Heres a part 2 to my mini review to HND and back.
Part 1 is here.
Would definitely take this flight again if I can snag a deal, but I think economy X might be a real winner here. Take the savings and buy yourself a nice meal. For those who say this should be premium economy or whatnot. Just remember the name doesn’t mean anything but the price does, overall its a very solid product at the right price and if this has to be compared to JQ then I’d rather take VA than fall victim to the whims of JQ’s 788 maintenance problems.
Part 1 is here.
Haneda’s location is really handy, I got there from Shibuya in about 30 mins by train with one transfer in Shinagawa. There are also buses that leave from the bus terminal on level 5 of Mark City in Shibuya if you’re in the area.
VA uses checkin counter K and surprising doesn’t use ANA staff. All of them were in VA uniform and from check-in to boarding I counted around 4 staff and 2 maintenance crew, most of which were aussies so I’m assuming they were in-house instead of a contractor.
I was in Haneda about a week ago and can say the ANA lounge is absolutely rammed around the time VA78 departs, very few places to sit. So I thought staying in the terminal can’t be too bad… wrong. Queues for the limited eateries stretched throughout the terminal. I had to queue for 30 mins to order ramen that would take another 10-15 mins to prepare so I ended up giving up and going to the gate as the flight was about to board. Eat downtown, it’s cheaper, better, and you’ll avoid the headache of HND. I really don’t understand how HND ranks so high compared to similar hubs such as Seoul ICN or Hong Kong HKG.
Definitely crossing my fingers that the ANA partnership comes with lounge access eventually. Interestingly the screens inside the lounge do show VA78 (they only show flights with guests eligible for lounge access) but it might be because of the NH codeshare.
An advantage of boarding a narrowbody is that the gate area is relatively calm. The whole process was very civilised. I counted around 60 passengers again, not sure if it was the weight limit or what but still seems far from the numbers we were seeing earlier last week.
Boarded VH-VBZ, carpet did indeed look new. I was seated in row 2 today and lucked out again by not having a seatmate. Overall load in business was 5/8.
Service started with a PDB, distribution of amenity kits and menus. Menu was slightly different than the outbound, as expected, and was just as good.
I opted for the bento, everything tasted fresh, just the right mix between hot and cold ingredients. I think I still prefer the teriyaki chicken that was given on the outbound. At the back of the menu there was the indication « Cycle 3 HND-CNS », on the outbound it was « Cycle 1 CNS-HND ». I wonder if this means they have multiple menus lined up already, do post if your experience differs to mine.
I gripe I had on my first flight that I forgot to mention was that despite having nice branded metal cutlery, VA provided very cheap wooden chopsticks, think those that leave splinters in your thumb. Well I’m happy to report that this time the chopsticks (whilst still disposable) were of good quality. Sturdy, presnapped and slightly polished. Even the wrapper was VA branded, I hope this makes its way to CNS catered meals!
I didn’t get the chance to try the vegetable lasagna but I think we can all imagine what that tastes like. The cheesecake and caramel cake however were absolutely delicious, a bit airy and not too sweet, really hit the spot.
Second meal service started 90 mins before landing, I opted for the cheese omelette which was rather hard, as if the cheese had hardened the egg a little bit. It was just ok, the quiche tasted good but did look rather sad with its solitary piece of broccoli next to it. I won’t be too harsh here, airlines rarely wow anyone with their breakfast offerings anyway. The only silly thing was the yogurt opening was only slightly larger than the spoon that was provided to it was rather awkward to scoop it out, I know first world problems.
This time I managed to take a look at the BoB menu in economy. Its slightly more extensive than the rest of the network and has comfort options like the blanket. Notice the Japanese translations. I’d still love VA to introduce pre orders but its nice to see there are hot options if you feel peckish.
Row 2 is infinitely better for this flight, you basically get to stretch your legs as mich as you want, with the extra 7 inches of recline when the max comes I can actually see myself taking this flight again. Completely different experience from my outbound flight, I actually managed to sleep through from when my first meal tray was cleared to when I was woken up for the breakfast service. Lights were off about 2h in and back on about 1h before landing, total flight time is about 7h30 so its a pretty short redeye, hopefully this helps some of you plan your sleep.
And lastly, another big selling point for CNS, we were the only flight going through immigration so no queues to get the little blue tickets and get your face scanned, and definitely no queues for customs. Then it was a short walk over to the domestic terminal where I got to take a peek at the old VA lounge and wrestle with the chaos that is the lightless dungeon of CNS domestic.
I was dreading the redeye due to the seats but I ended up enjoying even more. I think even the incremental comfort upgrades of the new seat (more recline, charge sockets) will help. Small addition I’d like is a pair of slippers, pretty standard on flights to Japan, even in economy.
VA uses checkin counter K and surprising doesn’t use ANA staff. All of them were in VA uniform and from check-in to boarding I counted around 4 staff and 2 maintenance crew, most of which were aussies so I’m assuming they were in-house instead of a contractor.
I was in Haneda about a week ago and can say the ANA lounge is absolutely rammed around the time VA78 departs, very few places to sit. So I thought staying in the terminal can’t be too bad… wrong. Queues for the limited eateries stretched throughout the terminal. I had to queue for 30 mins to order ramen that would take another 10-15 mins to prepare so I ended up giving up and going to the gate as the flight was about to board. Eat downtown, it’s cheaper, better, and you’ll avoid the headache of HND. I really don’t understand how HND ranks so high compared to similar hubs such as Seoul ICN or Hong Kong HKG.
Definitely crossing my fingers that the ANA partnership comes with lounge access eventually. Interestingly the screens inside the lounge do show VA78 (they only show flights with guests eligible for lounge access) but it might be because of the NH codeshare.
An advantage of boarding a narrowbody is that the gate area is relatively calm. The whole process was very civilised. I counted around 60 passengers again, not sure if it was the weight limit or what but still seems far from the numbers we were seeing earlier last week.
Boarded VH-VBZ, carpet did indeed look new. I was seated in row 2 today and lucked out again by not having a seatmate. Overall load in business was 5/8.
Service started with a PDB, distribution of amenity kits and menus. Menu was slightly different than the outbound, as expected, and was just as good.
I opted for the bento, everything tasted fresh, just the right mix between hot and cold ingredients. I think I still prefer the teriyaki chicken that was given on the outbound. At the back of the menu there was the indication « Cycle 3 HND-CNS », on the outbound it was « Cycle 1 CNS-HND ». I wonder if this means they have multiple menus lined up already, do post if your experience differs to mine.
I gripe I had on my first flight that I forgot to mention was that despite having nice branded metal cutlery, VA provided very cheap wooden chopsticks, think those that leave splinters in your thumb. Well I’m happy to report that this time the chopsticks (whilst still disposable) were of good quality. Sturdy, presnapped and slightly polished. Even the wrapper was VA branded, I hope this makes its way to CNS catered meals!
I didn’t get the chance to try the vegetable lasagna but I think we can all imagine what that tastes like. The cheesecake and caramel cake however were absolutely delicious, a bit airy and not too sweet, really hit the spot.
Second meal service started 90 mins before landing, I opted for the cheese omelette which was rather hard, as if the cheese had hardened the egg a little bit. It was just ok, the quiche tasted good but did look rather sad with its solitary piece of broccoli next to it. I won’t be too harsh here, airlines rarely wow anyone with their breakfast offerings anyway. The only silly thing was the yogurt opening was only slightly larger than the spoon that was provided to it was rather awkward to scoop it out, I know first world problems.
This time I managed to take a look at the BoB menu in economy. Its slightly more extensive than the rest of the network and has comfort options like the blanket. Notice the Japanese translations. I’d still love VA to introduce pre orders but its nice to see there are hot options if you feel peckish.
Row 2 is infinitely better for this flight, you basically get to stretch your legs as mich as you want, with the extra 7 inches of recline when the max comes I can actually see myself taking this flight again. Completely different experience from my outbound flight, I actually managed to sleep through from when my first meal tray was cleared to when I was woken up for the breakfast service. Lights were off about 2h in and back on about 1h before landing, total flight time is about 7h30 so its a pretty short redeye, hopefully this helps some of you plan your sleep.
And lastly, another big selling point for CNS, we were the only flight going through immigration so no queues to get the little blue tickets and get your face scanned, and definitely no queues for customs. Then it was a short walk over to the domestic terminal where I got to take a peek at the old VA lounge and wrestle with the chaos that is the lightless dungeon of CNS domestic.
I was dreading the redeye due to the seats but I ended up enjoying even more. I think even the incremental comfort upgrades of the new seat (more recline, charge sockets) will help. Small addition I’d like is a pair of slippers, pretty standard on flights to Japan, even in economy.
Would definitely take this flight again if I can snag a deal, but I think economy X might be a real winner here. Take the savings and buy yourself a nice meal. For those who say this should be premium economy or whatnot. Just remember the name doesn’t mean anything but the price does, overall its a very solid product at the right price and if this has to be compared to JQ then I’d rather take VA than fall victim to the whims of JQ’s 788 maintenance problems.
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