“Kuala Lumpur’s stunning skyline offers the best of both old and new, with skyscrapers, minarets and Mughal-style domes forming the city’s architecture.” So says British Airways in the launch of a revived route between London Heathrow and the Malaysian capital – a connection it first served in 1956.
However, everyone hoping to fly BA33 for warmer winter temperatures is learning that their flights have been canceled this weekend. They are among nearly 200,000 potential passengers whose plans were disrupted by “delays in the delivery of Rolls-Royce’s engines and parts to British Airways.”
BA, and therefore its passengers, have had a difficult summer. Hundreds of flights were canceled in a short time. Routes served by the Airbus 380 have been hit particularly hard, with repeated cancellations or substitutions of smaller aircraft; The second occurred on Saturday while traveling to and from Boston.
British Airways is also facing shortages in its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet. BA has made wholesale cuts to its route network this winter to boost the resilience of an operation creaking under summer pressure.
To reduce the number of short-notice cancellations, the airline is offering long-notice cancellations, freeing up the equivalent of three long-haul, wide-body aircraft each day between November/December and March/April.
The Heathrow-Kuala Lumpur link is one of the casualties and the revival of the route has been postponed until April 2025. People who have already booked will be given the option to switch to Malaysia Airlines or get a full refund. The same choice awaits passengers booking on BA’s daily London Gatwick-New York JFK schedule; this has arguably been the airline’s most “on/off” route on the schedule over the past few decades; It is closed between 12 December and the end of March 2025. Instead, British Airways has eight daily flights from Heathrow to JFK, the airline’s main intercontinental route.
Chances are no one will notice the third winter cancellation: one of BA’s two daily London Heathrow-Doha connections will be cancelled. There should be plenty of space as Qatar Airways (part owner of BA) offers eight departures on the route on aircraft up to an Airbus A380. But aircraft problems mean fewer options and higher prices for passengers.
Even if British Airways only sends a few dozen passengers a day to each of Qatar Airways’ departures, fares will rise and availability will drop for the rest of us. The same goes for Malaysia Airlines, which will pick up BA passengers whose launch of flights from Heathrow to Kuala Lumpur is said to have been canceled for now. With London-New York at capacity, the withdrawal of more than 300 seats will make Christmas and New Year flights even more expensive.
British Airways explains the problems it has faced: “We are disappointed to have to make further changes to our schedule as we continue to experience delays in the delivery of engines and parts from Rolls-Royce, particularly the delivery of engines and parts. A Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine was installed on our 787 aircraft.
“We took this action because we do not believe the issue will be resolved quickly and we want to offer our customers the certainty they deserve for their travel plans.
“We continue to work closely with Rolls-Royce to ensure the company is aware of the impact its issues are having on our program and our customers and seek assurance of a rapid and reliable resolution.”
A Rolls-Royce spokesperson responded by saying: “We continue to work with British Airways and all our customers to minimize the impact of limited spare parts availability due to current supply chain constraints.
“Unfortunately, this is an issue that affects the entire aerospace industry,” he said.
Globally, things are likely to get worse before they get better. Boeing has experienced extreme business turbulence since selling Boeing 737 Max jets with built-in lethal capabilities to Indonesia’s Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines, leading to the tragic loss of 346 people. Aircraft construction processes are examined by aviation authorities. And a month ago a long and fierce strike of machinists (engineers) began, and the production of urgently needed new aircraft was stopped.
On Friday, Boeing’s new CEO, Kelly Ortberg, announced that one in 10 workers will lose their job and that the first Boeing 777Xs will be delayed until 2026, a staggering six years behind schedule.
Hundreds of last-generation long-haul jets, from Boeing 747s to Airbus A340s, are aging mostly in the desert. Some may even find buyers as airlines try to fill gaps in their schedules.
In the meantime, it’s time to replace intercontinental travel with shorter distances; ideally by trains and ships, not planes.
Simon Calder, also known as The Man Who Pays His Way, has been writing about travel for The Independent since 1994. His weekly opinion column explores an important travel topic and what it means for you.