One consequence of Qatar Airways’ bitter dispute with Airbus over A350 fuselage paint
deterioration has been Airbus’s cancellation of the carrier’s A321neo order, with the
result that the airline is attempting to block the termination.
Airbus has canceled a third Qatar Airways A350-1000 order after the carrier continued
to refuse delivery of any more units of the type until the manufacturer fixes fuselage
paint defects.
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And in today's video, we are going to talk about “Airbus A350 Is The Qatar DESTROYER.”
So without any further ado, Let's begin.
Airbus terminated the contract it had with Qatar Airways for the delivery of an A350.
This is the third aircraft ordered by Qatar to be canceled by the European manufacturer.
In the context of the dispute over alleged problems with the model and after the airline
refused delivery of two units, it was now the manufacturer who refused to send a unit
of the model to the Qatari flag carrier.
Airbus took the exceptionally rare step of halting the order in January in retaliation
for Qatar’s refusal to accept delivery of larger A350s, citing a breakdown in relations
that has the makings of a corporate divorce trial.
Qatar has grounded 23 of the A350 jets, voicing concerns over the safety impact of gaps in
a layer of lightning protection left exposed by cracked and bubbling paint.
It says it will not take further deliveries until the cause is formally explained and
issue Airbus with steadily rising compensation that now exceeds $1 billion.
With so much time already passed with the airline's new-delivery-refusal, some might
ask why these aircraft couldn't have been reallocated to a different customer.
There are two main answers to this question.
Even before aircraft parts make it to the final assembly line, the numerous components
of the jet already have a customer attached to them.
Thus, very early on in the aircraft manufacturing process, it is clear which airline will take
the aircraft to be.
The two sides have wrangled for more than a year over accelerated surface damage that
the airline says raises questions over the safety of the planes, with Qatar's regulator
grounding jets as the problem appears.
Airbus, backed by its own regulator, has denied any safety problems and responded to Qatar's
refusal to take any more A350s until the problem is resolved by revoking deals for undelivered
A350s, one by one, and axing a separate contract for A321neos.
Qatar will on Thursday ask a UK judge to extend a temporary order freezing the decision to
cancel the A321neo order pending a final hearing on the A350 case, expected later this year.
Qatar had 23 A350s, all the -1000 variant, remaining in its backlog before the dispute,
but the airframer has been exercising cancellation rights on individual A350s as each newly-built
aircraft comes up for delivery, three of the twinjets have so far been canceled this way,
and others are likely to follow.
Completed aircraft will probably be offered for sale if the dispute persists.
Airbus is trying to avert a similar situation with the A321neos, preferring to avoid having
to build the aircraft in the first place.
If Qatar Airways obtains an injunction forcing Airbus to continue manufacturing the A321neos,
this could mean that at least three aircraft could have entered final assembly with several
others undergoing earlier manufacturing processes before a final ruling on the dispute.
Should the injunction then be discharged, the work on the A321neos would not only be
wasted but would demand considerable effort to undo.
Removal of seats, for example, would require dismantling galleys and lavatories.
The aircraft would then have to be resold, possibly as distressed airframes.
This is the foundation of the ‘balance of convenience’ legal argument with which Airbus
is trying to persuade the court to rule against granting Qatar’s injunction.
Maintaining the status quo, by not allowing the A321neos to be built carries a lower risk
of injustice to Airbus if Qatar loses the A350 case than proceeding with manufacture.
In order to decide on Qatar’s request for an injunction, a judge will weigh which side
has the most to lose if the A321 contract is scrapped and to what extent the plane is
unique in its category.
That issue goes to the heart of Airbus’s battle for sales with rival Boeing in the
busiest part of the market.
Airbus has outsold Boeing about four to one at the top end of the market for single-aisle
jets and Chief Commercial Officer Christian Scherer said last year the A321neo had “unmatched
capabilities and operating economics”.
In statements pre-filed to the court, however, Airbus said Qatar Airways could replace the
canceled A321neos with the rival Boeing 737 MAX, which it provisionally ordered in December,
or Airbus jets available from leasing companies.
The case has also given a glimpse of the stakes involved as leasing companies handle an uneven
recovery while waiting for lease rates to catch up with the levels they planned before
the pandemic.
Airbus told the court leasing companies are looking for homes for 80 A320s and 48 A321s
in 2023, a relatively high number a year before delivery, according to market sources.
“It shows that lessors believe the lease market is going to move up and are holding
back before placing airplanes acquired before the pandemic but it’s a dangerous game,”
said aviation adviser Bertrand Grabowski.
Qatar Airways, in turn, revealed normally closely-held details of product plans for
the A321neo, including pedal controls for seats and toilets adapted from those on the
luxurious A380 superjumbo.
Such details are usually jealously guarded until airlines are ready to reveal them in
the highly competitive travel industry.
Airbus, backed by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), admits the problem exists
but steadfastly denies that it constitutes an airworthiness issue and maintains it does
not affect safety.
Other airlines and regulators have acknowledged the problem but have not grounded the type.
In January, Qatar Airways filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer in the London High
Court, seeking USD618 million in damages.
Concurrently with the discussions over the A350s, the two companies are embroiled in
a lawsuit related to Airbus's decision to unilaterally cancel orders for fifty A321-200neo
placed by Qatar Airways.
On April 7, the judge deferred a decision on whether Airbus could proceed with the cancellation
to at least April 26, when the next A350 case hearing is scheduled.
Qatar Airways argues that Airbus had no right to cancel the order unilaterally and that
the decision would leave the carrier with no alternative to add other aircraft with
similar characteristics during a period of expected high demand.
In an unusual twist, Airbus argued that the airline could order aircraft from lessors
or even Boeing as an alternative.
The manufacturer's lawyer Sonia Tolaney even stated that the B737 MAX had a "comparable
if not better range" to the A321neo.
Qatar Airways' A321neo deliveries were due to begin in 2023.
In February, the judge told Airbus to pause any "practical effects" such as the reallocation
of delivery slots to other customers, pending a final ruling.
Airbus has hinted that, until the legal battle is resolved, it is prepared to cancel one
by one the A350 contracts not delivered to the Gulf carrier.
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