Qatar Airways refused to pay Airbus US$220 million in penalties for not taking delivery of two A350s. According to the airline, no such debt would exist as there was no breach of contract on its part.
The Gulf-based airline claimed in documents filed with the London court, accessed by Bloomberg, that it did not breach its contract with Airbus by refusing to accept two aircraft of the type. It further remarked that the manufacturer would not have adequately explained how it had arrived at that figure.
To recap: Qatar Airways is suing the manufacturer for more than $600 million as a result of paint defects on the A350. On Monday, in a new court filing in the case, the airline said the surface defects could make the aircraft vulnerable to lightning strikes.
It also noted that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which has backed Airbus’ claim that there is no safety issue with the type, has not conducted a «thorough analysis» of the situation, hinting at its position that the European regulator’s decision could be motivated more by politics than technical issues.
Qatar Airways also listed other airlines that have raised concerns about the A350. These include Finnair and Cathay Pacific, which already raised concerns about certain material shedding back in 2016.
The parties also disagree on whether Airbus has effectively probed into the cause of the problem. The manufacturer proposed «a patch» for an aircraft that Qatar said developed faults just a week after it was repaired.
