Two industry sources said Airbus has completely canceled Qatar Airways’ A350 order, cutting all new dealings with the airline, in the latest development in their safety and contract dispute.
The two airlines have been locked in a rare public dispute for months over the condition of more than 20 long-haul planes that Qatar Airways says could pose a risk to passengers and Airbus says are perfectly safe.
Qatar Airways was the first airline to use the plane in 2015, and it is currently claiming at least $1.4 billion in compensation from Airbus after the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority suspended nearly half of its fleet of A350s due to surface damage. outer plane.
Qatar Airways refused to take delivery of more A350s until it received a deeper explanation for the damage or stripping of parts of the lightning fibers as a result of peeling paint.
Airbus, backed by European aviation authorities, acknowledged the existence of quality problems with the A350, but denied any safety risks as a result of voids in the underlying protection layer, stressing that the plane had a great deal of protection.
So far, the dispute has had a partial impact on the record of orders for Europe’s largest twin-engined aircraft, as initially Airbus, and then Qatar Airways, ended the use of some of the aircraft.
But now Airbus, the A350’s biggest customer, has notified it has canceled the rest of the deal, said the two sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
At the end of June, the planemaker had pending orders from Qatar Airways for 19 of the larger version of the plane, the 350-seat A350-1000 that cost at least $7 billion at list price, or nearly three. Billions of dollars after traditional sector discounts. (Archyde.com)