Stretch out: Malaysia Airlines A330neo economy extra legroom

Flying soon on Malaysia Airlines’ new Airbus A330neo?

The best seats are of course up front in business class, where the 28 flatbed berths are graced with high walls and sliding privacy doors, large 4K video screens with Bluetooth audio, and more.

But if your budget only stretches to economy class, I’m going to let you in on a little secret of savvy travellers: the extra legroom seats at the front of the A330neo’s economy cabin can be solid value.

This isn’t premium economy per se – it’s the same seat, meals and service as every other economy passenger – but the additional legroom can’t be beat.

Malaysia Airlines A330neo extra legroom economy.

And the value stack up: choosing an extra legroom seat on the medium-range flights from Australia to Kuala Lumpur costs around $110 on top of the standard airfare (which typically ranges from $600 to over $1000 each way from the likes of Sydney and Melbourne).

That’s not too much more to pay for comfort on a long flight.

And let’s be honest: as nice as it is to be in business class, economy (or premium economy) can be perfectly do-able on a daytime flight between Australia and Asia, especially if you have a little extra room to stretch out.

I’ve clocked up close to four million miles in my 30+ years as a journalist, with a lot of economy flights between Sydney and Asian cities such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur.

Unless facing a pressing schedule, I prefer to make a daytime flight in both directions, up and back.

With a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, some BYO entertainment (music or TV) on the tablet or smartphone, and an optional-but-always-welcome nap along the way, the flight goes by pretty quickly.

Malaysia Airlines A330neo extra legroom economy seats

On Malaysia Airlines’ new Airbus A330neo jets, the first three rows of the economy cabin – rows 9, 10 and 11 – have been set further apart to deliver noticeably more legroom compared to the remaining 240-odd seats.

Malaysia Airlines A330neo extra legroom economy.

Malaysia Airlines A330neo extra legroom economy.

Most of Malaysia Airlines’ A330neo economy seats have a 32” pitch – pitch being the distance between a point on one seat and the same point on the seat in front or behind.

Malaysia Airlines A330neo standard economy.

Pitch isn’t the same as legroom, although it serves as a fairly reliable proxy – and the amount of room around your knees can also be critical.

The extra legroom economy seats at rows 10 and 11 give you 34” of pitch – an extra two inches (5cm) between each row.

Malaysia Airlines A330neo extra legroom economy.

Row 9 provides even more space to stretch, with there’s 60cm from the leading edge of the seat cushion to the bulkhead wall.

Malaysia Airlines A330neo extra legroom economy.

The standard economy seat measures 33cm to the back of the seat in front, although you can tuck your feet under that seat – sitting in a bulkhead row can sometimes leave your feet angled up against the wall.

Malaysia Airlines A330neo extra legroom economy.

However, note that row 9 is also where the A330neo’s baby bassinet are located, so this row might not be available for seat selection until 24 hours before the flight.

In addition, most of the armrests in row 9 are fixed in place, so you can’t swing them up and out of the way to take advantage of having an empty seat next to you.

Malaysia Airlines A330neo extra legroom economy.

And if you’re flying on Malaysia Airlines’ older A330-300s – which will steadily be retired in favour of the modern A330neo – the extra legroom rows are 9 and 10, which sit in their own little cabin.

Malaysia Airlines A330 extra legroom economy.

As a cheat sheet, across each of those extra legroom rows:

• A and K are the window seats, paired with C and H at the aisle
• D, E, F and G are the middle block of four seats, with D and G at the aisle

Row 28, at the front of the Malaysia Airlines A330neo’s second economy class cabin, is another extra legroom row, although it’s not without caveats.

Malaysia Airlines A330neo extra legroom economy.

Seats 28A, 28C, 28H and 28K are at the emergency exits, so they can get a little chilly during the flight.

Malaysia Airlines A330neo extra legroom economy.

Furthermore, the housing for the evacuation slide is directly in front of the window seats (28A and 28K), so there’s actually less legroom and passengers need to sit at an angle.

Malaysia Airlines A330neo extra legroom economy.

Finally, there’s another advantage to being in these extra legroom rows: because you’re at the very front of the economy cabin you’ll be among the first off the plane.

And anyone who’s travelling light, with just carry-on luggage, will appreciate getting ahead of the crowd and on the move.

Also read: Seven things we love about Malaysia Airlines’ new business class