The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has had a wide range of ramifications for the commercial aviation industry, with operations at major hubs in the region, such as Dubai International Airport (DXB), being severely restricted against the volatile backdrop of geopolitical tensions. At face value, this would most obviously impact airlines from the region itself, who use these hubs to connect their countries to destinations all around the world.

However, when we dive deeper into the data, we can see that the impacts are much more diverse than is immediately apparent on the surface, with airlines whose ultra-long-haul flights make stopovers in the region also affected. Royal Brunei Airlines is one such carrier, as its flights from Brunei (BWN) to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) typically stop en route in Dubai. Now, however, they are having to run nonstop until at least late April.

The Nonstop Flights Were Initially Only Set To Run Until Late March

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As hostilities boiled over in the Middle East, Royal Brunei Airlines was one of many carriers serving the region that had to have an operational rethink. This resulted in the airline announcing on March 6 that, from March 10 to 28, its flights between Brunei and London would operate without their usual stopover in Brunei. This, the carrier said, allows it to “maintain connectivity for passengers travelling between the two destinations.”

These flights are operating three times a week, and, now, as reported by Aero Routes, their omission of Dubai has been extended until April 30. Royal Brunei Airlines’ aircraft of choice for these flights is the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, with present fleet data made available by ch-aviation showing that the carrier currently has five examples of this short-fuselage widebody twinjet at its disposal, aged 11.4 years old on average. The airline concludes:

“The adjustment enables Royal Brunei Airlines to maintain connectivity for passengers travelling between Brunei Darussalam and the United Kingdom while continuing to prioritise the safety of passengers and crew.”

Overnight Operations In Both Directions

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According to Aero Routes, Royal Brunei Airlines’ thrice-weekly nonstop flights from Brunei to London Heathrow Airport will depart from its main hub on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, just before 9:00 pm local time (with slight variations depending on the exact day). Operating overnight, they will reach London Heathrow just after 6:00 am the next day, before leaving at 5:15 pm and touching back down in Brunei at 3:45 pm local time a day later.

As previously noted, the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner serves this route. These aircraft are Royal Brunei Airlines’ only widebodies, having replaced older Boeing 777-200ER jets. According to present fleet data made available by aeroLOPA, they are configured in a two-class layout that has space for 254 guests.

This setup is relatively dense, with only 18 of these passengers seated in the business class cabin. Here, there are three rows of flatbeds laid out six-abreast in a 2-2-2 configuration, which now seems somewhat dated due to the lack of direct aisle access for window seat passengers. Meanwhile, the remainder of the aircraft is configured with a grand total of 236 economy class seats in the usual 3-3-3 layout, with this cabin split into two sections.

Related

Royal Brunei’s Small But Mighty Boeing 787 Fleet: Everything You Need To Know

The carrier currently operates the Dreamliner’s smallest variant, but this is set to change.

What Are Heathrow’s Other Longest Nonstop Routes?

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Flying from Brunei to London, these flights have a maximum block time of 16 hours and 45 minutes, making them Heathrow’s second-longest nonstop services. Per Cirium, an aviation analytics company, the only route where this block time is exceeded is Qantas’ corridor from Perth Airport (PER), with its direct flights from Western Australia to the British capital taking up to 17 hours and 30 minutes. The eastbound leg to Perth is 50 minutes shorter.

Completing the podium is the British Airways route from Heathrow to Santiago (SCL) in Chile, which sits in third place with a maximum block time of 15 hours and 35 minutes on the westbound leg. Elsewhere, it can take up to 15 hours and 10 minutes to fly from Taipei (TPE) to Heathrow, with services from Hong Kong (HKG), Seoul (ICN), Shanghai (PVG), and Tokyo (HND) maxing out at between 14 hours 30 and 14 hours and 50 minutes.