The carrier is ending a 20-year absence from Australia’s second-largest city with a daily Boeing 787-9 service via Kuala Lumpur — timed for the Australian Open and the Melbourne Grand Prix.
British Airways will launch daily Boeing 787-9 service to Melbourne, Australia, beginning in January, marking the carrier’s first scheduled flights to the city in two decades.
The new route, operating as flight BA33, will depart London Heathrow at 9:10 p.m., with the 787-9 overnighting in Kuala Lumpur before continuing to Melbourne, arriving at 6:40 a.m. local time—roughly 33 hours after leaving London. Tickets are scheduled to go on sale from late March.
The service will be an extension of the airline’s existing London Heathrow–Kuala Lumpur route, with the 787-9 continuing onward to Melbourne after the stopover. The return leg, BA34, departs Melbourne at 4:35 p.m., connects through Kuala Lumpur, and arrives at London Heathrow at 5:20 a.m. the next day.
The Boeing 787-9 will operate in a four-class configuration on the route: World Traveller (economy), World Traveller Plus (premium economy), Club World (business class), and First.
British Airways cited growing tensions in the Middle East as a factor in the decision, saying the instability had prompted the airline to reconsider its operations and explore alternative markets. The Melbourne launch expands the carrier’s long-haul network by 9%.
Neil Chernoff, British Airways’ Chief Planning and Strategy Officer, said the carrier was moving forward with a substantial expansion of its flying program.
“We’re delighted to announce sizeable growth to our flying schedule for winter 2026, including two notable new destinations that I’m confident will prove popular with our customers. We’re also increasing services across several high-demand routes around the world,” Chernoff said.
The Melbourne service will complement British Airways’ existing daily Australia route to Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport, which connects through Singapore. The timing of the new Melbourne launch is designed to coincide with two of the city’s highest-profile annual events: the Australian Open tennis tournament and the Melbourne Grand Prix.
With the addition of the new service, British Airways will become the third European carrier operating scheduled flights at Melbourne Airport. Turkish Airlines already serves the airport on a route to Istanbul via Singapore, while Finnair is scheduled to begin Helsinki service via Bangkok later this year.
Melbourne Airport handled more than 36 million passengers last year, with 11 million of those traveling internationally. The airport is seeing a significant wave of new international service: Indonesia AirAsia is set to debut at Melbourne from Bali on March 20; Finnair will commence operations on Oct. 26; and Jetstar is scheduled to launch Australia’s first low-cost international service to Sri Lanka’s Bandaranaike International Colombo Airport on Aug. 25.
SriLankan Airlines will also increase its Melbourne frequency from a daily service to 10 flights per week beginning Aug. 2. Additionally, Maldivian will offer charter flights between Malé and Melbourne through a partnership with online travel agent Luxury Escapes, starting May 17.
Beyond the Melbourne announcement, British Airways said it plans to launch a new non-stop service to Colombo, and increase capacity on routes to South Africa, Japan, St. Lucia, Costa Rica, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, India, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.
Key Takeaways
- British Airways is resuming Melbourne service in January for the first time in 20 years, operating daily Boeing 787-9 flights via Kuala Lumpur, with tickets on sale from late March.
- The Boeing 787-9 will offer four cabins — economy, premium economy, business class, and First — on the London Heathrow–Kuala Lumpur–Melbourne routing.
- Middle East instability influenced the decision, with British Airways citing the need to explore alternative markets as part of a 9% long-haul network expansion for winter 2026.
- British Airways becomes the third European carrier at Melbourne Airport, joining Turkish Airlines and Finnair as the airport undergoes a broad surge in new international service.
- The winter 2026 expansion extends beyond Melbourne, adding non-stop Colombo service and increasing capacity across more than 10 existing routes, including those serving the United States.
