Why Airbus Is Canceling Orders from Qatar Airways, One of Its Best Customers

«It all started with flaking paint on an Airbus A350 aircraft. The airline, the biggest buyer of Airbus’s most advanced model, which has a list price of more than $300 million, noticed the deterioration on a plane due to get a new livery in late 2020. Airbus recommended the jet be sent to its main facility in Toulouse, France, for further investigation, while maintaining that the model was safe to fly.» Later, «Other airlines, including Finnair Oyj, have noticed the paint issue, though none has stopped flying the A350. A Finnair spokeswoman described the problem as “cosmetic only” and said in an email it was addressed in connection with routine maintenance. The oldest A350 aircraft in Finnair’s fleet have been more affected, and the paint technology has advanced for newer models, she says.»

Airbus says the issue is purely cosmetic and that the planes are airworthy despite the flacking. The European regulator agreed and at least one European company flew the planes until their scheduled maintenance where the issue was fixed without issue.

The Quatar aviation authority didn't agree and grounded the planes of Quatar Airways. Quatar Airways is therefore asking a compensation from Airbus for its grounded planes of 700 millions euros. Airbus refuses to pay and canceled every Quatar Airways orders when the company sued. The situation is murky. Quatar Airways is the national company. Airbus thinks the national aviation authority grounded the planes disingenuously to allow Quatar Airways to claim a compensation as these planes would have been empty anyway due to the pandemic.

The situation is interesting because it used to be unusual for plane manufacturers to fight back customers. This underlines a shift in the power dynamic between Airbus and the airlines and highlights how strong a position Airbus has in the duopoly it shares with Boeing.

Yeah that's sounds pretty obvious to me. They have unused inventory, and they are trying to get a refund. Not sure it's a good strategy though.

Worked with big cos there, they know how to strip each contract to the bone, and then delay the payment exactly to the day before when Qatari law considers non-payment a breach of contract.