Star Alliance partners Air China and ANA flies to the two Tokyo airports from Beijing 8 time a day. However, for the date we are flying, KrisFlyer call center informed us only ANA flights were available for redemption. We originally booked NH962 thinking Haneda is a closer to Shinjuku, where we will be staying. In the end, we changed the flight to Narita so we can be in Tokyo 6 hours earlier. Strangely we didn't get charged for the change even though HND and NRT are considered separate destinations.
This flight was paid for using 12.5k KrisFlyer miles.
Flight routing
- 1
- 2NH956: Beijing (PEK) → Tokyo (NRT) B763
- 3
AIR CHINA FIRST CLASS LOUNGE Beijing (Terminal 3E)
The sprawling terminal 3 has a main terminal and 2 satellite concourses. As all Star Alliance international flights use 3E, getting to the gates involves taking an underground train that can take up to 10 minutes. As we were a bit late to arrive at the airport and we had to take the train, we spent about 20 min in this lounge to eat and snap some pictures. If you will be using this terminal I'd suggest arriving early to enjoy the lounge properly.
The lounge is perched over the main terminal floor, it was expansive and airy. There wasn't a lot of people during our visit. In fact the entire terminal had the just opened for business feel even though it was 9 AM. Although the place is named "first class lounge", it felt more like a business lounge, especially when compared to true first class lounges like TPR or The Pier. However if it was that exclusive I wouldn't be able to get in through priority pass.
Place had plenty of sofas. Near the buffet area there were plenty of dining tables as well.
The buffet that morning consisted mostly of Chinese items and a few "western" dishes. I tried as much of them as I can in the short time I had and they tasted ok.
Flight and Catering
ANA has two versions of the 767-300ER, the plane in service on the day was fitted with previous generation cabin. The seats padding are thick and the seat back monitor is small by today's standards. However I can imagine it being quite a luxury back then. The video quality was just ok, you can see what's going on so I guess that's enough to pass the time on a regional flight. The cabin was nevertheless clean and kept in good condition for its age.
Lunch catering had two offerings served with metal cutlery (sign of 5 star airline?). Both came with Haagen Dazs ice cream to finish off. I quite liked cold udon noodle ANA offers in almost every one of their meals. I highly recommend the roast green tea if you are a tea drinker. In addition to wine and beer, I tried the sake which paired nicely with the meal.
As usual for Japanese hospitality, the crew was efficient and courteous.
Here a short video of the flight over Seoul as well as approach into Narita:
Upon on landing and clearing immigration. We went down to get a Pasmo card at the train station, then came back up to take the keisei bus to Tokyo Station for 1000 Yen. Ride was about 1 hour. Express Train cost twice as much for not much saving in time, however it may get you closer to where you want to go.
