Airbus summoned by a UK court to delay of Qatar Airways flights

As two of aviation’s most prominent players wage an intensifying court battle, a British judge has ordered plane manufacturer Airbus to postpone the practical repercussions of a decision to withdraw a $6 billion jet contract from Qatar Airways for many weeks.

The measure effectively stops the manufacturer from distributing valuable early delivery slots for the in-demand A321neo plane to other carriers, until a hearing in early April at which Qatar Airways intends to seek an injunction to reinstate the contract.

For months, the two parties have been at odds over surface faults on A350s, with some of the planes being grounded by Qatar due to safety concerns as the airline sues Airbus for $600 million.

Airbus recognises the airline’s quality issues, but accuses it of mislabeling them as a safety issue in order to obtain compensation.

Airbus cancelled a deal with Qatar for 50 A321neos in January, claiming that Qatar’s refusal to take disputed A350s had triggered a clause tying the two jet transactions.

Qatar Airways criticized the decision at a hearing on Friday.

“They accepted the risk knowing it would be extremely dangerous.” We’ve already paid $330 million for this (A321neo) deal, and they knew it was a hand grenade hurled into our bunker,” said Qatar Airways lawyer Philip Shepherd.

A hearing on Qatar’s request for an injunction is scheduled for the week of April 4, and a court date on the major A350 dispute is scheduled for April 26.

In the meantime, a UK judge has denied Airbus’ request for more time to prepare and ordered the business not to undertake anything that could affect its ability to complete the A321neo contract if Qatar wins that section of the dispute.

Rosalind Phelps, the company’s lawyer, said the cancelled jets had been deleted from its industrial plans and cautioned that if its hands were constrained too tightly, it would harm its supply chain.

The first plane will be delivered in February 2023, with six planes delivered per year after that. Parts are typically ordered up to a year in advance by plane makers.

On Thursday, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury claimed the company had been compelled to cancel the A321neo deal in order to “exercise our rights.”

He said on BFM TV on Friday that Airbus was ready for a peaceful resolution, but that “it requires time.” According to sources close to both sides, no signs of a truce have emerged thus far.

Qatar Airways is expected to seek a judgement to keep the A321neo deal alive, according to the Reuters news agency.

In the meantime, Airbus is preparing counterclaims in the A350 lawsuit. It has cancelled two of the remaining 23 A350s for Qatar, but has promised not to hunt for alternative purchasers for the time being.

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