British justice has authorized Airbus to sell to other customers the A321neo commanded by the Qatari company.
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The first round is won by Airbus. The High Court of Justice of London rejected, Tuesday, April 26, the request of Qatar Airways who wanted to prohibit Airbus from reselling other airlines the fifty A321neo which she had ordered in 2017. A contract valued at more than 4 , 6 billion euros.
For months, litigation has brought to Qatar Airways and Airbus after the Emirate Company discovered painting problems on some of the A350s which had just been delivered to it. Believing that these degradations pose a risk on flight security, the Civil Aviation Authority of Qatar (QCAA) has nailed to the ground part of the Fleet of Qatar Airways. Conversely, Airbus and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) have excluded any risk for security. Deprived of twenty-three of its aircraft, three of which had refused to take delivery, the Qatari company claims from Airbus 200,000 dollars in compensation by plane and per day of immobilization. At this rate, the bill is approaching today of the billion euros.
bad news
In addition to the long-haul A350, Qatar Airways had also ordered fifty A321neo, the brand new Middle Currier of the European aircraft manufacturer. It is these devices that British justice authorized Airbus to sell to others of its customers. To prove him right, the High Court pointed out a clause provided for in the contract authorizing a cancellation, because Qatar Airways had not respected other commitments, in particular by refusing to make delivery of three A350s. “Airbus is satisfied with the decision of the Court which recognizes its position according to which a transparent and confident cooperation is essential in our industry,” said the European aircraft manufacturer on Tuesday.
The verdict of British justice is bad news for Qatar Airways. Having become the world number one in aeronautics for three years, Airbus has been in a position of force in the face of its customers. The latter must wait an average of five years before they can be delivered. The expectation may even be even longer to hope to integrate the A321neo into their fleets. The plane, in its LR and XLR versions, that is to say long and very long distance, is Airbus’ new bestseller with three thousand copies ordered. He alone represents half of his order book. It must be said that the A321 manages to achieve the quadrature of the circle by offering the performance of a long-haul but with the costs of a medium-haul. Ideal for airlines to sentence after two years marked by the pandemic.
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