Cathay Pacific’s A350 Cancellations – If You Are Affected

Cathay Pacific has cancelled 48 flights today due to an engine part failure, involving the Airbus A350. Ultimately I’m glad that the airline is playing safe, though this has affected many flights, including on high-frequency, high-yield regional routes.

Cathay Pacific finds engine fault on A350, inspects jets

On a flight from Hong Kong to Zurich, a fault was found with a fuel nozzle (according to Reuters). Cathay Pacific decided that the best course of action was to pull all A350s out for inspection over the next few days. The flight was aborted, and the aircraft landed back in Hong Kong after a 16-minute circle.

It was quickly identified that a number of parts on other aircraft were due to be replaced, and these aircraft were taken out of service in order to be fitted with replacement parts. Unfortunately this has affected quite a few flights over the next few days.

Cathay Pacific cancels many regional flights

Due to this issue, Cathay Pacific has cancelled flights due to their new aircraft shortage. For Tuesday, September 3rd, here are some observations I’ve made based off quick Google searches:

• Only one of Cathay Pacific’s ten flights to Singapore is operating – including one through Bangkok
• 3 of 7 flights to Bangkok are cancelled (all departing in the morning)
• 3 of 5 flights to Tokyo Narita are cancelled
• 2 of 4 flights to Osaka Kansai are cancelled
• Sydney, Taipei also have cancelled flights

You can find a full list of affected (cancelled) flights here. Most of these routes are high-frequency regional routes, with Singapore being hit the hardest.

Only one of Cathay Pacific’s ten flights to Singapore Changi T4 is operating today

For those affected: be calm and proactive

It’s not the frontline staff’s fault (or even Cathay Pacific’s) that they’re in this situation, so if you’re affected, do remember the importance of being courteous to people you interact with. Especially if you’re in Hong Kong or at an outstation where many flights have been affected, find other ways where you can get to your destination in the time you intend. The airline has waived rebooking fees and refund fees on their website, so ensure that you have checked all of your options first before heading to the airport. Remember that if you’ve booked through a third party, you’ll have to reach them first in order to rebook your flight.

If you’re trying to connect to a phone agent, make sure that you’ve got a workable itinerary in mind. Do only reach out to an agent if Cathay Pacific’s website rebooking options don’t work for you, or you’re having trouble navigating their website. Agents are currently dealing with a high volume of rebookings at the moment, and it’s quite easy to do some research before asking an agent to help enable a new itinerary through their system.

I’m happy to be reached out to if you’d like help with this.

Bottom Line

Cathay Pacific has pulled 48 flights to inspect an engine part on their A350 fleet where a replacement is due. It’s frustrating whenever a flight is cancelled, especially due to operational reasons. However, Cathay Pacific’s website is allowing customers to rebook and cancel flights for free on their website, so if you’re affected, do ensure that you are taking advantage of this before heading to the airport or picking up the phone.