Qatar Airways seeks to prevent Airbus from canceling order for 50 Neo A321

Qatar Airways has condemned what it described as a “provocative” decision by aircraft manufacturer Airbus to cancel an order related to A321 Neo aircraft as it seeks a court ruling to prevent the cancelation of the deal.

Last month, Airbus said it pulled out of the deal because Qatar Airways had breached a separate contract in a dispute over flaws on the roofs of the larger A350, which the company denies.

The two companies have been in dispute over flaws in the A350’s paint for long flights and the erosion of a lightning protection layer. Qatar has grounded 21 of the planes and refuses to receive more, while Airbus says it is safe to fly.

Despite an initial order for 25 or more of the competing Boeing 737 aircraft made last month, Qatar Airways has not abandoned its hopes of receiving the A321 order and is seeking a court order from a British court to prevent the cancelation of the deal.

At Friday’s hearing, a British judge rejected Airbus’s request to postpone discussion of the A321Neo aircraft for five weeks and ordered it not to take any action at the moment that would make it unable to comply with the A321Neo order if Qatar wins the case.

Qatar Airways accused Airbus of canceling the A321Neo deal to pressure it in the dispute over the damaged A350s.

The dispute between Qatar Airways and European aircraft maker Airbus has entered a new phase of escalation in the past few months, revealing a deep crisis between the European Community and one of its biggest clients who criticizes the defects in painting the roof of A350 aircraft and demands compensation.

In an unprecedented decision in the aviation industries, Airbus canceled an order for Qatar Airways to include fifty A321 Neo planes, in a development that threatens to escalate the crisis.

Qatar Airways said Airbus’ attempt to widen and escalate the dispute over the A350s by canceling the contract for the A321 was regrettable and frustrating.

Airbus’s decision is part of a dispute between the aircraft manufacturer and the airline company, which stopped some of its A350 planes because of the deterioration of the external roofs of the airplanes’ structures and started legal proceedings against Airbus before the British judiciary.

The European Community reacted strongly. An Airbus spokesman said, according to information published by Bloomberg news agency, “we confirm that we will terminate the contract, which includes 50 A321 aircraft with Qatar Airways, under our right”.

Generally, orders are typically canceled by the client companies when they have no means to finance the purchase or no longer need the aircraft.

According to the price of the offer, which was last published by Airbus in 2018 and was not applied because of discounts, the order was worth more than $6 billion.