The UK High Court has allowed Airbus to remarket A321-200neo aircraft and delivery slots originally intended for Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad International) and unilaterally cancelled by the manufacturer in January 2022.
The judge disagreed with the Qatari carrier's arguments that it had no other alternatives to procure. The airline sought an order to compel the manufacturer to build the aircraft pending a final resolution of the dispute. Airbus previously argued that Qatar Airways could order the B737 MAX - which it touted as having "comparable if not better range" - or source aircraft from lessors.
The preliminary ruling means Airbus is free to implement its unilateral decision to cancel Qatar Airways' order for forty A321-200Ns and ten A321-200NY(XLR)s, even though the case is ongoing. Should the order be reinstated by the court at a later point, Qatar Airways will likely be able to seek damages but will not be able to simply regain its coveted delivery slots.
Airbus cancelled the order citing a cross-default clause in relation to an ongoing dispute about the A350s wherein Qatar Airways refused to take any more of the type after discovering fuselage paint issues in mid-2021. The Qatari Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA) considers the defects an airworthiness risk and has grounded twenty-three A350s operated by the airline. Since then, Airbus has cancelled three A350-1000s that Qatar Airways did not take according to their contracted schedule - which, in the manufacturer's eyes, constitutes a default. Airbus is also seeking USD220 million in damages from the airline, which still has twenty A350-1000s on order.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and Airbus maintain that the issue is not an airworthiness risk. Although other airlines have discovered similar problems, only Qatar grounded its A350s. The Gulf carrier is pursuing damages against Airbus related to the A350s, which are calculated on a per-day basis and have already exceeded USD1 billion.
