As Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad International) continues to park over a third of its A350s over fuselage paint quality issues, Reuters has revealed that other carriers are experiencing the same issue.
According to internal messages between Airbus and airlines seen by the news agency, Finnair, Lufthansa, Air France (as a maintenance provider for A350s operated by Air Caraibes Atlantique), Etihad Airways, and Cathay Pacific have all complained about similar issues. The news agency also published photos of the damage, documenting the copper anti-lighting mesh showing under the fuselage paint that has peeled off. Although the issue is believed to be mainly aesthetic and does not impact aircraft safety, Qatar Airways and one other unidentified airline have reportedly noted that wiring has also been damaged, possibly increasing the exposure of the aircraft to inclement weather.
Cathay Pacific and Lufthansa confirmed they observed some "cosmetic damage", while Air Caraibes and Air France reported no issues. The manufacturer conceded that the A350s experienced "early surface wear" and highlighted it was working to resolve the issue as soon as possible. Spokesman Stefan Schaffrath told Bloomberg that the Airbus was working with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). One of the options considered was changing the type of copper wire.
The other carriers concerns disprove a previous hypothesis that the issues were confined to Qatar Airways due to the high temperatures at Doha Hamad International affecting parked aircraft.
Qatar Airways currently operates thirty-four A350-900s and nineteen A350-1000s, and has a further twenty-three -1000s on order. Deliveries of the outstanding aircraft have been suspended pending the resolution of the paint issue. The airline is the world's second-largest A350 operator behind Singapore Airlines with 56, the ch-aviation fleets module shows. In total, 35 scheduled carriers operate A350 Family twinjets.
