Qantas A330 Business Class Review

On a recent trip from Honolulu we flew on Qantas A330 Business Class cabin. Although you can’t fly in Qantas A330 ex. New Zealand, they offer it ex. Sydney or Melbourne via a transit through Asia which is useful for a oneworld Round the World trip.

Having flown in this aircraft and class before, from Sydney to Tokyo, we were excited to see how it compares this time.

Qantas A330 Business Class Cabin Layout

Qantas A330 Business Class cabins are configured in a 1-2-1 layout, alternating between the open and closed off footwell. Our advice for when booking these Business suite seats, is to choose the open option if you are less mobile or the closed in option if you wish for additional storage. We find that a big draw back from the Qantas A330 Business Class cabin are the fixed dividers. 

With a total of 28 seats, the Business Suites offer ample storage space but provide an overall relatively standard in-flight experience.

We noticed the amenity kits from our last Qantas A330 Business Class flight have been updated and include a bamboo toothbrush, toothpaste, wellness set, dental kit, ear plugs, eye mask and socks all with an added sustainable touch. These new amenity kits are quite nice without feeling particularly luxurious and claim to be Qantas’ most sustainable kit yet.

Upon boarding with priority check-in, Qantas provides all Business Class passengers with a pillow and blanket, which pairs with a fully Flat Bed for when passengers decide to take a nap during their flight.

Our flight experience was relatively bumpy throughout travelling over the Pacific, however the captain never put the seatbelt sign on or updated travellers about the turbulence, which we found to be quite odd.

Unfortunately as we flew a predominantly day flight, pyjamas weren’t offered on board. Unbranded noise-cancelling headphones are provided on board with decent audio quality and a comfortable padded headband.

We found that there was a reasonable lack of content via the entertainment devices in the humour category with standard TV shows such as The Office, Brooklyn 99, Modern Family, not featured. Whether it was because they can be classified as remotely offensive, we found many classic comedy films and shows avoided. There were a lot of marvel movies and strangely, a large selection of horror films.

Food And Beverage Options Onboard Qantas A330

Meals provided in Qantas A330 Business Class were overall nice and tend to lean towards Asian fusion – a common theme with Qantas inflight menus it seems.

The biggest gripe we found on both our A330 flights is that meal service took in excess of 3 hours from start to finish. Whilst we don’t wish to be rushed during our inflight dining like some flights and carriers tend to do, more than 90 minutes for 3 courses is excessive.

Considering the time to level off at altitude, completing the meal service within 2 hours of take off should be a reasonable amount of time but we found that the entire service seemed to take a very long time.

We appreciated that Qantas has returned reasonably sized desserts, via a cart service – which wasn’t just an ice-cream like domestic flights – but more to a Business Class standard. 

Qantas A330 Business Class also feature plant based options on the main menu, although seemingly this takes up an option from the ‘regular’ menu – that would otherwise be a special meal order.

We didn’t find this to be a bad thing, however if your first preference isn’t plant based, or you prefer only ‘meat focused’ meals, then you would be choosing from one less meal option. 

Complimentary beverages such as Australian wines, beers, spirits are provided inflight. However it is important to note that wines aren’t individually listed, and you will need to ask a cabin crew member for the specific brands/type.

Qantas A330 Business Class Summary  

Flying Qantas A330 Business Class from Honolulu to Sydney provided a mixed experience. While the cabin layout and updated amenities offered comfort, drawbacks like fixed dividers and lengthy meal service were evident.

We found the lack of comedial entertainment inflight to be disappointing and would suggest that Qantas expands its range of inflight movies and shows to cater to a bigger audience. Food was good overall and the range of complimentary beverages available was also nice. 

If you’re looking to fly Business Class out of New Zealand, either with Qantas or another carrier, check out our latest airfare deals or alternatively submit an enquiry to one of our airfare specialists.Read our other recent Qantas reviews: Qantas First Class Lounge LAX , Qantas A380 Business Class Review