ANA is the 2nd airline to install no-recline business class seats – and they look great

A few years ago, Finnair caused a splash when it unveiled its new AirLounge business class seating. The airline had decided to take a punt on a new type of seat that ditched the electronic recline mechanism in favour of a sofa-style seat.

The idea was that, just like at home, you would be perfectly comfortable in such a seat surrounded by pillows that you can adjust to your own liking. After all, most sofas don’t recline to flat.

One of the benefits of such a no-recline seat is that it is (in theory) lighter and simpler, and therefore cheaper to fly and maintain. This is important for an airline like Finnair, which was hit when the Russian invasion of Ukraine disrupted its model of connecting Europe with East Asia.

Although it’s not a universal favourite, the general consensus on Finnair’s AirLounge is that it is very comfortable. I loved it on a flight from Helsinki to Japan and thought it had one of the comfiest beds in business class when I reviewed it last year.

So it’s no surprise to see another airline adopt the concept. This time it’s the turn of Japanese airline ANA, working in partnership with seat provider Safran.

ANA launched its famous THE Room business class and THE Suite first class seats on its flagship Boeing 777s in 2019 (photo above, and yes, the capitalisation of the name is bizarre!). This product is incredibly well reviewed – it’s something I’m hoping to get to one day. There’s only one problem: it’s far too wide to install on the airline’s narrower Boeing 787s.

ANA went back to the drawing board. Together with its partner Safran, it has tried to replicate THE Room’s unique features as closely as possible in the 787 cabin. The result is THE Room FX (for ‘Future Experience’) which it calls “the world’s largest seat in its class on a mid-sized aircraft.”

Just like Finnair’s AirLounge, THE Room FX ditches the standard recline mechanism for a sofa-style seat, making ANA the second airline to introduce no-recline business class.

Despite being built on a totally different platform, ANA and Safran have retained a remarkable amount of commonality with the original THE Room seat, ensuring a consistent experience for passengers.

For example, it retains the same yin-yang stagger of THE Room with some seats facing forward and others backwards (Qatar’s Qsuite is another such example):

Conceptually, it’s identical with a full-width padded backrest that is only marginally narrower than the OG Room with a maximum width of 105cm or 41.5″.

Privacy is being improved from THE Room, with an additional 4″ (10cm) of height to 52″ or 4’4″.

But unlike THE Room, there’s no electronic recline. Instead, an adjustable leg rest swings up to create a 194cm (6’3″) flat bed. This is a tad on the short end, with the industry standard closer to 200cm, although real-world comfort can vary depending on the size of the footwell.

The tech has also been upgraded with a 24″ screen – one of the biggest business class screens out there – plus features such as Bluetooth audio, wireless charging and AC, USB-C and USB-A charging. Bizarrely, the screen won’t be 4K, despite virtually all suppliers moving to 4K screens as standard, even in economy and premium economy.

Stylistically it’s a refinement of The Room, albeit less boxy. A light wood effect adorns the outside of the suite and the console table whilst the seat itself features a woven grey cover and leather headrest. The interior of the storage unit provides a glimpse of ultramarine blue which is mirrored in the square pillow provided.

ANA THE Room seat specs

When will THE Room FX fly?

THE Room FX will launch in early 2026 as part of a mid-life refresh of ANA’s long haul Boeing 787-9 fleet. It will mark the first refurbishment of these aircraft in the decade they’ve been flying. The existing seats on this are very outdated so THE Room FX will be a massive upgrade.

Each Boeing 787-9 will feature 48 seats in business class spread across two cabins, 21 seats in premium economy and 137 in economy.

It’s likely that ANA will continue to fly the larger THE Room to London on its Boeing 777, but you can expect to find THE Room FX fly to other European cities. According to Cirium, ANA currently flies its long haul Boeing 787s to Paris, Frankfurt, Munich, Brussels, Vienna and Milan.

Conclusion

THE Room FX is an impressive new seat that will let passengers on the narrower Boeing 787s experience something close to what passengers on the Boeing 777 have been enjoying for six years.

ANA could easily have picked any of the commonplace staggered or herringbone seats for its 787 refurbishment program. Instead, it has worked with Safran to launch THE Room FX, a genuinely innovative seat that introduces the no-recline concept to a yin-yang cabin for (I believe) the first time.

Compared to the existing 787 cabins this is a generational upgrade, adding privacy doors, huge screens and new tech.