By Mohamed Attia
The coming days are expected to witness an increase in the crisis between Qatar Airways and Airbus, the European aircraft manufacturer, after Qatar Airways suspended Airbus A350 aircraft due to defects and cracks in its paints.
In what represents another strong blow to Airbus, the Qatari company turned the tide of deals to its rival, the American company Boeing, to sign with it a historic deal that included the purchase of 100 aircraft worth $ 36 billion.
The historic deal was signed at the White House in the presence of US President John Biden and the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad, where Akbar Al Baker, CEO of Qatar Airways, and David Calhoun, CEO of Boeing, signed a deal to buy 100 aircraft, including 50 777Xs and 50 other planes.
The last period witnessed a great conflict between Qatar Airways and Airbus where the Qatari company filed a lawsuit against Airbus due to defects in the surface coating of the A350 two-aisle aircraft, a defect that led to cracks on the surfaces of the planes as well as cracked window frames and corrosion in the cabins.
Qatar Airways added that the repairs proposed by Airbus include about 900 faults for different parts of the aircraft, which far exceeds the usual number, referring to the catastrophic failure of the manufacturer to remedy the defects.
Qatar Airways has demanded $618 million in compensation for the 21 grounded planes from its fleet, in addition to $4 million for each day of layover.
Qatar Airways has also asked British judges to issue a ruling obligating Airbus not to deliver more planes until it fixes what it describes as a design flaw.
The manufacturer has tried to save face as it says it is considering long-term solutions, including replacing the expanded copper foil casing on future aircraft with a different material.
Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said that his company is trying to resolve the burning dispute with Qatar Airways over the proposed reform at a technical level while also dealing with a legal dispute.
However, these flexible answers did not convince Qatar Airways, which took a decisive decision to stop operating this model from Airbus since the middle of last year. The crisis also resulted in the cancellation of a contract between Airbus and Qatar Airways to purchase 50 A320neo aircraft that the Qatari company needs to launch new routes.
Qatar Airways confirmed that its local regulator had ordered it to ground 21 of its 53 A350 aircraft as problems began to emerge, sparking a bitter dispute with Airbus, which acknowledged technical problems but said there was no safety issue.
It is worth noting that five other airlines had discovered defects in the surface or paint of aircraft since 2016, which prompted Airbus to form an internal working group before the Qatar dispute and to explore a new lightning-proof design for future A350 aircraft.
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