Chris Price
Fri, October 11, 2024 at 12:27 PM MDT·46 min read
BA canceled the flights because of excessive wear and tear to their Trent 1000 engines - Patrick Pleul/EPA
British Airways scrapped hundreds of long-haul flights as maintenance issues with its Rolls-Royce jet engines grounded aircraft.
The carrier has halted the launch of services to Malaysia, halved frequencies to Qatar and suspended services between Gatwick airport and New York JFK – affecting travel plans for thousands of people.
BA said it was forced into the measures because of excessive wear and tear to the Trent 1000 engines that power its fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets.
Rolls-Royce has been unable to supply enough replacement engines and parts to keep all of the 787s flying, leading five to be grounded. This equates to 15pc of the fleet.
Boeing 777s, which had been standing in for the stricken planes, have also been overworked to such an extent that they too require visits to the workshop.
A BA spokesperson said: “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
“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.”
BA said the launch of a new Heathrow to Kuala Lumpur route will be delayed from November to April next year.
One of two daily trips from Heathrow to Doha will be scrapped until March, while flights from Gatwick to JFK will be suspended from early December for the whole of the winter season.
BA warned there will also be a number of cancellations on other long-haul routes between now and January.
It said the bulk of passengers affected will be accommodated on its own flights, including eight daily services from Heathrow to New York, or with partners including Qatar Airways.
The carrier had already scrapped 11 round-trip services due to the Rolls-Royce issues. It is understood that the situation has been exacerbated by a strike over pay at Boeing, which has held up supplies of some other parts.
BA has started to contact customers whose flights have been cancelled to offer alternative travel arrangements and laying the blame squarely at the door of Rolls.
“Unfortunately, Rolls-Royce, our engine supplier for our fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft, is experiencing challenges,” it said.
“We’re not the only airline experiencing this issue and are doing all we can to work with Rolls-Royce to resolve the situation.”
A Rolls-Royce spokesman said: “We continue to work with British Airways and all of our customers to minimise the impact of the limited availability of spares due to the current supply chain constraints. Unfortunately, this is an issue affecting the whole aerospace industry.”
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