Malaysia Airlines A330neo set for Melbourne
Business class passengers will enjoy more space, more features and a sliding door for privacy.
Malaysia Airlines’ new long-range business class will take to the skies next month on board the first of 20 Airbus A330neo aircraft, with Melbourne expected to host the factory-fresh jet from late December.
The debutante A330neo, freshly arrived in Kuala Lumpur from Toulouse, is an updated version of Airbus’ best-selling A330 – a stalwart for scores of airlines on both domestic and short- to medium-range international flights.
And while the neo suffix denotes a fuel-efficient ‘new engine option’, the jet also incorporates a range of passenger-friendly updates such as a quieter cabin, ambient LED lighting schemes and larger overhead bins which increase capacity by some 66%.
Malaysia Airlines expects to have five A330neos by the first quarter of 2025, with the jets initially flying to Melbourne, Auckland, Tokyo and Doha.
The remaining 15 jets from Malaysia Airlines’ initial 20-strong A330neo order will then stream through until 2028.
However, Malaysia Airlines has also inked an ‘options’ agreement with Airbus for the purchase of up to 20 more A330neo jets.
Any second batch of A330neos would fuel growth of the MH network to new destinations, along with the possibility of adding more flights to current routes – although some of this might even be achievable with the first batch of A330neos.
“The strategy of the company is to grow, but we do not want to grow blindly,” Captain Izham Ismail, CEO of the Malaysia Aviation Group, told Executive Traveller following the announcement of daily A350 flights to Paris.
“I need to grow Australia… with the current demand, our load factor is sitting in the 90s, so I need to increase Sydney to three times a day.”
Ismail also earmarked Melbourne for three MH flights per day, and double-daily to Auckland.
Malaysia Airlines A330neo routes
The A330neo will steadily take over routes flown by the ageing A330s, which Ismail said would begin exiting the MH fleet from early 2025 on a “one in, one out” basis.
Melbourne will take honours as the inaugural A330neo route in late December, with Auckland to follow soon after.
Tokyo and Doha should both see their first A330neo services in March 2025, with the Malaysia Airlines A350 now running between Kuala Lumpur and Doha moving across to bootstrap KL-Paris on March 22.
“Doha is a signature route for us,” Ismail said, as it’s the cornerstone of a codeshare partnership with Qatar Airways.
“We need to put on a product which is equivalent to Qatar’s, (especially for) connecting flights beyond Doha… we do not want customers to feel the difference (in business class), so they will see the consistency in the new product of the A330neo.”
Beyond those first four cities, Ismail described the early A330neo network as also including “India (and) a bit of Southeast Asia.”
Malaysia Airlines A330neo business class
Malaysia Airlines’ A330neo marks the debut of a new ‘signature’ business class suite which will also find its way onto the Airbus A350s as part of a retrofit program beginning in early 2026.
These business class suites will also replace the A350’s four first class suites, which have since rebranded as Business Suites.
And they’ll immediately be familiar to globetrotting Executive Traveller readers, as Malaysia Airlines has chosen Collins Aerospace’s Elevation platform – also used for British Airways Club Suites business class and Etihad Airways’ A350 Business Studio suites.
An earlier iteration of this same design, known as the Super Diamond, populates the pointy end of long-range jets flown by Air Canada, Qatar Airways and Taiwan’s China Airlines, among others.
Business class passengers on Malaysia Airlines’ A330neo will find 28 suites, each with individual privacy doors, arranged in a 1-2-1 layout with direct aisle access.
The window seats are angled towards the window and away from the aisle, for added privacy even when the door is open.
The paired middle seats are also angled away from the aisle and thus towards one another, with a sliding screen which can be opened if you’re flying with a partner.
Each Malaysia Airlines A330neo business class suite delivers increased personal space.
A panel on the side shelf opens up to reveal a conveniently located stowage nook, which should also be fitted with AC and USB-C sockets (which ar e not present in this mockup version shown below).
Just ahead of that nook is a concealed wireless charging spot for smartphones, earbuds and tablets.
Passengers will also be treated to generous video screens, although it’s not yet known if these will come with Bluetooth audio streaming.
Happily, we can confirm that Malaysia Airlines’ amazing business class satay will remain on the menu.
Back behind the curtain on the Malaysia Airlines A330neo will be 263 new-design economy class seats laid out in rows of 2-4-2, with ‘enhanced in-flight entertainment screens’ and USB-C charging outlets.
And from tip to tail, the Malaysia Airlines A330neo jets will continue to offer fast and free WiFi to every passenger.
David Flynn travelled to Kuala Lumpur as a guest of Malaysia Airlines.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
05 May 2017
Total posts 18
I think this will put a lot of pressure on Qantas and SQ as there are always a lot of travellers going via Singapore to KL
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
09 Feb 2015
Total posts 387
Hopefully with additional aircraft they can fly ex Brisbane once again.
17 Sep 2020
Total posts 1
I believe it's already announced for March next year
24 Oct 2010
Total posts 2562
Hasn't been "announced" yet. A listing did pop up online but the route wasn't bookable, and then the listing disappeared. This gave rise to speculation that BNE was imminent, and we definitely hope that's still the case.
23 Oct 2014
Total posts 238
Wow what an impressive seat / suite and hard product.
Looks a-lot like VA’s J seat / suites.
Combined with above average food and satays.
This looks like a top travel option, at most likely a great price point.
Well done MAS.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
12 Apr 2017
Total posts 5
Why Melbourne and not Sydney?
03 Oct 2011
Total posts 39
I'm really sad about this seat. I've flown it on BA, and while it's heaps and heaps better than BA's 90s-era climb-over-or-be-climbed-over seats, that's a super low bar. Sure, these seats have a so-called "privacy door," but it's a checkbox item: there only so a box can be checked. The walls and door are far lower than QR's Qsuite, they don't actually provide even the slightest additional privacy. The doors don't even close all the way. The only storage is one shallow cubby. Qsuite has a deep compartment on the side of the seat, and a shelf under the flat area where the controls are.
It's laughable for MH's CEO to say they want a product that's equal to QR's, then choose this half-arsed one. Anyone sitting in a Qsuite moving to this product will effeminately be let down. What a disappointing move.
03 May 2013
Total posts 685
Malaysia airfares have skyrocketed of late. Not sure the soft product is quite there yet. Hard product is well on the way for sure but I won't be paying 10K for Malaysian JK to LHR just yet.
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