|
|
|
Qatar Airways-Airbus dispute peels away layers of 'plane' truths
|
|
|
|
Top Stories |
|
|
|
|
SME Times News Bureau | 29 Jan, 2022
A festering legal dispute between France-based Airbus and Qatar Airways
is shining the spotlight on the aircraft manufacturer's ability to live
up to the standards and bringing to fore testy relations between the
aeronautics and space giant and the Gulf airline, which has alleged that
paint peeling off its A350s has led to 21 of the planes being grounded.
The issue has fuelled a war of words between Airbus and
Qatar's state carrier, which is getting ready to carry majority of the
fans who would head to the Gulf nation, which is to host the FIFA World
Cup 2022 in winter -- a marquee event for the country of 2.7 million.
Airbus
even years ago had a fallout with the airline that is known to have
vaulting ambitions under its high-profile Group CEO, Akbar Al Baker.
Widely
circulating footage on social media has shown paint peels coming off
the body of aircraft to reveal the wire mesh underneath, triggering an
uproar in aviation circles worldwide.
In an emailed response, Qatar Airways said that it had sought an expedited hearing of a case filed in England.
An
airline spokesperson said: "On January 20, Qatar Airways, through the
legal proceedings against Airbus in the Technology & Construction
division of the High Court in England, sought an expedited hearing of a
preliminary issue to address our serious and legitimate safety concerns
regarding the surface degradation condition adversely impacting our
Airbus A350 fleet which has resulted so far in 21 Airbus A350 aircraft
being grounded."
Citing a video, the airline, which had been
parading the A350 as a major acquisition for a long time, added: "These
defects are not superficial and one of the defects causes the aircraft's
lightning protection system to be exposed and damaged, another defect
leaves the underlying composite structure exposed to moisture and
ultraviolet light, and other defects include cracking in the composite
and damage around a high percentage of rivets on the aircraft fuselage.
We welcome the decision of the court to expedite this issue and order a
hearing in April in an effort to bring about a more rapid resolution of
the dispute."
Airbus has scrapped a $6 billion contract with the Gulf carrier for 50 of its new A321 neo passenger jets.
The airline recently called Airbus' decision "a matter of considerable regret and frustration".
Ties
between Qatar Airways and Airbus have recently hit a nadir after they
started diving last year, and Bloomberg called it a 'mystery spat'.
About a decade ago, Al Baker railed at the aircraft maker saying "Airbus
is still learning to make planes".
"We continue to
strongly believe that Airbus must undertake a thorough investigation of
this condition to conclusively establish its full root cause in order to
establish whether any proposed repair solution will rectify the
underlying condition and ensure no risk to the continued airworthiness
of the aircraft," the emailed response by Qatar Airways added.
Airbus representative in the UAE did not respond to queries.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Customs Exchange Rates |
Currency |
Import |
Export |
US Dollar
|
66.20
|
64.50 |
UK Pound
|
87.50
|
84.65 |
Euro
|
78.25
|
75.65 |
Japanese
Yen |
58.85 |
56.85 |
As on 13 Aug, 2022 |
|
|
Daily Poll |
|
|
PM Modi's recent US visit to redefine India-US bilateral relations |
|
|
|
|
|
Commented Stories |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|