Airbus Updates No.3737

 

Another Qatar Airways A350 Delivery Cancelled By Airbus

Airbus has reportedly canceled a fourth A350 jet due to Qatar Airways. It is the latest move by the big plane builder in their long-running dispute with Qatar Airways centering on damage to the painted surface of the planes. While Airbus stunned the airline industry by cancelling an entire narrowbody order earlier this year, they've been trimming the A350 order one by one as deliveries fall due.

Another move by Airbus in their long-running dispute with Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways has grounded some two dozen A350s amid safety concerns stemming from flaws in the protective painted surface of the planes and is refusing to take delivery of further A350s due until the matter is resolved. The dispute is now before the UK courts. Qatar Airways is suing Airbus for US$1 billion in damages. Airbus has countersued for damages.

According to Airbus delivery data, Qatar Airways has 53 A350 aircraft in its fleet, including 34 A350-900s and 19 A350-1000s. As of May 31, a further 19 A350-1000s remained undelivered. Qatar Airways is a substantial Airbus customer, with 143 aircraft from the plane builder in its fleet. Earlier this year, Airbus canceled an order from Qatar Airways for 50 A321 jets with over $6 billion because of the A350 dispute.

No resolution in sight despite both sides say they'd rather settle out of court

Qatar Airways lost a legal bid in May to halt the A350 delivery schedule and pause due payments. Airbus argues that by refusing deliveries, Qatar Airways has broken its contract with Airbus, leaving the plane maker free to cancel the deliveries as it sees fit. Speaking at the IATA annual general meeting in Doha recently, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker was sanguine about the dispute. He said it wasn't personal and he doesn't have an anti-Airbus agenda. Instead, Mr Al Baker said he hoped ongoing discussions between the two parties would resolve the matter.

Other A350 operators have acknowledged the problem but continue to fly the affected planes. Airbus and European aviation regulators say the aircraft is safe to fly. So far, things haven't really gone Qatar Airways' way in court regarding this matter. Airbus also says it would prefer to settle the dispute out of court.

A piecemeal tactic from Airbus in this dispute

Meanwhile, rather than having Qatar Airways publicly decline to accept the planes at the last minute, Airbus has been canceling deliveries on a per-plane basis. According to Reuters, a fifth A350 is due for delivery later this month and a sixth later this year. Unless the dispute is settled by then - an unlikely prospect - Airbus is likely to cancel delivery of those planes. Reuters cites "three people close to the matter in their report concerning the fourth cancelation." Simple Flying has approached Airbus and Qatar Airways for confirmation and comment.

Some observers have questioned why Airbus doesn't cancel the remaining A350s due in one transaction rather than the current piecemeal process. It is believed the difficulties Airbus faces in placing such a substantial number of the big planes with new customers is behind the current plane-by-plane cancelation strategy.

Airbus and Qatar Airways are due in a UK court on Thursday for a brief mention of the matter. A trial, if it goes ahead, isn't expected until mid-2023.