ANA Unveils New Seats for A380

The A380 might not be a commercial success for Airbus, but it’s a plane that undeniably solicits awe and wonder from passengers. Many airlines have even installed special cabin products that are exclusively available on the A380, given the bigger footprint they have to work with. For example, Korean Air has an onboard duty free shopping area, and Emirates is of course famous for the onboard Bar and First Class Shower Spa on the A380.

ANA is Taking Delivery of A380s in Spring 2019

Of all the airlines that have ordered the A380, ANA is the only one that has yet to receive any of them. However, the airline will soon be taking delivery of their A380 starting in Spring 2019. With just 3 aircraft, they will also be the airline with the smallest A380 fleet. Today, ANA revealed the new seats that will be installed in various cabins onboard the A380. 

The lower deck will comprise entirely of Economy Class, with a total of 383 seats. Meanwhile, the upper deck will be made up of 8 First Class seats, 56 Business Class seats, and 73 Premium Economy seats.

ANA A380 Seat Map. Source: ANA

Back in 2017, ANA announced the livery of the A380s, the Flying HONU. ANA today said each of the three ANA A380 will take on a different color: blue, orange, and green, with corresponding characters.

Each of ANA’s A380 will feature a different color of the Flying HONU livery. Source: ANA

Each Flying HONU will have a different character name. Source: ANA

The A380 will fly exclusively between Japan and Hawaii, and will launch in Spring 2019 on ANA’s Tokyo – Honolulu route.

ANA A380 First, Business, and Premium Economy Class

The ANA A380 will have 8 First Class seats at the front of the upper deck, installed in a 1-2-1 configuration, with an updated design.

Each seat features a sliding door that creates a fully enclosed suite, as well as a 32-inch TV, and a personal closet. I love the stealth black look of the new design, and with the right cabin lighting, it just might be one of the sexiest First Class cabins out there.

First Class onboard the ANA A380. Source: ANA

First Class onboard the ANA A380. Source: ANA

Meanwhile, the Business Class cabin will be in the mid-section of the upper deck.

There will be a total of 56 seats, also in a 1-2-1 layout, but with a staggered configuration. Each seat offers direct aisle access, an 18-inch TV, as well as relatively typical amenities like a power socket and USB ports. The middle seats look to be quite close to each other, but there does appear to be a privacy screen that can be deployed between seats.

Business Class Onboard ANA’s A380. Source: ANA

At the aft of the upper deck will be the Premium Economy cabin, with a total of 73 seats.

These seats are laid out in a 2-3-2 configuration, offering 38 inches of seat pitch with a leg rest. The personal entertainment screens measure 15.6 inches here (except the first row, which only gets a 11.6-inch screen), and the tray table swivels 90° to enable easier aisle access.

ANA A380 Premium Economy Class. Source: ANA

ANA A380 Economy Seats and ANA COUCHii

ANA has elected to fill the entire lower deck with Economy Class seats, which will be in a 3-4-3 configuration. Each seat will also have a 13.3-inch IFE screen, a 6-way adjustable headrest, as well as individual USB ports and power outlets.

The majority of the lower deck will be regular Economy seats, with a generous seat pitch of 34 inches.

Economy Class will offer a seat pitch of 34 inches on ANA’s A380. Source: ANA

Meanwhile, the last 7 rows of the lower deck will actually be a special kind of Economy seats, which ANA is calling COUCHii. I suppose the idea is that if you invert the “ii” you get two exclamation points. Anyway…

But these seats are actually quite intriguing, since there is an appendage to the seat that can be flipped up to create a couch. ANA will even provide dedicated mattress pads to fit the couches, which should make for a pretty comfortable experience. Of course, this is basically the same thing as Air New Zealand’s Economy SkyCouch, which is available on their Boeing 787-9 and 777 aircraft.

ANA says that the couch is targeted towards families, and can hopefully create a more relaxing atmosphere for small children. But I imagine like Air New Zealand, ANA might over time make these seats available for individuals or couples to purchase multiple seats. If you are traveling alone, though, do keep in mind these seats have 2 fewer inches of legroom compared to the regular Economy Class seats.

ANA A380 Economy Class – COUCHii. Source: ANA

Overall Impression of ANA’s New Seats for A380

We have known the cabin configuration of ANA’s A380 for a while now, so much of this isn’t really a surprise. ANA’s A380 will fly exclusively between Japan for Hawaii for now, so these are pretty good products for flights that are only about 7 hours long. Still, Hawaii is a popular destination for Japanese travelers, and the configuration with 4 different cabins is likely a response for the diverse types of travelers on this route.

I personally love the stealth black of the First Class cabin, and I think their decision to include a sliding door will provide privacy that isn’t yet available with ANA’s current First Class suites. The Business Class cabin is relatively uninspiring, especially because a flat bed seat with direct aisle access is pretty standard these days. Similarly, the Premium Economy also doesn’t offer any groundbreaking features that other Premium Economy products don’t already offer.

I think the Economy COUCHii is a pretty interesting inclusion, and might prove to be popular for families. This is certainly not a new idea, but Air New Zealand, for example, currently only offers them on the sets of 3 seats by the window. By expanding the offering to the sets of 4 middle seats, the COUCHii has the potential to become a full length bed. It would be interesting to see what the demands are with these couch seats, and whether ANA will expand the offering to other types of aircraft.

What do you think of ANA’s new seats onboard the A380?