Royal Brunei will no longer operate nonstop between London and Bandar Seri Begawan.

Effective November 1 Royal Brunei will operate to Bandar via Dubai, as it did until 2018.

It is expected to gain fifth-freedom rights between London-Dubai and vice versa as happened before.
It means that if approved, Royal Brunei will doubtless offer keen fares through the travel trade.

This is good news for economy-minded corporate travellers and the many expats based in the UAE.

Thrice weekly schedules by B787 are:

BI 98 London Heathrow-Dubai 1700-0415 (following day)

BI 98 Dubai-Bandar Seri Begawan 0545-1730

BI 97 Bandar Seri Begawan-Dubai   2025-0110 (following day)

BI 97 Dubai-London Heathrow 0300-0720

Note that flights depart London every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Flights depart Bandar Seri Begawan every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Why stop en-route when its B787 can fly nonstop?

I suspect it’s because Royal Brunei can spread its risks by covering two destinations with one flight.

Secondly, making an en-route stop means better fuel consumption because each sector is what the former CEO of Air Asia X (Osman bin Rani) said was the “sweet spot” [for efficient fuel consumption].