Aviation
Qatar Airways takes delivery of first Airbus A350 in years
Qatar Airways has received the delivery of its first A350-1000 aircraft, following a high-profile legal battle with the European aircraft maker Airbus over a paint and surface fault that grounded dozens of the Doha-based carrier’s A350s.
According to FlightRadar24.com, the aircraft, registered A7-ANT, departed Toulouse at 21:29 and arrived at Doha’s Hamad International Airport (DOH) at 04:21 on 13 May, increasing the carrier’s total A350 fleet to 54.
The A350 paint issue has been resolved, according to Airbus(Opens in a new browser tab)
Airbus tore up the order with Qatar Airways for its remaining 23 A350s at one point and was ready to find a new buyer, but the two parties eventually negotiated an “amicable” settlement in February after originally pursuing a high-risk multi-billion-dollar case in London’s High Court. It was quickly discovered that paint was cracking, bubbling, and peeling off areas of the fuselage, exposing a fine layer of mesh that served as protection against lightning strikes.
A long-term solution that addressed the underlying problem that Qatar Airways had demanded. Airbus tore up orders for both the remaining A350s and a sizable order for single-aisle A320 series aircraft, threatening to put Qatar Airways’ ambitious growth plans in danger.
Airbus scraps A350 contract with Qatar Airways in feud(Opens in a new browser tab)
In order to fill the gap with 737MAX aircraft, Qatar Airways had gone to Boeing, however, Airbus has since reversed the orders. The first of the airline’s 50 A321neo aircraft won’t now be delivered until 2026 as a result of the carrier having partially lost its position in a lengthy delivery queue.
