• All Nippon Airways (ANA) has been named Airline of the Year by Air Transport World. ANA won based on its exceptional financial performance, fiscal management, customer service and technology leadership. Silver Airways (based in Florida and one I’ve never heard of) won Regional Airline of the Year.
• Virgin America will launch new service to Austin and Anchorage. Year-round service from San Francisco to Austin begins May 21 and seasonal service to Anchorage will operate from June 6 to September 9.
• DoubleTree Hotels will make their debut in Australia later this year. Two existing properties in Darwin and one in Alice Springs will be reflagged as such and operate under the Hilton portfolio.
• U.S. hoteliers sold more than 1.1 billion rooms in 2012. San Francisco saw the greatest jump in room rates, increasing 11 percent over 2011. The nationwide average daily rate (ADR) increased 4.2 percent over 2011.
• A study by Pricewaterhouse Coopers showed that Britain’s Air Passenger Duty does more harm than good. It’s the highest tax of its type in the world, it deters travel and it would pay for itself if abolished. Hear, hear!
• The Department of Transportation issued its Air Travel Consumer Report today showing mishandled baggage rates in 2012 were at a 25 year low and airlines had the third highest on-time rate in 18 years (among other interesting nuggets).

Related posts:

Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel News: February 11, 2013

Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel News: February 5, 2013

Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel News: February 1, 2013

First class airline lounges, particularly those of non-U.S. airlines, are generally something to savor and behold. Perhaps I’m holding them all to the near incomparable standard that is the Lufthansa First Class Terminal in Frankfurt or the Thai Royal First Lounge in Bangkok. But the ANA Suite Lounge at Tokyo’s Narita Airport I visited a couple of weeks ago was rather underwhelming.

ANA Suite Lounge Entrance

Don’t get me wrong – it’s a nice lounge with decent amenities, but it didn’t quite have that air of exclusivity that others offer. I’d put it on par with very good business class lounges I’ve visited in the past.

The greeting I received after walking through the doors was exceptional and very first class with the three agents behind the counter straightening their posture and even bowing. I was welcomed into the lounge after a quick check of my United Airlines Global First boarding pass to San Francisco and made my way to the only available seat next to a window.

Yet another agent promptly welcomed me with a hot towel as I took a seat and asked if she could bring me a beverage. As I wanted to peruse the buffet, I declined mentioning I’d take a look at everything on offer.

The lounge was packed during my visit with very little opportunity to capture a few discrete pictures beyond these of the buffet and work station area:

ANA Suite Lounge Buffet

ANA Suite Lounge Buffet

ANA Suite Lounge Business Center Cubicles

There was a generous spread of nibbles, both hot and cold, and I went with a little sampling of noodles and a couple of sandwich wedges together with Perrier. The Noodle Bar (a restaurant of sorts) also offers additional full-service items (PDF menu). Having enjoyed a big buffet breakfast at my hotel, I didn’t partake.

The view out to the apron was quite nice, especially when compared to the not as active side the United Club occupies in the same satellite.

ANA Suite Lounge Apron View

Singapore Airlines A380

Additional amenities inside the lounge include shower rooms, a business center and apparently a “Refresh Salon by Raffine,” which I never came across, though I thought I explored every corner and turn.

There wasn’t anything terrible about the lounge, but the cramped quarters, simple food offering and general lack of anything particularly unique found me wanting to head to the United Global First lounge. I had plenty of time had I decided to visit the other ANA Suite Lounge in Satellite 5, but I figured it wouldn’t be anything different. Not to sound elitist (okay, I am), I was expecting to be “wowed” a bit more.

Related posts:

First Look: United Club Redesign, O’Hare Terminal 2 Location Opening

Review: American Airlines Flagship Check-in, Lounge at LAX

Lounge Review: Virgin Australia Domestic Lounge Sydney

Lounge Review: Lufthansa Senator Lounge Frankfurt (Near B43)

• Oy, more 787 issues as an All Nippon Airways (ANA) jet makes an emergency landing in Osaka. This is breaking as I type, so further details will certainly emerge.
• United Airlines will lay off 472 workers at Newark Liberty Airport. A spokesman at United confirms it’s due to outsourcing of cargo operations, but adds the airline will help them find other jobs with the airline.
• A shipment of 18 human heads was seized at Chicago O’Hare Airport. A mix-up in paperwork reportedly delayed the shipment and subsequent delivery of the medically-researched heads on their way for cremation.
• San Francisco International Airport could soon be renamed after the legendary gay rights activist Harvey Milk. Voters will decide on the potential name change/addition this November.
• Air China may soon fly nonstop from Houston to Beijing. The airline announced the route today, which still requires government approval. It might bring decent Star Alliance award availability into play.
• United Airlines is (finally) introducing Wi-Fi to their international fleet. The satellite-based Wi-Fi service is presently equipped on one Boeing 747-400 and two Airbus A319s, with plans to roll it out to 300 more aircraft this year. Fingers crossed one of the two United 747s I’m flying next week is the sole -400 offering the service so I can try it out.
• Hilton has a 24-hour promo beginning tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. EST. Part of the Any Weekend, Anywhere Sale, it offers up to 40 percent off weekend stays and 2,500 bonus points. The sale is ongoing through January 31, but book tomorrow for the bonus points.
• The moron who called in a fake bomb hoax will submit a written apology to each of the passengers on the US Airways flight forced to return to Philadelphia airport resulting from his call. That’s not nearly as bad as the fines and prison term he’s facing.

Related posts:

Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel Industry News: January 14, 2013

I decided to take a closer look at the links in an email I received from ANA yesterday to discover some first class amenities I’ve never seen before. They apparently offer knit wear for rent, sleep support items including “power tape” (?) and a rather remote-control looking foot roller. I’m intrigued. What’s “power tape?”

In other airline, hotel and travel industry news this week…

• Thai Airways will take delivery of two Airbus A380s next year and will initially operate their first whale on regional routes, of which Bangkok to Hong Kong is probable. Once they take delivery of their second A380, service to Frankfurt will begin, followed by London and Paris once additional aircraft come online.
• All Nippon Airways (ANA) announced this week they’d begin flying their internationally configured Boeing 787s between Tokyo and both Seattle, WA and San Jose, CA beginning April 1st and between Tokyo and Boston April 22nd. The aircraft will feature 46 seats in a staggered all-aisle access Business Class and 112 seats in Economy in a 2 x 4 x 2 configuration. Will United Airlines maintain their SEA-NRT daily roundtrip once that happens? I think not.
• The latest push to exclude U.S. carriers from the upcoming European Union Carbon Emissions Trading Scheme has failed. The highest court upheld the law that will begin charging airlines for exceeding their carbon emission allotment on flights to and from Europe beginning January 1, 2012. The article quotes one analyst who predicts the law will cost U.S. carriers $3.1 billion from 2012 to 2020. Where is that money going to come from? You and me. We’re now used to fuel surcharges, so why not throw a carbon footprint surcharge in the mix, too? Ugh.
• Curious to know what hotel rates look like in major North American markets between now and the end of February? Check out this summary showing the lowest and median prices for stays in three-, four- and five-star properties. Chicago, Las Vegas and Toronto have the most economical rates for three- and four-star properties. For those with deep pockets, the median rate for the Ritz Carlton Battery Park in New York is $1,023.88 per night in December.
• Airline transactions processed through the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) were basically flat last month from the large travel agencies serving major corporations (e.g., American Express, Carlson Wagonlit, Omega World Travel), while tickets processed dropped for the second consecutive month from online travel agencies (OTAs) such as Expedia, Travelocity and Priceline.
• The FAA issued a final rule this week covering airline pilot flight times and rest periods. Now instead of eight hours between duty shifts, there will be a minimum 10-hour period with eight of those required to be in a hotel room. Duty times for single cockpit crews will be capped at 14-hours, but can still be extended two hours should delays strike. The new rules don’t apply to cargo operators and UPS pilots sued the FAA on Thursday for inclusion.
• Spirit Airlines reportedly made $50 million in its first year charging customers who have a carry-on bag that won’t fit underneath the seat in front of them. The fee is currently set at $30 per bag if you schedule it online in advance, $35 during online check-in or $40 if handled at the airport.
• British Airways may eventually see competition for its all-Business Class London City to New York Kennedy Airbus A318 service. A previously unnamed buyer of 10 Bombardier C-Series passenger jets has come forward saying they hope to begin similar service to New York and other locations. Named Odyssey Airlines, the carrier claims they’ll be able to fly nonstop versus the one-stop refueling British Airways currently has to do in Ireland on westbound flights. The carrier isn’t expected to get off the ground until 2014, if at all.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) sent me an email today offering 100 Mileage Club miles for participating in an online survey. I received it since I subscribe to their ANA Mileage Club (AMC) “Mail Magazine” and the offer is as follows:

As many of you know, the ANA award tool is bar none the premier way to search for Star Alliance award space and they had previously attempted to restrict access to only those who held a balance in their AMC account. The workaround (as described in this link) has been active for well more than a year now, but taking the survey might be critical to those (like me) who don’t have a balance should they further clamp down on access. Luckily, the link provided appears to be non-targeted, so cut & paste the url below into your browser, delete the space that prevents you from linking to it directly,  and take the survey for a quick 100 miles.

https://www .surveymonkey.com/s/jul2011e

Survey Participation Period: July 21, 2011 – July 28, 2011 23:59 (Pacific Time)

[See comment#2 regarding targeting. I still think this offer would still flow through even if you didn't receive the email.]

And in further editing, the exact email I received appears below. The bolding is mine referring to the possibility of being targeted, but I still maintain if you have the url, you’ll get the 100 miles even if you do submit it multiple times with your ANA number. I absolutely could be wrong, but something tells me if you have a valid ANA number, the system will take it and post the miles even if you didn’t receive the email. Worth the try, at least!