Review: Malaysia Airlines new Airbus A330-900neo business class Sydney to Kuala Lumpur

Everything indicated I would be flying on a standard Malaysia Airlines A330-300 to Kuala Lumpur, just like I did on my outbound flight to Sydney. Imagine my surprise when I boarded the aircraft and discovered to my delight that I was on a new Airbus A330-900neo!

This was my first time on board this type, which is always a special experience. However, it was even more so because I know just how good Malaysia Airlines are as an airline.

Sydney Airport

Check-in and immigration were very swift in Sydney and once through security, I headed to the Plaza Premium Lounge. When I arrived, I was identified as being in business class and sent to the SkyTeam Lounge next door instead.

I enjoyed the lounge as it was delightfully quiet. Towards flight time, I wandered down to the boarding gate, which was right at the end of the pier. Soon enough boarding was called and it was down the aerobridge to the aeroplane.

MH122 – Sydney to Kuala Lumpur
1 May 2025
Airbus A330-900 – 9M-MNG
Seat: Business Class 7A
Departure: 13:05 Arrival: 20:00

After showing the cabin crew my boarding pass, I turned left and became disoriented. These were not the seats I expected, it was entirely different – laid out like this drawing on the AeroLOPA seat map.

I popped my bag into the overhead compartment and noticed other passengers with the same reaction. Ahh, this was the new business class at Malaysia Airlines!

The A330-900neo Business Class Seat

Let’s call a spade a spade, or a seat a seat even – it’s pretty much the same seat as the British Airways Club Suites. It perhaps has a few Malaysia Airlines touches, but it’s an off the shelf product and there’s nothing wrong with that.

This is a world class seat, matching the current standard, which is individual lie-flat seats with aisle access and a door. Very comfortable and no issues whatsoever, especially as it was a day flight.

Safety On Board

Since this was a new aircraft type for me, I decided to have a look at the safety card. No, I didn’t souvenir one for myself, but contented myself with taking these pictures.

There’s a lot of space unused on it and the diagrams are fairly small. However, you’re hardly going to need it, with Malaysia Airlines being one of the safest carriers around.

Welcome, welcome, welcome!

As regular readers will know, I do love an airline signature drink. On MH, it is a blend of hibiscus (known locally as bunga raya), roselle, lychee and longan, usually offered as “the hibiscus drink”. Yummo! Loved it on my flight to Sydney so I decided to have it again.

Of course, from a slightly selfish perspective, I also know they offer Champagne afterwards. This means you get to have two welcome drinks and since I was paying, why not! Eventually everyone was on board, the welcome drinks were cleared in, and we had the safety demo. After that, like clockwork, we proceeded to the active runway and took off over Sydney’s Botany Bay and set course for Kuala Lumpur.

Slippers and Toilets

Not too many airlines provide slippers in business class. Ethiopian Airlines certainly do and I discovered so do Malaysia Airlines. I think this is a top notch thing to offer, as swapping earth shoes for sky shoes makes for a lot of comfort.

Toilets and slippers also go together very well. Why? As the air in aircraft cabins is quite dry, any spillages in the toilets evaporate quickly. You might think wearing socks on those floors is a good idea, but it’s really not. Slippers also provide the protection needed. Full marks, MH!

Did Somebody Say Satay?

I love the Malaysia Airlines satay service and in the world of marketing it would probably be called a USP (that’s a unique selling point to you and I!). Out comes the trolley and you’re offered chicken, beef/lamb or a combination of both. I always get both, as I like to taste everything!

When mine was being delivered, I asked if I could have some more if they had any left over at the end. Happily once they completed serving, another plate was laid in front of me and this little glutton was very happy!

A Lunch High Above Australia

That was only the beginning of the fun when it comes to the food. Our starter was, “Seared tuna served with chat potatoes, kalamata olives, red onion and pickled cucumber.” For the main course, I elected to have the “Stir fried Hokkien Noodles with Fried Hoki Fillet served with grilled prawns, kailan and yuzo soy sauce.” Dessert was a “White Chocolate Passion Fruit Mousse”.

Unlike some airlines that offer an array of choices, having just one starter (appetizer for the Americans) and one dessert didn’t bother me at all. It actually took the choice out of it, which was kinda nice. Overall, the food was extremely delicious! Asian noodles are usually foolproof on a flight. Dessert was more bland, but I like a big bang of sweet and this catered more to everyone by not being too hardcore.

Fatboy Fat!

Since it was a day service I had no intention of sleeping, so I basically ate everything I possibly could. I also decided to check out the Lego Movie, which is hilarious and still relevant today since we have that US President back in office again. Sigh.

To keep myself occupied I basically ate all the snacky things, all in the name of trying them. All fine, even the Salted Egg Yolk Crisps would get another go. Alas, all good things come to an end and we had to land in KUL and end this dreamy little flight.

Overall Thoughts

What is not to love about the Malaysia Airlines A330-900neo? A world class business class seat coupled with excellent dining, the famous satay service, signature drinks and just lovely crew makes it a very attractive package indeed.

I’m actually sorry I had not flown with the airline in the past. Considering how many times in the past 20 years I’ve had to go back and forth to Australia (err, something like 18), having not used MH probably means they were too expensive for my budget.

Now I’ve experienced the joy, I’ll most certainly consider them among my top choices in future. What do you think of MH and the A330-900neo? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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