Qatar Airways is seeking damages from Airbus over the planemaker’s judgment to cancel a contract for 50 A321neo jets after the Gulf carrier refused delivery of larger A350s in a row over surface flaws, according to a UK court filing.
Qatar Airways has requested the UK court to
Qatar Airways has requested the UK court to reinstate an order for 50 Airbus A321neo passenger jets that the European planemaker canceled as part of a bitter dispute over the partial grounding of larger A350s, a court filing revealed on Friday.
- Failing that, the Gulf carrier is requesting a UK judge to award the airline unquantified damages over the planemaker’s judgment to withdraw what is defined as a “unique” aircraft as it prepares to receive the 220-seat A321neo from February following year.
Airbus declined to remark on the filing.
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The claim is the latest salvo in a months-old contractual and security dispute that has got relations between two of the industry’s biggest players to an all-time low.
The two sides are at loggerheads over erosion to the painted surface and gaps in lightning safety on A350 jets.
Qatar authorities
- So far, the airline has told Qatar authorities have grounded 21 of its 53 A350s over safety concerns, prompting the airline to sue Airbus for more than $600 million as it prepares for an influx of tourists ahead of this year’s FIFA World Cup.
in the new filing, Qatar Airways announced that a further A350 had been grounded on Feb. 13.
Airbus has recognized quality issues but accused the airline of mislabelling them as security woes to get compensation. European regulators have said the problems do not amount to an airworthiness problem on the jet, which is not grounded elsewhere.
As the A350 row heated up, Airbus last month revoked the order for A321neos, saying Qatar had breached a clause connecting the two agreements. Days later, Qatar set a temporary order for at least 25 competing Boeing 737 MAX. [L1N2U029N]
Despite that, Friday’s filing sang the praises of the Airbus model, saying it had no available equivalent in a section designed to support its request to have the deal reinstated.
London’s High Court to order Airbus
Qatar also requested the division of London’s High Court to order Airbus not to try to resell the A321neos, which are in high demand. Airbus is sold out until 2028 on that model and Qatar would otherwise face “severe trouble,” it told.
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Details of the airline’s claim emerged as Airbus was expected to issue a counter-claim in the A350 dispute. A representative approved Airbus had filed records but declined to provide details ahead of their publication.
The planemaker has insisted in preliminary hearings that the A350 is safe to fly and advanced its interests could be damaged if it were forced to go on and build the A321neos while waiting for the development of a potentially long spat. Even so, Airbus has been ordered to preserve the status quo until a hearing due in April.
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