On July 1, ANA reintroduced the Airbus A380 “FLYING HONU” on the Narita – Honolulu route. As previously reported, the first flight (JA381A) arrived at Honolulu and flew back to Narita, and I had the opportunity to board the second flight (JA382A), which flew to Honolulu on the following day.
A couch seat is a system in which the legrests of a three- or four-seat configuration are pulled up horizontally to expand the seating space, allowing it to be used like a sofa bed.
FLYING HONU offers a total of 18 pairs of couches in the last six rows (rows 71-76) of the economy class cabin. This time, the reporter used the compartment with three window-side seats. In addition to the normal economy class fare, the fare for a single person occupying three seats as in this case would be +62,000 yen in low season and +172,000 yen in high season, while the fare for four people occupying four seats would be +13,000 yen in both low and high season.
The construction of individual couch seats is not much different from regular economy class seats, except that they are equipped with leg rests (regular seats have a footrest in front). However, the window seat has a seat surface that extends to the wall in accordance with the shape of the cabin, to prevent bedding from falling through the gap.
Conversion to the bed position is very easy if you know how it works. Press the button on the armrests to raise the legrests 45 degrees, and then manually pull them up to the horizontal position. At this point, there is almost no difference in level, so it looks like you can sleep well enough, but by laying down the bed pad provided, you can further absorb the difference in level (and night sweats). The bed pad is made of a fluffy material that feels good against the skin, so one can imagine how comfortable it is to sleep on.
The short side is still roomy enough for an adult male to lie down. On the long side, the 178-cm-tall reporter could not fully stretch his legs, but he could lie down with his legs stretched out as far as possible because the gap on the window side was small and he could use it to the edge by placing a pillow. In other words, in the center compartment of a row of four seats, you can stretch your legs completely. Two pillows of different firmness are provided, and for safety reasons, the head must be on the window side.
All armrests can be raised except for the aisle side. The hinges are located where they would not hit a standard-sized person, but if this still bothers you, you can place a pillow on the side that is not in use.
While a flat seat in business class requires passengers to tuck their toes into the space in front of them, a couch seat has a large space around it, so passengers can lie down with their thighs wide open (although they will be seen by others in this position). In terms of relaxation, the comfort goes beyond the economy class. I was able to reconfirm how restful it is to lie down on a flat surface, and although the plane is naturally bumpy, it was also very comfortable.
Incidentally, the couch seats have special seat belts so that the body can be secured to the seat while sleeping.
To return the leg rests, gently pull them upward until they click into place. Then it will return to the 45-degree diagonal position, and you can push it down to the stowed position while pressing the button on the armrest. The push-down is a little stiff, so it is better to apply force from directly above.
The couch seat can be used not only for lying flat, but also for stretching out the legs with the upper half of the body up, or for any other seating arrangement. This time, I used it by myself, but if you have a small child with you, you can use it in different ways depending on the situation, such as putting the child to sleep while the parent stays seated.
This NH183 flight was crewed by the same crew as the first flight (NH184) from Narita the previous day. Finally, we asked the two CAs who were in charge of Couch’s economy class service about the first flight, and they replied, “When we heard about the re-launch, we were happy to feel that we are getting back to our daily routines. Some customers on the first flight said they were looking forward to the trip because it was their first overseas trip after taking the Corona Disaster. We knew that many of them were concerned about hygiene, so we cleaned the restrooms frequently and actively collected trash around the seats, etc.” “I have been on several scenic flights using the A380, and many of them said they wanted to go to Honolulu on it as soon as possible, so I am really happy about this re-commissioning. I am very happy about the re-launch of the A380. Many families with small children are flying on the A380, so we paid special attention to their children’s condition to prevent them from getting injured on their first flight in a long time.
© Source travel watch
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