an airplane. Receiving a handwritten welcome note from my ANA flight attendant made me feel special. And from then on, that lady could not have done more for me. I cannot believe that you could complain about one pillow on your video, without asking the flight attendant. I am so sure they would have found you one, even if they went upstairs and stripped their own bed. That comment made this story feel intentionally discourteous. Where would you stow the extra pillow during take-off I am really wondering whether Jeb is just becoming too self-important to be a quality reviewer.
My score, 2 stars, and that is stretching it.
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adrianleung7182
About your lounge experience, JAL First Class Lounge at Haneda is a bit better, but because JAL also allows their top tier members, along with Oneworld Emerald members to use the first class lounge, you don't get the same exclusivity as SQ Private Room. The sushi restaurant is nice but don't expect a real sushi restaurant. The food at ANA Suite lounge actually looked more substantial than the food I had at the JAL First Class lounge a few months ago. The omelet looked good. Since you were on a paid ticket, I were glad that you were taken care of. Sadly with only six first class seats now on JAL's A350-1000s, the flight went out fuller than normal. But no seat for one week seemed to be crazy especially JAL had first class flights to LAX/double daily to JFK/ORD/SFO.
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About your lounge experience, JAL First Class Lounge at Haneda is a bit better, but because JAL also allows their top tier members, along with Oneworld Emerald members to use the first class lounge, you don't get the same exclusivity as SQ Private Room. The sushi restaurant is nice but don't expect a real sushi restaurant. The food at ANA Suite lounge actually looked more substantial than the food I had at the JAL First Class lounge a few months ago. The omelet looked good. Since you were on a paid ticket, I were glad that you were taken care of. Sadly with only six first class seats now on JAL's A350-1000s, the flight went out fuller than normal. But no seat for one week seemed to be crazy especially JAL had first class flights to LAX/double daily to JFK/ORD/SFO.
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Just4funinthesun
I have had two poor experiences in the past 6 months. Most frustrating was Air Canada Toronto to Amsterdam. Booked 6 months in advance as was my favorite aircraft, 787. Paid premium fee to get bulkhead on row 15. When checking in day before the flight I noticed an aircraft change to a 777 (also got an email. The change went on to confirm the same seat assignments for our party. Ok, was bummed. Upon arrival at airport was advised that seats had changed to row 50 center seats. I shared that that was unacceptable and they would need to refund the fees paid or fix the issue or upgrade to Premium Economy or First Class. After our vacation. I was able to get a refund for the specialty bulkhead seating.
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I have had two poor experiences in the past 6 months. Most frustrating was Air Canada Toronto to Amsterdam. Booked 6 months in advance as was my favorite aircraft, 787. Paid premium fee to get bulkhead on row 15. When checking in day before the flight I noticed an aircraft change to a 777 (also got an email. The change went on to confirm the same seat assignments for our party. Ok, was bummed. Upon arrival at airport was advised that seats had changed to row 50 center seats. I shared that that was unacceptable and they would need to refund the fees paid or fix the issue or upgrade to Premium Economy or First Class. After our vacation. I was able to get a refund for the specialty bulkhead seating.
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dompdompdomp
I had the worst experience with JAL. Flew their business class from Tokyo to Frankfurt and was ignored the entire flight because the cabin was all Japanese businesspeople that the flight attendants wanted to tend to instead of me. They never even woke me up for dinner despite requesting it and I landed hungry. I did order ramen but the ramen is worse on JAL compared to ANA. I complained to the JAL purser at the end of the flight and she took no responsibility. Then I find out there’s nowhere to complain on the JAL website. Only a little survey thing that nobody responds to. Before then, I always flew ANA and since then, ANA all the way! No issues whatsoever with them.
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I had the worst experience with JAL. Flew their business class from Tokyo to Frankfurt and was ignored the entire flight because the cabin was all Japanese businesspeople that the flight attendants wanted to tend to instead of me. They never even woke me up for dinner despite requesting it and I landed hungry. I did order ramen but the ramen is worse on JAL compared to ANA. I complained to the JAL purser at the end of the flight and she took no responsibility. Then I find out there’s nowhere to complain on the JAL website. Only a little survey thing that nobody responds to. Before then, I always flew ANA and since then, ANA all the way! No issues whatsoever with them.
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paulfairchild8942
Have to say I would be pretty upset at JAL cancelling the new JAL suite flight and re-booking me on ANA. No window seat either. My P2 always wants to sit beside me. It is what it is though. Airlines don't consider that someone booked a flight because they wanted to fly that plane. So re-booking you on another First flight on the same route is all they think about, which is understandable. Had a cancelled Lufthansa First flight one time and Lufthansa re-booked us on BA First (FRA --> LHR --> LAX. I said 'no, I want to fly Lufthansa First, please re-book us on Lufthansa' - thankfully there was availability so they did.
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Have to say I would be pretty upset at JAL cancelling the new JAL suite flight and re-booking me on ANA. No window seat either. My P2 always wants to sit beside me. It is what it is though. Airlines don't consider that someone booked a flight because they wanted to fly that plane. So re-booking you on another First flight on the same route is all they think about, which is understandable. Had a cancelled Lufthansa First flight one time and Lufthansa re-booked us on BA First (FRA --> LHR --> LAX. I said 'no, I want to fly Lufthansa First, please re-book us on Lufthansa' - thankfully there was availability so they did.
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ScorpioMC3
Oh man can I relate.
I was supposed to fly Etihad The Residence back in Aprilwhen, you know what happened to the Middle East in April
I rebooked ANA Business in The Room. My assessment is similar to yours. It’s fine. The seat space and food are the highlights. The bedding is abysmal for that price. United has better bedding The service was good but quite slow in business. I think their staffing on the 777 isn’t sufficient for how premium heavy that configuration is. Overall it’s a good experience but I wouldn’t run to ANA business unless the price was right compared to other options.
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Oh man can I relate.
I was supposed to fly Etihad The Residence back in Aprilwhen, you know what happened to the Middle East in April
I rebooked ANA Business in The Room. My assessment is similar to yours. It’s fine. The seat space and food are the highlights. The bedding is abysmal for that price. United has better bedding The service was good but quite slow in business. I think their staffing on the 777 isn’t sufficient for how premium heavy that configuration is. Overall it’s a good experience but I wouldn’t run to ANA business unless the price was right compared to other options.
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slperry
Surely JAL rebooked that cabin in order of fare paid and status on JAL. No new suites on JAL for a week Not for you on a brilliant bargain, but likely for others. And JAL still lost money paying ANA to take you without your departure date's changing. I've been bumped from the front on a trans-Atlantic reward ticket and offered economy on the same plane or a 24 hour delay, and watched my full fare companion escorted by the concierge onto his soon departing flight on a competitor's equipment. I did get a zillion euros for the involuntary bump and lost day tho.
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Surely JAL rebooked that cabin in order of fare paid and status on JAL. No new suites on JAL for a week Not for you on a brilliant bargain, but likely for others. And JAL still lost money paying ANA to take you without your departure date's changing. I've been bumped from the front on a trans-Atlantic reward ticket and offered economy on the same plane or a 24 hour delay, and watched my full fare companion escorted by the concierge onto his soon departing flight on a competitor's equipment. I did get a zillion euros for the involuntary bump and lost day tho.
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MissKrisK08
I normally love you guys but Suzanne and her repetitive ewwie comments for the Japanese menu is putting me off (once is enough. Next time, just order the Western menu instead of sacrificing for the video and making disrespectful faces the entire time. Sigh.
Girl please it’s not like they are serving you poopoo brains-it’s just sushi, fish and beef-also i would think someone from an immigrant family would be more open minded to trying different cuisines especially since you’re repeat tourists to Japan. Just disappointing.
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I normally love you guys but Suzanne and her repetitive ewwie comments for the Japanese menu is putting me off (once is enough. Next time, just order the Western menu instead of sacrificing for the video and making disrespectful faces the entire time. Sigh.
Girl please it’s not like they are serving you poopoo brains-it’s just sushi, fish and beef-also i would think someone from an immigrant family would be more open minded to trying different cuisines especially since you’re repeat tourists to Japan. Just disappointing.
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EpsilonZer0
I was on UA803 upgraded Polaris HND to IAD and a passenger was discovered deceased 6hrs into the flight. UA did a massive u-turn over the Allusion islands back to HND and we landed at 3AM well outside the airport normal hours. UA rebooked me on ANA business class at 10AM and it was an interesting experience. The food and service was phenomenal but the business class seat was showing its age and not as good as the Polaris product. I will give the ANA first class product a shot sometime soon. :)
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I was on UA803 upgraded Polaris HND to IAD and a passenger was discovered deceased 6hrs into the flight. UA did a massive u-turn over the Allusion islands back to HND and we landed at 3AM well outside the airport normal hours. UA rebooked me on ANA business class at 10AM and it was an interesting experience. The food and service was phenomenal but the business class seat was showing its age and not as good as the Polaris product. I will give the ANA first class product a shot sometime soon. :)
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jeb_brooks
Leading off a review of The Suite with the phrase turned into one of our most disappointing travel experiences is the kind of thing I would expect to hear from Nonstop Dan because the airline couldn't verify his salad was farm to table organic.
I enjoy your content because you're one of the last travel influencers who doesn't engage in that kind of clickbait and hyperbole.
Also disappointing almost a third of the normal review time is chalked up the issues with JAL.
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Leading off a review of The Suite with the phrase turned into one of our most disappointing travel experiences is the kind of thing I would expect to hear from Nonstop Dan because the airline couldn't verify his salad was farm to table organic.
I enjoy your content because you're one of the last travel influencers who doesn't engage in that kind of clickbait and hyperbole.
Also disappointing almost a third of the normal review time is chalked up the issues with JAL.
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sb6181
Sometimes you have to politely push for an alternative routing on the same carrier, if that’s what you really wanted. My business class flight to Tokyo from London via Helsinki on Finnair was cancelled with 3 hours notice and the airline offered me an alternative flight via China on a Chinese carrier. I didn’t accept this option as I wanted a OneWorld carrier which Finnair agents sorted out (eventually, even if the routing was not as direct to Tokyo!
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Sometimes you have to politely push for an alternative routing on the same carrier, if that’s what you really wanted. My business class flight to Tokyo from London via Helsinki on Finnair was cancelled with 3 hours notice and the airline offered me an alternative flight via China on a Chinese carrier. I didn’t accept this option as I wanted a OneWorld carrier which Finnair agents sorted out (eventually, even if the routing was not as direct to Tokyo!
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anthonyb2282
I'm a bit confused as to what was wrong. I've been living in Japan for the past 23 years(originally from NY. I've flown ANA's First Class Suite from Haneda to JFK and back. While they don't have the brand new seat that JAL's new Airbus 350-1000 has, they service is fantastic. They could've downgraded you to business on another carrier just to get you home so to be honest, all things considered, I would be satisfied with the outcome.
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I'm a bit confused as to what was wrong. I've been living in Japan for the past 23 years(originally from NY. I've flown ANA's First Class Suite from Haneda to JFK and back. While they don't have the brand new seat that JAL's new Airbus 350-1000 has, they service is fantastic. They could've downgraded you to business on another carrier just to get you home so to be honest, all things considered, I would be satisfied with the outcome.
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shannatschand1404
I sympathize with you. I recently chose a connecting Delta flight to Madrid rather than a direct flight with United so I could try the Delta One suite on the A330-900neo. At the last minute, they changed our aircraft to an older A330-300. I’m still grateful to have the opportunity to fly Delta One, but I was disappointed I spent 97, 000 sky miles (x5 tickets) and I didn’t get to experience the newer Delta One seat.
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I sympathize with you. I recently chose a connecting Delta flight to Madrid rather than a direct flight with United so I could try the Delta One suite on the A330-900neo. At the last minute, they changed our aircraft to an older A330-300. I’m still grateful to have the opportunity to fly Delta One, but I was disappointed I spent 97, 000 sky miles (x5 tickets) and I didn’t get to experience the newer Delta One seat.
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jeb_brooks
Regarding the switch to ANA from the dream on JAL, glad they were able to get you home in 1st Class at least. I hope JAL is going to make it up to you. I would have been extremely disappointed and frustrated. If they make it up to you in some way as I would expect them to, please let us know. When I traveled every week, that was always the case on the better airlines (back in the mid to late 1990s. Stuff happens.
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Regarding the switch to ANA from the dream on JAL, glad they were able to get you home in 1st Class at least. I hope JAL is going to make it up to you. I would have been extremely disappointed and frustrated. If they make it up to you in some way as I would expect them to, please let us know. When I traveled every week, that was always the case on the better airlines (back in the mid to late 1990s. Stuff happens.
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Springbok295
I flew JAL First Class round-trip on their 777-300 between ORD and HND. Best service I've ever had; then again, the last first-class international flight I experienced was in June 1983 from JFK-FCO on Pan Am. The JAL First Lounge at HND was very busy and a bit underwhelming in terms of self-service. My hope is to fly JAL First Class again in January '27, this time from DFW to HND. I heard ORD is being dropped.
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I flew JAL First Class round-trip on their 777-300 between ORD and HND. Best service I've ever had; then again, the last first-class international flight I experienced was in June 1983 from JFK-FCO on Pan Am. The JAL First Lounge at HND was very busy and a bit underwhelming in terms of self-service. My hope is to fly JAL First Class again in January '27, this time from DFW to HND. I heard ORD is being dropped.
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diegoaccord
What's crazy is that any flight video that feature JAL and ANA, I always check tail numbers to see if I've been on that plane, and every time I can see a plane, it seems like the number is always just one off from a plane that I've been on. In this video I see ANA's JA795A, and I've been on JA794A, I see JAL's JA09WJ, and I've been on JA08WJ. Always one off. If I watch another video, I'll see JA793 or JA07WJ.
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What's crazy is that any flight video that feature JAL and ANA, I always check tail numbers to see if I've been on that plane, and every time I can see a plane, it seems like the number is always just one off from a plane that I've been on. In this video I see ANA's JA795A, and I've been on JA794A, I see JAL's JA09WJ, and I've been on JA08WJ. Always one off. If I watch another video, I'll see JA793 or JA07WJ.
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spang9782
For about the same price, $13, 000-$14, 000, if you don't mind flying to Hawaii first (and maybe spend a couple of days there, the round trip from Hawaii to Japan on the double-deck ANA A380 Honu (Honu = Hawaiian for sea turtle as the planes are painted as such) is the ultimate. I won't give away too many details, but let's just add that if you need, you can actually take a shower in flight.
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For about the same price, $13, 000-$14, 000, if you don't mind flying to Hawaii first (and maybe spend a couple of days there, the round trip from Hawaii to Japan on the double-deck ANA A380 Honu (Honu = Hawaiian for sea turtle as the planes are painted as such) is the ultimate. I won't give away too many details, but let's just add that if you need, you can actually take a shower in flight.
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