Qatar Airways said Thursday it grounded thirteen Airbus A350s over what it described as fuselages “degrading at an increased rate” within the lengthy-variety aircraft, further escalating a monthslong dispute with the European aircraft maker over the issue.
Even as Airbus declined to discuss the statement, Qatar Airlines’ decision to ground the aircraft raised questions about the A350s’ carbon composite fuselage, designed to make the twin-aisle aircraft lighter and cheaper to operate by burning much less jet gasoline. Qatar Airways is also one of the international top operators of aircraft.
In its assertion, Qatar Airlines stated it had been tracking the degradation underneath the paint on the fuselage of the aircraft for a while. It described the problem as a “considerable situation,” without elaborating.
“Following the specific written training of its regulator, thirteen aircraft have now been grounded, effectively getting rid of them from the provider till such time as the basic purpose may be hooked up and a first-rate answer made available to permanently correct the underlying circumstance,” the airline said in its assertion.
Qatar Airways has a fleet of fifty-three Airbus A350s in both its one thousand and 900 collections. The airline has every other on order with the Toulouse, France-based plane manufacturer, making its overall order of seventy-six planes the maximum of any airline in the world. In June, Qatar Airways stated it would not take any extra A350s unless the hassle turned into fixed.
Airbus declined to specifically discuss Qatar Airlines’ grounding.
“As the main aircraft manufacturer, we are always in talks/operating with our clients,” a declaration said. “Those talks we hold private. We don’t have any similar touch upon our client’s operations. “
Currently, Singapore Airlines is the world’s pinnacle operator of the A350, with 56 now in its fleet. The airline did not reply to a request for comment. In the United States, Delta Air strains have 15 in its fleet. The Atlanta-based service did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The A350 has a listing charge of as much as $366.five million, even though customers regularly get reductions in bulk offers.
Qatar airlines’ CEO, Akbar al-Baker, is known for his tough-converting, confrontational method of negotiating with producers and others.
The airline might be an important service for fans attending the approaching FIFA 2022 World Cup in the Arabian Peninsula.
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