Qatar Airways vs Airbus Feud Just Escalated As The Manufacturer Has Cancelled Qatar’s Entire A321n Order

Qatar Airways and Airbus have been at each other’s throats for quite a while now as the carrier blames Airbus for vital quality issues of their A350 aircraft, some of which are exhibiting defects with the fuselage’s paint job.

In a recent interview, the always outspoken Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al Baker said that the relationship between the two parties is now so frail that they can’t work together anymore, suggesting an end to their commercial relations.

This might have been a risky poker game that Qatar Airways has just lost as Airbus announced that it would cancel the entire A321neo order which was placed for a total of 50 aircraft, worth a combined US$6 Billion.

Here is a video from Al Jazeera to explain the dispute a little better:

There are also unresolved lawsuits over these Airbus A350 deficiencies pending that don’t exactly help to diffuse the situation.

As Reuters reported Qatar might now be forced to look for a new set of aircraft to renew their regional fleet.

Airbus said on Thursday it had cancelled a contract with Qatar Airways for 50 A321neo jets, broadening a $600-million-plus dispute with the Gulf carrier over the larger A350.

“We confirm we did terminate the contract for 50 A321s with Qatar Airways in accordance with our rights,” a spokesman said.

Qatar Airways had no immediate comment.

It’s hard to say what the purchase agreement for the airframes allows each party to do in terms of termination of the order. Especially since the deliveries were scheduled to start in 2023, in time for Qatar Airways to start renewing the fleet used to serve regional routes.

It might very well be that Airbus has to pay a significant penalty to Qatar Airways for refusing the delivery. That’s only a short-term gain for the carrier as the only other alternative would be Boeing, in particular, the Boeing 737 MAX. Not exactly the favorite on the market these days, justified or not.

That being said, Qatar Airways and CEO Al Baker also had quarrels with Boeing in recent years. It’s becoming really hard to do business while alienating the only two manufacturers in the market that are able to supply you with new planes.

Conclusion

Apparently, Qatar Airways pokered too high and the CEO’s recent remarks about being unable to continue a working relationship with Airbus cost them their soon-to-be-executed contract concerning 50 Airbus A320neo’s that were supposed to be the backbone of Qatar’s regional fleet.

It’s hard to say at this point if the two parties can come to some resolution in the matter or if Airbus will really pull through with their decision, alot the planes to another airline in line for delivery. This would create lots of trouble for the carrier as they have to go on an easter egg hunt for alternative aircraft.