A UK judge has ruled that the dispute between Qatar Airways and Airbus over the paint work on the A350 aircraft will move to trial – set for summer 2021. Qatar Airways is seeking $1bn in compensation over its claims that paint erosion forced the grounding of the airline’ A350 fleet.
Qatar Airways has welcomed court’s decision. “We entered into this process to secure an expedited trial and early disclosure from Airbus that will give us an insight into the true nature of surface degradation affecting the A350s,” said the airline in a statement. “We will finally be able to assess the cause of the damage to our aircraft and the expedited trial will provide a swift resolution of this unprecedented dispute.”
The judge refused to order the Airbus to stop trying to deliver more A350s to Qatar Airways or from re-selling the undelivered aircraft – a positive development for the airframe manufacturer.