At the starting of the Clip, MSN was 08 , Aircraft was Airbus A350-941 and 09th July 2015 was the First flight for this Qatar registered Aircraft ( A7- ALE ) , on which Qatar Airways made a Video and Released it to showcase the Condition of paint on the fuselage of the grounded Aircraft.
Apparently, an answer to Airbus's Cancellation of a contract with Qatar Airways for 50 A321neo aircraft , that further inflated the $600-million-plus dispute with the Gulf airline over the Airbus A350 paint issues and legal action against each other !
Qatar Airways released it to press saying ,
On 20 January 2022, 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.
► 21 Jan 22 - Seeking an Expedition in the legal proceedings , Qatar Airways Released the Composite Fuselage Video of it's Grounded A350 aircraft showing the Paint issues !
► 20 Jan 22 - Airbus said to have cancelled a contract with Qatar Airways for 50 A321neo aircraft , broadening a $600-million-plus dispute with the Gulf airline over the Airbus A350 paint issues and legal action against each other !
► 06 Jan 22 - $618 million compensation claim ! In the Rare legal spat between Qatar Airways and Airbus , the Gulf carrier is asking for a $618 million in contractual compensation from Airbus over the partial fleet grounding , plus $4 million per day the 21 Airbus A350 aircraft remain grounded due to the Paint Flaw issue.
► 20 Dec 21 - Qatar Airways filed legal proceedings against Airbus at the High Court London (Technology and Construction division) after Airbus's independent legal assessment against the mischaracterisation of the non-structural surface degradation on its fleet of A350 aircraft .
► 09 Dec 21 - Airbus opted for an independent legal assessment against the mischaracterisation of the non-structural surface degradation on its fleet of A350 aircraft by one of its customers.
► January 2021- In the month of January last year, a Qatar airways Airbus A350 Aircraft (A7-ALL) Carbon Composite (CFRP) Fuselage was found with cracks on Paint stripping for World Cup 2022 Re-Livery. A7-ALL was subsequently flown as a ferry flight to TLS for Airbus team inspections and repair .
Qatar Airways defended it's claim by saying,
As this video clearly shows*, 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 to the dispute.
In the month of January 2021 , a situation with one of the Qatar Airways aircraft ( A7-ALL) at Shannon triggered a form of Alarm regarding the probable deterioration of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) skin of A350 Aircraft Fuselage underneath the Paint layer.
A7-ALL was subsequently flown as a ferry flight to TLS for Airbus team inspections and repair . But, in the month of August 21, the matter was highlighted again after mass grounding of these Airbus A350 aircrafts by the Qatar Airways.
Things have gone bitter from then onwards between Qatar Airways and Airbus , as both the sides are holding their grounds to defend each others stands . Qatar Airways says,
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.
Qatar Airways’ number one priority remains the safety of its passengers and crew. For this reason, all affected aircraft remain grounded, and we are unable to accept delivery of further aircraft tendered for delivery by Airbus.
In a separate statement, EASA said it visited the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority and viewed some of the affected planes in the month of September.
“Despite the degraded paint condition, EASA has not at this time identified any airworthiness concerns with the A350 due to the paint deterioration, including the composite structure and the lightning protection of the aircraft,” the European agency said.
Airbus has provided additional guidelines to A350 operators on stripping and painting the aircraft, and no additional inspections are required beyond normal scheduled maintenance, it said.
But as the matter escalated, on 20th January 22 , Airbus cancelled the Qatar Airways order of 50 A321 Neo aircraft reacting to the $618 million compensation claim by Qatar Airways , Airbus spokesman said,
“We confirm we did terminate the contract for 50 A321s with Qatar Airways in accordance with our rights.”
To this development , Qatar Airways reacted by saying,
Airbus has responded by seeking to cancel an entirely separate contract for the delivery of 50 A321 Neo aircraft. We confirm that we are adhering to all of our obligations under all applicable contracts.
It is therefore a matter of considerable regret and frustration that Airbus has taken the apparent decision to expand and escalate this dispute.
We continue to urge Airbus to undertake a satisfactory root cause analysis into the cause of the defects, as it is required to do. Qatar Airways remains prepared to help with the root cause analysis however it can.
In the meantime, we will continue to robustly defend our position in the legal proceedings.
Qatar Airways has a fleet of 53 Airbus A350s out of which 34 are A350-900 types and 19 are A350-1000 series. The remaining of Qatar Airways order with Airbus, that would take the total to 76 aircrafts are yet to be delivered.
