As part of the trial in an English court over A350 problems, Airbus has asked the judge to penalize Qatar Airways for two A350s that the airline refused to take delivery of. The manufacturer wants, according to Reuters, to be awarded $220 million for the equipment.
Airbus, the European giant is also reportedly seeking to “recover millions of dollars of credits” granted to Qatar. Then, the counter-offensive is the latest development in a dispute over problems with the surface of Airbus’ most modern twin-engine aircraft. Although the dispute has been going on for months, it was only brought to court in January, with Qatar deeming the positions “irreconcilable”.
At the heart of the dispute is the degradation of the A350’s paintwork. Qatar has argued that it “affects the safety and airworthiness of the equipment” due to the deterioration of the anti-lightning matrix incorporated into the model’s composite fuselage. This has led the Qatari regulator to ground 22 of the airline’s fleet of 32 aircraft of the type. Airbus, for its part, reiterated that the planes are safe. And this is thanks to the margins built into the anti-lightning system and accused the regulator of being “not very independent”.
The Airbus presentation, made today, Monday 28, claimed that the airline would gain financially from the pandemic’s drop in demand by stockpiling its units and demanding financial compensation from Airbus. An Airbus spokesman said the brief was “a last resort, and followed many unsuccessful attempts to negotiate solutions with the airline”.
See also: Despite dispute with Airbus, Qatar still wants A321neo aircraft
