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British Airways has said it plans to cancel hundreds of long-haul flights from its winter schedule as it suffers aircraft shortages caused by delays in receiving spare parts.
The airline on Friday said it was delaying the launch of a new Heathrow to Kuala Lumpur route, and suspending one flight a day between London Gatwick and New York and between London Heathrow and Doha.
The UK flag carrier, part of International Airlines Group, blamed the wave of cancellations on “delays to the delivery of engines and parts” from Rolls-Royce, the aero-engine maker. The problems were particularly related to the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines fitted to its long-haul Boeing 787 aircraft, it added.
The disruption represents the latest problem for an airline that has struggled with its operational performance since the end of Covid-19 pandemic travel restrictions in 2022.
Flight delays and cancellations to and from the airline’s London hub at Heathrow have doubled since the pandemic, a Financial Times analysis of data from the UK aviation regulator has shown.
BA bosses accept that the airline must improve its reliability. But the carrier has also said it has little direct control over many of the problems that have combined to knock its operations.
These also include air traffic control delays, which have shot up since the pandemic.
The latest supply chain problems have left about five of BA’s 40-strong fleet of 787s grounded, meaning it does not have enough aircraft to fly its published schedule.
On top of delayed deliveries from Rolls-Royce, some engines have also needed to be replaced more quickly than expected.
BA had been using standby Boeing 777 aircraft to fill the gaps, but these now need to receive routine maintenance, further adding to the operational disruption.
“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,” BA said in a statement.
The airline added that it had ensured Rolls-Royce was “aware of the impact” its issues were having on the airline’s schedule and customers.
It said it was seeking “reassurance of a prompt and reliable solution”.
The engine maker said last month that it was continuing to work with BA and all of its customers to “minimise the impact” of the limited availability of spare parts, caused by supply chain constraints.
“Unfortunately, this is an issue affecting the whole aerospace industry,” the company said.
Rolls-Royce said earlier this year that it would spend £1bn over the next five years on a series of improvement upgrades across the Trent family of engines to improve fuel burn and durability.