AIRBUS is accusing one of its biggest customers, Qatar Airways of instigating a local grounding of A350 jetliners simply to claim compensation over alleged production defects, reports Bloomberg.
Qatar Airways , which brought back A380 superjumbos to replace the lost capacity, is seeking more than US$700 million in compensation for being unable to use the A350s - $618 million through December 17 and a further $4.2 million per day.
Said Airbus: 'There is no reasonable or rational basis' for Qatari regulators to have grounded 21 of the A350s operated by the state-owned carrier, according to documents prepared by airbus for a London court hearing.
Airbus says Qatar Airways 'sought to engineer or has acquiesced' in the groundings because it's in the airline's economic interests to idle planes 'given the impact of the coronavirus pandemic' on demand.
The high-stakes battle is getting underway in London after Qatar Airways sued Airbus over defects with the surface paint of the twin-aisle jet.
Airbus said it has terminated a separate contract to deliver smaller A321s, putting pressure on the Gulf airline as Qatar gears up to host the World Cup soccer event later this year.
While European regulators have found the flaws don't pose any airworthiness issues, regulators in Qatar have been grounding affected A350s since the middle of last year.
No compensation is payable, Airbus said in the filing. Qatar Airways is 'in clear default of its contractual obligations' in refusing to accept two A350s for delivery.
SeaNews Turkey
Qatar Airways , which brought back A380 superjumbos to replace the lost capacity, is seeking more than US$700 million in compensation for being unable to use the A350s - $618 million through December 17 and a further $4.2 million per day.
Said Airbus: 'There is no reasonable or rational basis' for Qatari regulators to have grounded 21 of the A350s operated by the state-owned carrier, according to documents prepared by airbus for a London court hearing.
Airbus says Qatar Airways 'sought to engineer or has acquiesced' in the groundings because it's in the airline's economic interests to idle planes 'given the impact of the coronavirus pandemic' on demand.
The high-stakes battle is getting underway in London after Qatar Airways sued Airbus over defects with the surface paint of the twin-aisle jet.
Airbus said it has terminated a separate contract to deliver smaller A321s, putting pressure on the Gulf airline as Qatar gears up to host the World Cup soccer event later this year.
While European regulators have found the flaws don't pose any airworthiness issues, regulators in Qatar have been grounding affected A350s since the middle of last year.
No compensation is payable, Airbus said in the filing. Qatar Airways is 'in clear default of its contractual obligations' in refusing to accept two A350s for delivery.
SeaNews Turkey
