Not much to say about CNS intl, terminal is rather big for the traffic it sees these days but for some reason security is tiny so that ended up taking around 20 minutes (two jetstar flights were departing around the same time). There are more f&b options in the domestic terminal so you’d probably want to eat there before walking over if you’re connecting.
Boarding started 30 minutes before departure and was quite slow for some reason but when you have only 70ish pax on board it still doesn’t take too long. I’d say about 60-70% of pax were Japanese, I think I recognized around 10 pax from the lounge in Brisbane the same morning so definitely quite a few people connecting. I even saw a couple connecting onto Frankfurt in HND.
Upon boarding all seats in business had a pillow, a blanket, a bottle of water and after being seated I was handed an amenity kit (on a tray no less) and a pre departure beverage. Another drink was served upon takeoff with some almonds.
Pillow was big and plush, blanket wasn’t soft on the skin but was still comfortable and quite warm. Amenity kit was well stocked although for flights to Japan I wish there were slippers on offer. Biggest problem on board is the lack of power ports, the max will address this but I recommend you make sure to charge your phone in the terminal before flying off, getting a power bank isn’t a bad idea either.
The current business seats are absolutely terrible to sleep in, the recline is a joke so do take that into consideration. Hopefully the MAX seats are better in this regard. For a daytime flight it was palatable but you might see me complain a bit more for the redeye.
First meal was served about 90 minutes after takeoff, second one about 90 minutes before landing. Orders were taken in order 1A/C, 1D/F, 2D/F, 2A/C and reversed for the second meal.
There was a Japanese option and an « international » option (menu below). I opted for the Japanese bento box and I must admit I was impressed. The teriyaki chicken definitely hit the spot, I guess I wish there was a little bit more rice but overall it was very good. I also tried the other dish as the cabin wasn’t full and I wanted to review it, the ravioli was just fine and the soba tasted like it was drenched in Big Mac sauce.
Wasn’t a fan of either the blueberry or tea cakes but I’m not big on cakes in general so it might be just me.
Second meal was either pork dumplings or arancini. Once again I got to try both options, the dumplings were really not bad considering they were served on a plane. The arancini were fine but I didn’t like the sauce. The carrot cake was quite good though.
Throughout the flight the FA in charge of our cabin was extremely proactive in offering refills making sure we had everything we needed etc. There was a Japanese elderly couple she tried to speak a little bit of Japanese to hell communication (there was another fully Japanese speaking FA on board who would also come and check on them every once in a while).
Arriving in Haneda at 8pm is perfect as it arrived right before the big evening arrival banks. In my experience 30 minutes later and the immigration hall/baggage claim are absolutely rammed.
Interesting side note, apparently the bento boxes were going to be used for the original BNE-HND service and had been lying around for three years until they decided to use them for these flights.
Pillow and blanket should be coming to all Short haul International routes and improved catering *might* come to DPS.