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EXCLUSIVE: British Airways cancels return to Kuala Lumpur with four weeks notice

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British Airways was due to restart two routes to Asia this winter – Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.

Bangkok is going ahead, with flights starting on 28th October.

Kuala Lumpur, which was due to launch on 10th November, seems to have hit the buffers.

EDIT: Whilst a few days old, we are keeping this article pinned to the top of the home page because of the amount of discussion in the comments about BA’s ‘issues’ over rerouting passengers.

British Airways drops Kuala Lumpur flights

Earlier this afternoon the flights were showing as bookable:

British Airways drops Kuala Lumpur flights

…. but five minutes ago it changed to this:

British Airways drops Kuala Lumpur flights

No flights are available until 1st April 2025.

Cancelling a route with less than a months notice is clearly not great news for anyone. However, with oneworld partner Malaysia Airlines offering double-daily flights from Heathrow, it should be possible to get most people on a same-day alternative.

Our 2022 review of the Malaysia Airlines service in business class is here.

Qatar Airways is also likely to be an option due to BA’s joint venture agreement. In fact, it is possible that BA tries to push Qatar Airways as its preferred alternative.

Note that it will take BA a few days to hammer out a formal rebooking arrangement with Malaysian. If you call today you will be offered an indirect alternative.

Why have the flights been pulled?

British Airways told us:

We’re disappointed that we’ve had such to make further changes to our schedule as we continue to experience delays to the delivery of engines and parts from Rolls-Royce – particularly in relation to the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines fitted to our 787 aircraft.

We’ve taken this action because we do not believe the issue will be solved quickly, and we want to offer our customers the certainty they deserve for their travel plans. We’ve apologised to those affected and are able to offer the vast majority a flight the same day with British Airways or one of our partner airlines. 

We continue to work closely with Rolls-Royce to ensure the company is aware of the impact its issues are having on our schedule and customers, and seek reassurance of a prompt and reliable solution.

In terms of ‘why KL?’, competition is probably part of it. Malaysia Airlines offers a decent product on the route which also allows flyers to earn Avios and British Airways Executive Club tier points.

BA’s shortage of A380 aircraft is also likely to be a factor. As we have covered, the fleet is proving very unreliable.

Kuala Lumpur was scheduled as a daily service on a Boeing 787-9, which was a heavy commitment in terms of aircraft. Pulling what was always going to be a low yield route is a relatively low cost way of building some resilience in the schedule.

Let’s hope the 1st April 2025 date is firm.

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Comments (644)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • HampshireHog says:
    11 Oct11 October 16:58

    I suppose if it gives the fleet some resilience it’s good news

  • SamG says:
    11 Oct11 October 16:59

    Fares seemed very soft – was very inexpensive in the recent sales especially in Nov / Dec

  • Alex G says:
    11 Oct11 October 16:59

    The problem with the 787s isn’t the refurb, its the RR engines.

    https://simpleflying.com/british-airways-admits-problems-rolls-royce-engines/

  • Phantomchickenz says:
    11 Oct11 October 17:00

    Are flights from 1st April expected to be non-seasonal (ie throughout the year)?

  • meta says:
    11 Oct11 October 17:02

    It’s to do with Rolls Royce Trent-1000 engines. Second daily to Doha was also cancelled (due to be on 787-9) for December.

    Here’s the second part of the email received earlier today:

    “Every airline relies on its suppliers and manufacturing partners to ensure it is able to maintain its aircraft so that they can operate as planned. Safety is always the number one priority. Unfortunately, Rolls-Royce, our engine supplier for our fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft, is experiencing challenges, resulting in the late delivery of its Trent 1000 engines. This means we currently have 787 aircraft on the ground and unable to fly. We’re not the only airline experiencing this issue and are doing all we can to work with Rolls-Royce to resolve the situation.

    Unfortunately, the impact extends beyond our 787 aircraft. For the last few months we’ve been using standby aircraft from our 777 fleet to avoid cancellations by switching flights that would have been operated by some of our unavailable 787s. The increased usage of these aircraft means we now need to ensure they have sufficient downtime to recover and receive routine maintenance, and therefore some of our 777 flying is also being impacted by the 787 issues.

    We’re incredibly disappointed and sorry to be in this position, and that it has led to the cancellation of your flight and has had an impact on you. We know this will be extremely frustrating, but we wanted to give you as much notice as possible of this issue and work together to find a suitable resolution.”

  • SamG says:
    11 Oct11 October 17:02

    BA have not published rebooking guidelines yet so I’d suggest those impacted sit tight for a few days as I suspect there may be a rebooking agreement with Malaysian Airlines on the direct flights

  • Paul says:
    11 Oct11 October 17:04

    BA and Asia are not a good mix. Historically their commitment to routes is woeful and actions such as this go down very badly in local markets, let alone the upset caused to many here in the UK.

    The A380 is a disaster unless you are keen on UK261 compensation. Indeed pushing to be re accommodated on the BA11 might just get some people their fare back given its appalling record.

    It simply reinforces for me the need to avoid BA long haul as I have done now since 2017. Overall pretty poor but typical of the carrier.

    • Chris W says:
      11 Oct11 October 18:16

      Why doesn’t BA just funnel as many people to Doha as possible and let Qatar take care of the rest?

      • LittleNick says:
        11 Oct11 October 20:10

        Perhaps because some booked non-stop and would rather not have a stop halfway through

    • Mikeact says:
      12 Oct12 October 08:20

      Since 2017 ? But you’re on here regularly, so it can’t all be ‘pretty poor but typical. ‘

  • ZW says:
    11 Oct11 October 17:05

    My Christmas flights to Doha on 787 were cancelled this morning. Just few hours after the cancellation email, I also got an additional email from BA, saying

    “ Unfortunately, Rolls-Royce, our engine supplier for our fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft, is experiencing challenges, resulting in the late delivery of its Trent 1000 engines. This means we currently have 787 aircraft on the ground and unable to fly. We’re not the only airline experiencing this issue and are doing all we can to work with Rolls-Royce to resolve the situation.”

    • ZW says:
      11 Oct11 October 17:11

      After a quick call to BA, I was booked on Qatar’s A350, Qsuite if they don’t swap aircraft. I don’t mind the cancellation and rebooking tbh. But I was initially rebooked into P class, with no lounge access, so I had to call again, to be rebooked into R. Anyone having the same issue and reading this comment may want to ask the agent what booking class they get rebooked into, and ask for R or lounge access if the agent isn’t aware that Qatar doesn’t offer lounge for business P class tickets.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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