Qatar Airways revealed last week that Airbus had cancelled its order for 50 A321neo aircraft allegedly in response to the airline’s refusal to accept delivery of further A250 aircraft until the issues with its A350 aircraft are solved.
Qatar Airways is currently suing Airbus over what it described as the “accelerated surface degradation” of the A350. The airline released a video late last week showing apparent damage to its aircraft. In a statement Qatar Airways said that the video shows that the “defects are not superficial and one of the defects causes the aircraft’s lightning protection system to be exposed and damaged, another defect leaves the underlying composite structure exposed to moisture and ultraviolet light, and other defects include cracking in the composite and damage around a high percentage of rivets on the aircraft fuselage”.
The airline added that it hoped the court Could “expedite this issue and order a hearing in April in an effort to bring about a more rapid resolution to the dispute”. Further, it again stressed that Airbus must “undertake a thorough investigation of this condition to conclusively establish its full root cause in order to establish whether any proposed repair solution will rectify the underlying condition and ensure no risk to the continued airworthiness of the aircraft”.
Qatar Airways stated that all of its affected aircraft remain grounded, and that it remained unable to accept delivery of further aircraft. “Airbus has responded by seeking to cancel an entirely separate contract for the delivery of 50 A321 Neo aircraft. We confirm that we are adhering to all of our obligations under all applicable contracts. It is therefore a matter of considerable regret and frustration that Airbus has taken the apparent decision to expand and escalate this dispute. We continue to urge Airbus to undertake a satisfactory root cause analysis into the cause of the defects, as it is required to do. Qatar Airways remains prepared to help with the root cause analysis however it can. In the meantime, we will continue to robustly defend our position in the legal proceedings.”