Airbus prevails in court against Qatar Airways
Airbus and Qatar Airways met in the High Court in London to settle the dispute between the two companies over the Qatari airline's decision to reject the A350 model due to alleged safety failures and the subsequent determination of the French airline to respond by refusing to send up to 50 A321neo aircraft to the Gulf carrier.
Airbus has won a court victory in its dispute with Qatar Airways. The British courts on Tuesday refused to ban Airbus from reselling the 50 A321neo aircraft ordered by Qatar Airways to other customers. The resale decision came after the Arab airline refused to take delivery of the A350 model, due to concerns raised by the Arab country's aviation authority over the safety of the aircraft model in relation to alleged surface protection problems.
The judge ruled in favour of Airbus, which had invoked a clause in the contract authorising the cancellation of the order, as Qatar Airways had failed to respect other commitments such as taking delivery of the A350 models, as reported by the AFP news agency.
The airline asked the High Court in London to order Airbus to suspend the effects of the cancellation, ordered in January, of the aircraft shipment. In addition, Qatar Airways was demanding substantial financial compensation.
"Airbus is satisfied with the Court's decision, which recognises its position that transparent and trustful cooperation is essential in our industry," Airbus told AFP.
The aircraft manufacturer will be able to allocate to other airlines the delivery schedules that were originally intended from 2023 to Qatar Airways, which is one of its main customers.
The legal dispute between the two entities arose from the Qatari complaint about defects in the A350XWB model. Qatar Airways grounded 23 A350XWB aircraft due to alleged safety-related damage. The Qatari airline referred to actual alleged safety issues relating to breaches or corrosion in the lightning protection film due to exposure caused by cracked paint.
Qatar Airways indicated that the paint cracking mishap, which leads to erosion of the lightning protection layer surrounding the carbon fuselage, is due to a flaw in the aircraft's design, as reported by Al-Arab.
Deeming that certain defects on the A350s could pose a risk to flight safety, Qatar's civil aviation authority ordered a portion of the fleet to be grounded.
The French airline denied any safety design defects on the A350, although it did acknowledge paint flaws related to the characteristics of modern carbon material aircraft, which need to be repainted in certain surface areas. The European aircraft manufacturer acknowledged problems, but within reason. It also claimed that European regulators indicated that the aircraft were airworthy and that other airlines had not suspended their use, as reported by Al-Arab.