A dispute between Airbus and Qatar Airways over paint and surface flaws on A350 jets stretches
beyond the Gulf, with at least five other airlines raising concerns since the high-tech model entered
service. According to internal messages between Airbus and airlines seen by the news agency,
Finnair, Lufthansa, Air France, Etihad Airways, and Cathay Pacific have all
complained about similar issues. Want to know about it?
Well, stay tuned to the video And watch the video till the end.
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Hit the like button to show your support. And in today's video, we are going to discuss “A
New Layer To The A350 Paint Saga.” So without any further ado, Let's begin.
Although the issue is believed to be mainly aesthetic and does not impact aircraft safety,
Qatar Airways and one other unidentified airline have reportedly noted that wiring has also been
damaged, possibly increasing the exposure of the aircraft to inclement weather. Finnair – who was
once Europe’s first A350 operator – reported paint injury only a year after taking its first A350.
Cathay Pacific reported identical issues simply weeks later, and in a single publish stated the
problem have been discovered on an A350 simply two weeks after taking supply. The dispute
started in June of last year when Qatar paused its A350 deliveries and began grounding 21 of its
A350s due to the paint deterioration issues. Airbus has repeatedly denied that the issues
are a safety risk, and other A350 operators have not taken similar action. Since December,
the spat has escalated quickly and dramatically. That month, Qatar sued Airbus in an English court.
Cathay Pacific and Lufthansa confirmed they observed some "cosmetic damage", while Air
Caraibes and Air France reported no issues. The manufacturer conceded that the A350s
experienced "early surface wear" and highlighted it was working to resolve the issue as soon as
possible. The A350, in service since 2015, is designed with ample protection to resist storms
and is deployed around the world with high reliability, Airbus said in an emailed statement.
Asked about gaps in the mesh, it said some airlines were subject to higher swings in
temperatures than others, apparently referring, for example, to desert conditions in Qatar.
Qatar Airways has called for a definitive cause to be identified and a permanent
fix that satisfies its regulator. The Qatar Civil Aviation Authority declined to comment.
“We can confirm that we have experienced some issues with A350 painting,
and have been working together with … Airbus to solve these issues," a Finnair spokesperson said,
adding the problem was “cosmetic, but naturally unfortunate."Cathay Pacific
confirmed some of its A350s had experienced “to some extent cosmetic deterioration."
Lufthansa despatched messages in 2017 pronouncing that spaces of peeling paint have been come upon
on its A350s, some as giant as a meter. The German flag provider had begun repainting
its fleet of A350s in February, ostensibly to use the brand new livery to the plane.
Then again, it was once notable that Airbus was once wearing out the paintings
quite than Lufthansa’s groups, and it was once alleged that the repaint
was once being completed for free underneath guaranty. Qatar Airways currently operates
thirty-four A350-900s and nineteen A350-1000s and has a further twenty-three -1000s on order.
Deliveries of the outstanding aircraft have been suspended pending the resolution of the paint
issue. The airline is the world's second-largest A350 operator behind Singapore Airlines with 56,
the ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows. In total, 35 scheduled carriers
operate A350 Family twinjets. Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific,
which uses a different paint supplier, reported similar problems the same month. In one posting,
it disclosed that problems had been found on an A350 just two weeks after delivery.
Airbus said it was seriously considering seeking an independent legal assessment of the case,
but also said it was open to further discussions to solve the matter,
Qatar Airways has firmly closed the door. “We have sadly failed in all our attempts
to reach a constructive solution with Airbus in relation to the accelerated surface degradation
condition adversely impacting the Airbus A350 aircraft. Qatar Airways has therefore been
left with no alternative but to seek a rapid resolution of this dispute via the courts.”
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