Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) is adding yet another daily service between Tokyo and Bangkok on June 1, 2018, bringing its total number of flights to the Thai capital to five.

Currently, ANA operates two daily flights to Bangkok from Tokyo Haneda International Airport, and two from Narita International Airport. The new service will fly from Haneda Airport occupying early morning and late evening time slots at the airport.

The additional service’s schedule is as follows (all times local):

Flight No. From To Departs Arrives Days
NH877 Tokyo (HND) Bangkok (BKK) 0055 0525 Daily
NH878 Bangkok (BKK) Tokyo (HND) 1355 2215

Unlike the existing Haneda Airport flights, however, the new service will be operated by the airline’s Boeing 787-8 aircraft, rather than the newer B787-9 that flies ANA’s other two Haneda Airport services as well as one of the two daily Narita Airport flights.

One of the most notable differences between the two aircraft is the lack of a premium economy cabin in the B787-8, it offering 42 seats in business and 198 seats in economy. (ANA does have three-class B787-8s in its fleet with a premium economy cabin, however this variant will not operate the new Bangkok service.)

Another major difference is the layout and seat products in the business class cabins. The two-class B787-8 has a 2-2-2 configuration rather than the preferable 1-2-1 staggered layout of the B787-9 (and the three-class B787-8), meaning business class window-seat passengers on the B787-8 will have to climb over their neighbours to reach the aisle.

The 2-2-2 business class seat on the B787-8 (described as the “Cradle” seat by ANA) also notably doesn’t recline to a fully flat position, unlike the B787-9 seats. This may be an issue for some travellers looking to get a few hours’ sleep on the over six-hour flight. This seat has 59 inches (150cm) of pitch and an adjustable footrest, as well as a partition between neighbouring seats. There are also in-seat power and USB ports.

The additional service was announced as part of ANA’s 2018 flight schedule, which also includes new domestic routes (Fukuoka-Miyako) and seasonal services (Nagoya/Chubu-Miyako and Fukuoka-Ishigaki) becoming year-round flights.

ANA will also be bringing two new aircraft into its fleet, the Airbus A380 superjumbo and the newest B787 variant, the B787-10, and “will continue to expand the number of routes in Asia offering fully flat business class seats and also premium economy seats” on international routes.

ana.co.jp