Qatar Airways and Airbus is over: cancelled all A350s
The latest chapter in the legal battle between Qatar Airways and Airbus appears indeed to have been realized. According to reports from Reuters, [...]
Qatar Airways
Oneworld
The latest chapter in the legal battle between Qatar Airways and Airbus does indeed appear to have been realized. According to Reuters reports, in fact, the company has reportedly decided to cancel the order that has been pending for as long as 19 A350, given the carrier's constant complaints. This was confirmed by a spokesman for the company, which is thus taking a sharp step back on its position. A choice that is not intended to confirm the criticism rained down by Qatar as much as to end the dispute, which represented both economic and image damage.
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War between Qatar and Airbus
Why Airbus canceled order for 19 A350s That should have ended up in Qatar Airways' hangars? The airline claims that there is a'Disturbing acceleration in fuselage degradation of the aircraft. While according to Airbus, the only real issues would be cosmetic and would not affect the actual mechanical capabilities.
This initial exchange of views obviously did not resolve the dispute, with the carrier refusing to take delivery of additional A350s until assurances were received that the technical problem would be resolved. A choice that was not even entirely up to the company, since these jets were in fact blocked by the Qatar Aviation Regulatory Authority. The carrier would therefore have ended up with surplus aircraft that it could not put into service.
At present it appears Qatar Airways' intention to proceed with the sale of the A350s currently in its possession, about 20. There would be interested carriers, with Air India leading the way. On the Airbus side, however, the clear decision to refuse to take over the order indicates total freedom to cancel the contract. A legal clash of gigantic proportions, involving the A321neo as well. In early 2022, in fact, Airbus canceled an order for as many as 50 aircraft, which prompted the carrier to attempt to prevent the company from selling such vehicles. All prevented by a U.K. judge, who ruled in favor of the manufacturer.
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Qatar Airways to Boeing?
The way forward looks very much like an almost exclusive partnership with Boeing, so as to keep up with its own growth. It cannot be ruled out that things may improve with Airbus in the near future, but currently it is of paramount importance that Boeing has overcome its production problems. This means that deliveries of Boeing 787s will resume, with Qatar Airways having as many as 40 777-9s on order.
A380 Qatar
However, the situation is not so easy and automatic. It is hard to imagine that the carrier can simply give up on one manufacturer and rely almost exclusively on another. Indeed, there is no shortage of serious problems. Just think of the postponement of the Boeing 777-9, scheduled for 2020 and potentially coming in 2025. Different is the case, however, for the 737 MAX 10, which has not been certified and may even be cancelled.
