Qatar Airways Sues Airbus in A350 Surface Defect Dispute -- Update
21 December 2021 - 9:37PM
Dow Jones News
By Olivia Bugault
Qatar Airways said late Monday it has filed legal proceedings
against European plane maker Airbus SE related to fuselage surface
degradation on A350 widebody jets.
Qatar Airways, one of the largest operators of A350s, has been
at loggerheads with Airbus for months as they clashed on whether
the surface degradation could cause safety risks or not.
"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," the carrier said. "Qatar Airways has therefore been left
with no alternative but to seek a rapid resolution of this dispute
via the courts."
The long-haul carrier is suing Airbus in the technology and
construction division of the High Court in London, England, it
said.
The Gulf carrier said it has so far grounded 21 A350 jets
because of the issue.
In August, Qatar Airways said it had to ground 13 A350s at the
instruction of its regulators because of surface and paint damages
on concerns that they could pose safety issues. Its Chief Executive
Akbar Al Baker said at the time that the airline--which operates a
fleet of more than 50 A350 jets--wouldn't take further A350
deliveries until Airbus found the root cause and corrected it.
The European aerospace giant acknowledged in a statement late
Monday that it has received a formal legal claim from the airline
and is analysing its content, adding that it intends to "vigorously
defend its position."
Earlier this month, the plane maker--which doesn't dispute the
existence of surface degradation on some A350 aircraft--said the
issue has no effect on its fleet's airworthiness, a finding that it
said was confirmed by the European Union Aviation Safety
Agency.
At the time, Airbus also said it was seeking an independent
legal assessment in the face of what it called "ongoing
mischaracterization" of the degradation by a customer who dismissed
the solutions proposed by the aircraft manufacturer.
Qatar Airways said Monday that Airbus must launch a thorough
investigation into the root cause of the surface flaws. "Without a
proper understanding of the root cause of the condition, it is not
possible for Qatar Airways to establish whether any proposed repair
solution will rectify the underlying condition," the airline
said.
Write to Olivia Bugault at olivia.bugault@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 21, 2021 05:22 ET (10:22 GMT)
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