The beef between plane maker Airbus and airline Qatar Airways has reached another level. According to Reuters, Airbus decided not to honor Qatar Airways’ original order for A350 – 1000 planes and won’t deliver the remaining 19 jets.
Qatar Airways previously made a sizeable order for A350 jets but quickly got buyer’s remorse after Airbus started with deliveries. The Middle East airline claimed that the planes were unsafe for flying after Qatari regulators discovered premature surface damage on them. The European aircraft manufacturer admitted there is a quality problem with the planes’ outer layers but insisted they are completely safe.
After the two companies couldn’t find an agreement, Qatar Airways took things to court. It sued Airbus for $1.4 billion in damages, arguing that the faulty jets couldn’t be used. The carrier also wanted to refuse further deliveries of A350s but was denied by the British Court.
However, even after backing out of the Qatar Airways deal, Airbus won’t get stuck with the A350s. Reportedly, they have already made a deal with Air India and will resell the jets to India’s flag carrier airline.
Earlier this year, Airbus also nixed the deal with Qatar Airways for 50 A321neo jets as retaliation for the A350s disagreement. The airline later struck a deal with Boeing, ordering 737 MAX 10 and the 777X planes.