The issue between Airbus and Qatar Airways will be raised in the court later today as the dispute over damage to A350 jetliners descended into a tug-of-war over confidential documents, Reuters reports.
Qatar Airways is suing Airbus over an alleged design defect in the A350 aircraft which the airline claims could be a safety risk. The A350 had suffered damage to the painted surface and anti-lightning system. Airbus has acknowledged the quality flaws but has denied that the design is at fault and insists the jets are safe.
In today’s hearing, the two sides are expected to provide each other with thousands of pages of documentation including maintenance files and engineering analysis, as well as the return of millions of dollars of deposits and Airbus credits.
So far, Qatar Airways has grounded about 53 A350s in its fleet because of surface damage. Last month, Airbus revoked all 19 remaining A350 orders from Qatar Airways, closing off the business for new jets. Apart from this, Airbus also revoked a separate contract for 50 A321neos, stating that the contracts were linked by a cross-default clause.
Qatar Airways subsequently ordered the Boeing 737 MAX and this catapulted arguments over the relative merits of the jets into court, with Airbus unusually saying the MAX was as good as the A321 in a bid to avoid being forced to build the jets for Qatar Airways.
As per the sources, Qatar Airways has been ordered to hand over a preliminary version of the MAX contract to Airbus with restrictions, but Boeing objects to elements of the rare disclosure. Boeing has declined to comment.
Airbus and Qatar Airways both declined to comment ahead of the hearing, which started today (Oct. 14, 2022).