Aviation
Commercial /
Europe
Airbus x Qatar
Manufacturer hopes peaceful solution to A350 paint problems
Airbus A350
Qatar Airways
Pedant01, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Airbus A350
Qatar Airways
Pedant01, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Rafael Ramos
2/18/2022
The Airbus A350's paint problems are most evident in Qatar, although they also appear in other companies. According to Guillaume Faury, the CEO of Boeing, the company hopes for a peaceful solution to the dispute with Qatar that began more than a year ago.
In its defence, Airbus revoked contracts for two new A350s and 50 A321neos, in addition to suing the Arab company for defamation.
But that should not contribute to a settlement in the dispute, as Qatar is expected to seek a way to prevent Airbus from revoking the A321neo contract.
Airbus has opened up a chance for a peaceful deal, but Qatar declines to comment. The two companies have pledged to defend their positions, and the dispute appears to be making little progress.
"I don't like the situation, but we take it seriously and want to defend our product at a time when we think what is said is inappropriate," Faury said.
Faury says the dispute is not being influenced by commercial interests. "It's not self-interest; it comes from the contractual situation with Qatar Airways. We are now in a legal dispute and we have to take action that is really tied to this very specific situation."
For the CEO, Airbus is committed to customer relationships and will continue to work hard to serve them.
THE PROBLEM
The paintwork on the Airbus A350 wears off easily, to the point where the layer below the paint is visible. Airbus and EASA claim there is no issue for airworthiness. However, Airbus recognizes that the issue deserves attention.
Qatar, meanwhile, says the issue could affect airworthiness as the lightning protection layer is exposed. Thus, the company filed a lawsuit against Airbus at the end of last year, in a lawsuit worth more than 600 million dollars.
Airbus Paint Flaw
Image: Reuters
Airbus A350 paint flaw
image: Reuters
Hyperlinks:
...
...
...
Rafael Ramos
Aviation enthusiast from an early age, he had his first contacts with the area developing that good old habit of spending dozens of hours in front of the screens of Micrsoft Flight Simulator and other simulators. With a solid background in various technological areas, including engineering and chemistry, Rafael has rejoined aviation as editor and author of articles and materials on our portal, providing invaluable help to the dynamics and expansion of the website and the aeronautical community, bringing us the news and updates so indispensable for us to remain current in our area of operation.
   
|