According to Reuters on February 26, 2022, Qatar Airways has sued a UK court to reinstate an order for 50 Airbus A321neo jets that was withdrawn by Airbus in January 2022.
According to the source, the airline also requested compensation from Airbus for canceling the contract for A321neo planes if the planemaker fails to revive the deal.
This is the most recent development in Airbus’s long-running feud with Qatar Airways.
Qatar Airways sued Airbus in late 2021, claiming $618 million in damages for the deterioration of the A350 fuselage surface.
The Gulf carrier, which has 53 A350s in its fleet, claims it had to remove some planes from the flight schedule owing to the problem, which was then grounded.
“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,” Qatar Airways said in a statement. “Qatar Airways has therefore been left with no alternative but to seek a rapid resolution of this dispute via the courts.”
Airbus canceled Qatar Airways’ order for 50 Airbus A321neo planes in January 2022 in response to the airline’s claims. However, on February 18, 2022, a UK judge ordered Airbus to halt the cancellation.
“Qatar Airways welcomes the decision of the High Court on Friday 18 February 2022 which issued an injunction against Airbus.
The essence of the order is that Airbus must not do anything between the date of the order and a further hearing in April that would adversely affect its ability to comply with any court order that Qatar Airways might obtain in relation to the purported cancellation of the A321 contract,” according to Qatar Airways’ statement released on February 28, 2022.
Qatar Airways has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for 25 Boeing 737 MAX 10 jets on February 1, 2022, in an unexpected turn of events.
