ANA "The Room" Business Class Review: Japan's Finest Business Suite (2026)

I've flown ANA The Room business class four times now. The first time was on a JFK–HND routing in early 2023, and I remember sitting down in that suite, sliding the door shut, and just... pausing. It was the first time in years I'd felt genuinely surprised by an airplane seat.

That's a hard thing to do after 300-odd business class segments.

What ANA The Room actually is — and what it isn't

Let's be precise here because ANA's business class product is not consistent across their fleet. The Room is exclusive to the 777-300ER. If you book an ANA business class ticket and end up on a 787 Dreamliner, you'll get a completely different, older staggered product — still decent, but not in the same conversation.

The 777-300ER routes where you'll find The Room include Tokyo Haneda to New York JFK, Los Angeles, London Heathrow, Frankfurt, and a handful of other long-haul destinations. Always verify your aircraft type before booking. ANA does swap equipment occasionally.

The Room launched in 2019 on the 777-300ER and represented a genuinely different approach to suite design. While Qatar Airways had the Qsuites door and Singapore had their double beds, ANA came at it from a different angle — prioritizing individual space, Japanese aesthetics, and the ability to have a proper meal without the usual business class circus of lowering a tray table and balancing a wine glass on your knee.

The suite itself: what 43 inches of width feels like

The layout is 1-2-1, so every seat is a direct-aisle seat. No climbing over your neighbor. The sliding door gives you a genuine sense of enclosure — it's not a privacy screen or a partial divider, it's a door that closes and makes the suite feel like a small room.

Which is, of course, the point.

The seat converts to a fully flat bed that runs 78 inches long. The mattress pad ANA provides is noticeably thicker than what you'll find on British Airways or even Lufthansa's First — it actually makes a difference. Combined with the full duvet and the oversized pillow (genuinely larger than what most competitors hand you), sleep on a 14-hour flight to Tokyo is about as good as it gets outside of a proper first class cabin.

The side dining table deserves its own mention. It's a dedicated surface to your left that swings out and stays at a fixed height, so you can eat a full multi-course meal while sitting upright, without touching the seat controls. On every other business class product I've flown, you're eating off a tray table that folds out from somewhere awkward. Here you're sitting at something that actually resembles a table.

Is the entertainment system good enough?

Honestly? It's fine. The screen is a 24-inch 4K display, and the content library covers the basics — recent Hollywood releases, a decent selection of Japanese cinema, and some TV. But the interface feels dated compared to Emirates' ICE system, which remains the benchmark for IFE. Navigation is a bit clunky and the noise-canceling headphones ANA provides are functional rather than impressive.

This is the one area where The Room shows its age. For a product that gets nearly everything else right, the entertainment system feels like it didn't get the same attention. Bring your own headphones — AirPods Pro or Sony XM5s will make a meaningful difference.

The food: where Japanese airlines genuinely win

ANA's catering is the part that consistently surprises people who've been flying European carriers for years. The business class meal service on The Room routes is built around a kaiseki-influenced multi-course structure — small, precise dishes using seasonal ingredients, presented with the kind of care that most airline catering doesn't bother with.

On a recent HND–JFK flight, the Japanese meal option started with a cold appetizer plate that included simmered lotus root, yuzu-marinated fish, and pickled vegetables. Then a clear soup. Then a main of wagyu beef with dashi-braised daikon. It wasn't pretending to be restaurant food. It was genuinely good.

The Western option is solid but less distinctive — expect something like a beef tenderloin or pan-seared salmon, competently executed. If you're flying ANA and you order the Western meal, you're doing it wrong.

The drinks list runs champagne (usually a Billecart-Salmon or similar), a rotating sake selection, Japanese craft beer, and whisky. The sake pairing with the Japanese meal course is worth asking the crew about — they'll often walk you through what's on board and make a recommendation based on what you're eating.

How does the service actually compare to other carriers?

ANA's service philosophy — omotenashi, the Japanese concept of wholehearted hospitality — sounds like marketing language until you actually experience it in the air. The crew is proactive without being intrusive. They remember your drink preference after the first order. They don't hover. When they're not needed, they disappear.

One specific detail that gets mentioned a lot: the crew folds your blanket into an origami shape while you're away from your seat. It's a small thing. But it's the kind of small thing that signals genuine attention to the experience, not just going through the motions.

I've flown Singapore Airlines Suites, Qatar Qsuites, and Lufthansa First. ANA's business class crew is as good as any of them. Better, in some ways, because the attentiveness feels genuine rather than performed.

ANA lounges: Haneda vs. Narita

The lounge experience depends heavily on which Tokyo airport you're departing from.

One thing worth knowing: ANA's US departure lounges are a mixed bag. At JFK, ANA business class passengers use the Centurion Lounge or the carrier's own small lounge, neither of which is particularly memorable. The lounge experience going to Tokyo is noticeably better than coming back.

What you'll pay — and how to pay less

Published fares for ANA business class round-trip from the US to Tokyo run $5,000–$8,000 depending on the season and how far out you book. That's the rack rate. Nobody who knows what they're doing pays that.

BestBusinessClass works through consolidator networks to source discounted ANA business class fares — the kind of pricing that doesn't show up on Google Flights or Expedia. The round-trip numbers above represent realistic consolidator pricing, not promotional anomalies. I've seen current deals on this route come in even lower during off-peak windows (February and November tend to be soft).

The other option is mileage redemptions. ANA's own Mileage Club program prices this route at 75,000–88,000 miles round-trip from the US West Coast, which is reasonable. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is the sleeper pick here — they partner with ANA and have historically offered competitive redemption rates with no fuel surcharges. Worth checking both before you commit.

The honest verdict on ANA The Room

The hard product is the best in commercial business class. I'll say that clearly. The suite width, the enclosed door, the dining table, the bed — nothing else at the business class level combines all of those things in one package. Qatar Qsuites comes close and edges it out on the entertainment system and the double-bed option for couples. Singapore's new business class on the A380 is competitive. But for a solo traveler who wants the best possible sleep and the best possible meal on a long-haul flight, The Room is where I'd put my money.

The service is the other thing. You can copy a seat design. You can't easily replicate 14 hours of genuinely attentive, culturally thoughtful cabin crew work. That's the part of this product that stays with you.

Where it falls short: the entertainment system needs an update, the Wi-Fi is expensive (around $20–30 for a full-flight package) and unreliable over the Pacific, and the US departure lounges are underwhelming. None of those are deal-breakers on a product this good, but they're real.

If you're considering booking ANA's business class for the first time, the JFK–HND or LAX–HND routes on the 777-300ER are the ones to target. Check the New York to Tokyo route page for current pricing, or read our ANA vs. JAL business class comparison if you're weighing both Japanese carriers.

BestBusinessClass specializes in exactly this kind of booking — finding The Room on the right aircraft at consolidator pricing, so you're not paying full fare for a product you specifically want. It's the difference between hoping you get lucky on a sale and actually knowing what you're booking.