Review: Malaysia Airlines A330neo business class

Malaysia Airlines is now flying its next-generation Airbus A330neo jet, complete with a next-generation business class.

With a 1-2-1 layout, sliding doors, large 4K video screens, USB-C and wireless charging, these suites tick most of the boxes for a modern business class.

And they won’t just be limited to the A330neo fleet, which from 2025 to 2028 will steadily replace the Oneworld member’s original A330 workhorses on key routes across Australia, New Zealand, Asia and India.

Malaysia Airlines A330neo.

These swish suites will also find their way onto the long-range Airbus A350s as part of a retrofit program beginning in early 2026.

So how do these new ‘signature’ business class suites compare to Malaysia Airlines’ current international A330 business class?

In short, it’s a largely transformative experience for Malaysia Airlines’ business class passengers.

Malaysia Airlines A330neo business class.

The seats themselves will be immediately familiar to globetrotting readers: based on Collins Aerospace’s Elevation platform, they’re almost identical to British Airways’ Club Suite business class, albeit with fewer storage nooks.

British Airways Club Suite business class.

While the 1-2-1 layout means that every passenger has direct access to the aisle, each passenger is angled away from the aisle for added privacy, even when the door is open.

Malaysia Airlines A330neo business class.

For window passengers in the A and K seats, this means they’re facing towards the view.

Malaysia Airlines A330neo business class.

Those in the paired middle seats (D and G) are facing slightly inwards...

Malaysia Airlines A330neo business class.

... with a sliding panel between the seats which can be opened if you’re flying with a partner, although the gap provides little more than a space for cosy chat and glances.

Malaysia Airlines A330neo business class.

Each of the A330neo’s 28 business class suites is framed by 1.15m high walls.

Malaysia Airlines A330neo.

The sliding door is slightly shorter, and as is the case with many business class suites the door itself achieves little in the way of actual privacy – it’s not as if anybody walking past can’t see straight down into your suite.

Malaysia Airlines A330neo.

It’s more about blocking out the rest of the cabin when you’re trying to sleep, and otherwise defining your space to create a little cocoon above the clouds.

The comfortably padded seats themselves are 50cm wide; slightly less than Malaysia Airlines’ current A330 business class, but that difference is barely noticeable.

Malaysia Airlines A330neo business class.

A tap of the panel above the armrest smoothly moves the seat between various recline modes to a fully lie-flat bed which can be dressed with a supplied mattress topper.

That said, one area where the A330neo business class falls short of its processor is the footwell.

The A330 seat (shown below left) offers significantly more space for your feet compared to the A330neo’s narrower footwell (below right).

Malaysia Airlines business class footwells: A330 (left) and A330neo (right).

Adjacent to each seat is a long wedge-shaped shelf which serves as not just an armrest...

Malaysia Airlines A330neo business class.

... with one section opening to reveal a compact recess sufficient for a smartphone or small personal items such as a pair of reading glasses.

Malaysia Airlines A330neo business class.

This nook is also home to the headphone audio jack plus USB-A and USB-C power outlets, while just in front is a controller for the IFE and a wireless charger for your phone or earbuds (note that phones need careful positioning to line up with the charging spot).

Need AC power for your laptop? You’ll have to go hunting.

The universal AC outlet is tucked away in the footwell, along with a high-power 60w USB-C socket to keep modern laptops juiced up.

Malaysia Airlines A330neo business class.

Setting yourself up for dinner or getting down to work is much easier than on the older A330 business class seats.

Instead of the cumbersome swing-down-and-swivel-out table, on the A330neo the table is neatly perched under the video screen.

Malaysia Airlines A330neo business class.

It makes for a handy cocktail shelf in its default partly-extended position, and then pulls down and out to reveal its full width.

Malaysia Airlines A330neo business class.

The 17.3” 4K Ultra HD screen is sharp and crisp, with convenient Bluetooth audio streaming to your own noise-cancelling headphones or earbuds.

Malaysia Airlines A330neo business class.

WiFi is free for all passengers from tip to tail, and you don’t even need to be a member of Malaysia Airlines’ Enrich program to get online: just join the inflight MHconnect hotspot and you’re on the air.

My flight from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne delivered impressive download speeds at an average 12Mbps, although it suffered from the same unexpected and lengthy dropouts as bedevils other Malaysia Airlines flights to and from Australia.

Malaysia Airlines' latest international business class amenity kit.

The A330neo also has a small self-serve selection of snacks for munching at any time, although with these located pretty much directly in front of seat 1K it’ll make a disturbing journey for whoever is in that seat, 

Beyond the business class seats and cabin, the A330neo improves the overall passenger experience with a quieter cabin, ambient LED lighting schemes and larger overhead bins which increase capacity by some 66% compared to the ‘standard’ A330.

Malaysia Airlines A330neo.

Malaysia Airlines expects to have five A330neos by the first quarter of 2025, with the first A330neo destinations set as Melbourne, Auckland, Tokyo and Doha.

The remaining 15 jets from the initial 20-strong A330neo order will then stream through until 2028.

From 2025, each newly-arrived A330neo is expected to replace an older A330s on a “one in, one out” basis.

Malaysia Airlines has also inked an agreement with Airbus for the purchase of up to 20 more A330neo jets intended to fuel growth of the MH network to new destinations, along with the possibility of adding more flights to current routes.

The author travelled as a guest of Malaysia Airlines.