ANA All Business Class B737 Tokyo to Mumbai
A
NA (All Nippon Airways) runs an all business class service from Tokyo,
Japan to Mumbai in India. The service started in September 2007 with ANA becoming
the first Asian airline to operate such a business-class only service. In Europe
Privatair has been running all-business flights for Lufthansa since 2002.
All Nippon Airways utilises a Boeing 737-700ER (Extended Range) fitted with extra fuel tanks. This is similar to Privatair's use of the Boeing Business Jet (based on the 737-700) and the Boeing Business Jet (737-800).
ANA runs a daily 737 Tokyo-Mumbai service - on 5 days of the week this is a 2 class (economy+business) combined service; on the remaining 2 days (Thu/Sun) it is an all business service.
For the all business service ANA has fitted just 38 ClubANA seats to the 737 (9 rows in a 2-2 configuration plus 2 additional seats). Seat dimensions are 61" pitch, 20.6" width. The 2 class service has 24 business class seats (6 rows of 2-2 config) and 20 economy seats (also 2-2 config). Note, there is no seat back TV screen - passengers are given a hand-held media player with audio and video on demand and noise cancelling headphones.
Photo credit: Flickr tsuna72
What's the best seat on ANA's all business 737? Consider the front row 1 (1A/C, 1 H/K) or exit row 5 (5A/C, 5H/K).
The Tokyo-Mumbai service is timetabled as follows:
| Route | Flight Code | Timetable |
|---|---|---|
| Tokyo (NRT) - Mumbai | NH 943 | 1010 - 1945 |
| Mumbai (BOM) - Tokyo | NH 944 | 2105 - 0840 (+1) |
Note, the outward leg needs a 50 minute fuel stopover in Fukuoka (FUK) and arrives at Mumbai's terminal 2 some 13 hours 5 mins after leaving Narita. The 4,200 mile return leg can be done non-stop in 8 hours 5 mins due to the prevailing winds on the route. The flight is also codeshared with Jet Airways (flights 4143/4144).
Standard ticket prices ex-Japan for this route are not particularly cheap - coming in at around $6,500 return (for not much more you could fly business class from North America to Mumbai via Tokyo including the all-biz sectors). In terms of alternatives Malaysian, Cathay Pacific, Asiana and Thai Air can offer cheaper but indirect Tokyo-Mumbai business class fares. Or consider flying from a lower cost Asian airfare hub like Manilla.
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