Review: Aircalin Business Class Airbus A330neo (CDG-BKK)

For the next segment of my exotic journey to Bangkok via Paris, I flew Aircalin’s Airbus A330-900neo business class (often branded as Business Hibiscus) on the 11hr5min flight from Paris (CDG) to Bangkok (BKK).

I was ridiculously excited about this flight, which is something that only fellow aviation geeks may appreciate. I’ve been wanting to fly with Aircalin, the flag carrier of New Caledonia (a French overseas territory) for as long as I can remember.

Currently the airline operates a route from Noumea (NOU) to Paris (CDG) via Bangkok (BKK), and the airline can transport passengers exclusively between Paris and Bangkok (it’s not a fifth freedom flight, since Aircalin is based in a French overseas territory, but it’s a cool route nonetheless).

While I was absolutely overjoyed to take the flight, I came away from the experience with a lukewarm impression. The crew was generally friendly, and I’d say otherwise the product was pretty average, with some highs (bedding) and some lows (entertainment & Wi-Fi).

While the market between Paris and Bangkok is competitive, it’s worth acknowledging that Aircalin otherwise operates in some pretty uncompetitive markets, given that it dominates New Caledonia. So I’m happy I had the experience, and I’d gladly fly the airline again if traveling to New Caledonia, though I also don’t feel like I need to seek out this experience again.

How I booked my Aircalin business class ticket

For this portion of the trip, I redeemed Air France-KLM Flying Blue miles, given that Flying Blue is a partner of Aircalin. Specifically, I booked the following for 105,500 miles plus $474.40 in taxes & fees:

11/19 SB501 Paris to Bangkok departing 8:50PM arriving 2:25PM (+1 day)

Admittedly this award pricing is very steep, and the taxes and carrier imposed surcharges are also on the high side. However, Aircalin’s business class is a product that has interested me for so long, so when I saw availability, I couldn’t help but book. Besides, I acquired the Flying Blue miles with a transfer bonus, so that takes out some of the sting.

Aircalin business class lounge & boarding

In the previous installment, I reviewed the Primeclass Lounge Paris, which is where Aircalin sends its business class passengers. It’s not a great lounge, but at least this part of the terminal tends to be quiet in the evenings.

My flight was departing from gate A45, with boarding scheduled for 8:10PM, 40 minutes before departure. However, boarding ended up being delayed by around 25 minutes due to “cabin preparations” (despite the inbound flight arriving early), and actually started at 8:35PM. Business class passengers were invited to board first.

Aircalin A330neo business class cabin & seats

I boarded the flight through the second set of doors, where I was greeted by the friendly crew and pointed left into business class. Aircalin’s A330-900neos boast a total of 26 business class seats, spread across seven rows, in a 1-2-1 configuration.

The airline has seating based on the Stelia Opal platform, which is in a staggered layout. This is intended to be a fairly efficient product, and on top of that, the narrower fuselage of the A330 means that everything just feels a bit tighter than on some other wide body planes.

If you’re traveling with someone, you may want to select the “honeymoon” seats in the center section, which you’ll find in every other row. These seats are really close to one another and have more separation from the aisle. The good news is that if you end up in one of these seats next to a stranger, there’s a substantial partition that can be raised.

I’d argue that the worst seats in business class are the center seats in every other row, which are closer to the aisle. These seats have the least privacy of any seats on the plane, and also don’t have the benefit of being near a window.

Along the windows, in every other row you’ll find seats that are closer to the aisle, and it can be hard to look out the window when seated in these, and it’s also easier to get bumped from the aisle.

I’d argue that the best seats in the house are the “true” window seats, which offer the most separation from the aisle, and also provide a better view right out the window. For example, I assigned myself seat 7A, the window seat on the left side in the last row of business class.

When it comes to features, these seats have a console to the side of the seat. That console has an enclosed storage space, a reading light, an entertainment controller, and a hook for headphones.

You’ll find the panel with seat controls immediately to the side of the seat, and I found it to almost be annoyingly placed, as my elbow kept accidentally hitting these buttons. For that matter, one thing I really don’t like about this product is how the two armrests aren’t equally positioned — the aisle-side one has very awkward placement, in my opinion.

When it comes to charging, the seat has AC and USB-A outlets (though no USB-C or wireless charging), and those are located on a panel to the bottom, side of the seat, which is honestly quite hard to access.

With these seats, the tray table extends from underneath the entertainment screen, and it’s a very long table. On the plus side, it’s pretty sturdy, and it’s easy enough to push forward, in case you need to get up during the meal service.

The seat has an ottoman that’s a good size, which becomes part of the bed when fully reclined.

The A330neo otherwise has a fairly modern cabin, though unfortunately the overhead console only had reading lights, and not individual air nozzles.

All-in-all, this is a perfectly good hard product for the kinds of missions that Aircalin flies. It’s not cutting edge, or anything, but we’re also talking about an airline from a small island in the South Pacific.

Aircalin A330neo business class entertainment & Wi-Fi

In Aircalin’s A330-900neo business class, you’ll find 15.6″ seat back monitors, with audio and video on demand. I found the system as such to be high definition and easy to use.

Unfortunately the actual quality of the programming left a lot to be desired. There were a total of 63 movies and 25 TV shows, plus some audio tracks and games. That’s really quite a small selection, especially since this included programming in multiple languages.

Fortunately the entertainment system had a map and nose camera feature, so I enjoyed that for much of the flight, to keep an eye on the progress.

When it comes to Wi-Fi, Aircalin’s A330-900neos have OnAir inflight connectivity. So while it’s good that there’s connectivity at all, OnAir is about the slowest connectivity that you’ll find. Not only is Wi-Fi very slow, but pricing is also very high.

Business class passengers receive passes for 250 MB of free Wi-Fi. Beyond that, though, you’ll pay $7.50 for 50 MB of data, $11.40 for 100 MB of data, and $23.80 for 250 MB of data. That pricing is on the high side, given that nowadays it’s pretty easy to burn through 250 MB of data in a short period of time.

The one other thing worth mentioning is that there was no connectivity for much of the flight, as OnAir is blocked in certain regions. Then again, it’s nothing new to see Wi-Fi blocked for much of the flight when traveling between Europe and Asia.

I can’t say that the combination of entertainment and Wi-Fi really impressed…

Aircalin business class amenities

There was a great selection of amenities available in Aircalin business class. For one, there was cozy and colorful bedding, including a plush pillow, a substantial duvet, and a mattress pad.

During boarding, the crews immediately offered to put out the mattress pad on the seat, since it can be used for added comfort even when not sleeping.

Also waiting at the seat was a colorful amenity kit designed by a local artist.

The amenity kit had socks, a shoe bag, eyeshades, earplugs, a dental kit, a pen, tissues, cotton pads, and three products from PAYOT.

Speaking of amenity kits, I found it funny how the duty free shop actually had amenity kits for sale, for anyone in economy who might be interested.

Anyway, there were also a pair of headphones, which weren’t particularly high quality for business class.

Some flimsy, unbranded slippers, were also at the seat. While I do appreciate when airlines invest in nice slippers, these do the trick, and serve an important purpose.

Next, there was the menu for the flight, plus a bottle of water.

During boarding, the crew came around with pre-departure drinks, with the choice of champagne, a signature kir royale cocktail, or water. I chose the champagne.

Lastly, vouchers were handed out for 250 MB of free Wi-Fi.

Aircalin A330neo departure from Paris

The boarding process was pretty quick, for the most part. The flight wasn’t totally full, though there were quite a few upgrades during boarding (there seemed to be some Paris station manager, or someone, doing a bunch of family and friend upgrades). While it looked like the flight was initially going to go out around half full in business class, there ended up being just five empty seats.

Almost everyone on the flight was French, though it seemed to be a combination of people looking to vacation in Thailand, plus those traveling to New Caledonia.

I absolutely loved Aircalin’s boarding music, and found it to be very soothing (I can’t find it online, so if anyone knows where the track is, I’d love to hear it again).

At around 9:05PM, 15 minutes after the scheduled departure time, the captain was on the PA to announce that we’d be leaving shortly. He revealed that the flight time would be 11hr5min, and that he anticipated a smooth journey.

The main cabin door closed at 9:10PM, at which point we immediately pushed back. That’s also when the safety video was screened.

Then at 9:15PM we began our taxi, and at 9:30PM we were cleared for takeoff from runway 26R.

We hit some bumps on the initial climb out, and the seatbelt sign stayed on for around 25 minutes.

Aircalin A330neo business class dinner service

On this Aircalin flight, dinner was served after takeoff, and you can find the business class menu below.

You can find the Aircalin business class drink list below.

Side note — I believe Aircalin is one of the few airlines in the world to serve caviar in business class, though that’s only available on some routes. Sadly it wasn’t available on this flight, but instead, I believe it’s offered on the sector to and/or from New Caledonia.

Anyway, service was really slow to get started after takeoff. This is a relatively long overnight flight, but still, it seems like it shouldn’t take so long. I don’t mind if service is a bit drawn out, but I think the key is to get people their first drink ASAP, and then they’re happy waiting a bit longer. But on this flight, it just took long for anything to get started.

Around an hour after takeoff, the purser was in the cabin to take meal orders. Then around 10 minutes after that, the crew came through the cabin to offer drinks. Interestingly, the drinks weren’t poured off a cart, but instead, were run on trays from the galley.

To drink, I ordered a glass of champagne, with Pascal Machet Premier Cru being the option on offer. That was served with a mascarpone and truffle amuse bouche with snap peas.

After the first round of drinks, it was roughly 40 additional minutes before the appetizer was served. The appetizer duo consisted of grilled prawn with Thai sauce, avocado, and lemon tartare, and paprika chicken with green bean and mushroom salad. That was served with a side salad, plus a bread roll.

The two appetizers were quite tasty, though the bread roll was room temperature and hard as a rock, which I found to be an odd miss.

Another 30 minutes after the starter, the main courses were served. Of the four options, I selected the seafood “sauerkraut” with white butter sauce, white cabbage, and potatoes. I ordered this dish out of intrigue (I had never had this type of a sauerkraut dish before), and it was… exactly as expected. It wasn’t great, but wasn’t awful.

A little under three hours after takeoff, the crew passed through the cabin with a dessert trolley. I was offered both the desserts (the upside-down and royal chocolate cake), plus a cheese plate, all of which were tasty.

All-in-all, the food was pretty good. It was nothing memorable, but it also didn’t disappoint. The only thing I’d say is that the pace of service could’ve been faster, and also, heating up bread rolls shouldn’t be that complicated.

Aircalin A330neo business class lavatories

After the meal, I checked out the business class lavatory on the Aircalin A330-900neo. There’s one primary business class lavatory in front of the cabin, by the flight deck. The lavatory was pretty basic, and had nothing in the way of special amenities, and also wasn’t kept terribly clean during the flight.

I should also mention that there were some small snacks set up in the forward galley, including sweet and savory items, that passengers could help themselves to.

There are also two lavatories behind business class, but they’re shared with economy.

Aircalin A330neo business class bed

Once back at my seat, it was time to get some rest, so I reclined my seat into bed mode. I find this to be a reasonably comfortable product, in the sense that it’s not too hard to get cozy as a side sleeper. Now, it’s definitely a bit on the tight side, more for the seat itself than the ottoman.

Furthermore, I wish that the armrest on the window-side of the seat would go down, since it would make the sleeping surface feel more comfortable. But on balance, it’s a perfectly fine product.

I managed to fall asleep with around eight hours remaining to Bangkok, while passing over the Black Sea.

I then woke up with a little over three hours remaining to Bangkok. Unfortunately at this point the map feature became stuck, and just stayed over Pakistan for the rest of the flight, so I’m not sure what exactly happened there.

While I got a decent bit of rest by my standards, it wasn’t great sleep, as I found the cabin to be really warm. The lack of individual air nozzles made it hard to stay cool.

Aircalin business class cabin breakfast

Upon waking up, I first ordered an espresso, which was served with a side of powdered creamer.

A little under two hours before arrival, the crew turned on the lights in the cabin, and got started with the breakfast service. You can find the breakfast menu below.

To kick off the service, the crew first passed through the cabin with some berry smoothies.

I chose the American breakfast option, which was all served on one tray. The main course included a frittata with potatoes, zucchini, and tomatoes. It definitely wasn’t the most appealing-looking dish, but it actually tasted quite good.

That was served with a basic side of fruit, yogurt, and broken granola cookie cereal (yowzers, cookie cereal!). Then there was a selection of bread, including a roll, a croissant, and a chocolate pastry.

Aircalin business class service

The crew working business class on Aircalin was generally polite, engaging, and well intentioned. Now, I wouldn’t describe them as being terribly polished, but again, I don’t necessarily expect that from a tiny airline from a small South Pacific island.

My minor criticisms of the service all involve the crew just not being very proactive, plus a generally slow pace of service. The crew was happy to fulfill any requests, but it typically required pushing the call button, and often took a little bit longer.

Just as an example, during the meal service, I was never offered a proactive drink refill, even when my glass was empty. But as soon as I asked, they provided it without issue, so it’s not like they had an attitude about it, or anything.

The crew definitely had friendliness and warmth down, I just wish there were slightly more effort into polished service.

Aircalin A330neo arrival in Bangkok

After breakfast, I spent some time just gazing out the window, as views were beautiful, especially over (what I believe was) Myanmar.

At around 2PM Bangkok time, the captain announced that we’d soon be descending. The seatbelt sign was turned on around 2:25PM, as we were well into our descent. Our approach to Bangkok had us flying past Suvarnabhumi Airport to the south, prior to turning back to land into the north.

At 2:40PM, we ended up having a perfectly smooth touchdown on runway 1, where an Emirates A380 was waiting for us to clear the runway.

We then had a short taxi to our arrival gate, where we pulled in at 2:45PM, next to yet another Emirates A380.

Upon deplaning I finally had a good view of the Aircalin A330-900neo… what a pretty livery!

At that point I headed for immigration, which was downright chaotic, though I was through in around an hour. From there it was off to the Ritz-Carlton Bangkok, where I’d be spending the night.

Bottom line

I’m delighted I finally had the chance to fly Aircalin’s Airbus A330-900neo business class, given for how long it has been on my radar. I’d describe the experience as ultimately being anti-climactic. On the plus side, I liked the modern and colorful cabin, good bedding, warm service, and decent food.

However, the limited entertainment options, pricey and limited Wi-Fi, and lack of individual air nozzles, detracted from the experience a bit. The crew was also well intentioned but not very polished.

I wouldn’t necessarily seek out Aircalin again, but I’d absolutely love to visit New Caledonia, and would of course consider flying Aircalin to get there.

What’s your take on Aircalin’s A330neo business class?