Robert Besser
24 Jan 2023, 13:10 GMT+10
PARIS, France: Airbus has changed the design of its A350 passenger jets amid a $2 billion dispute with Qatar Airways over damage to the surface of the aircraft.
The two companies have been involved in a court case revolving around the safety of flaking paint that exposed corrosion or gaps in a sub-layer of metallic lightning protection.
This week, Qatar Airways told a London court that Airbus had begun implementing the surface changes and called for more information. Meanwhile, Airbus confirmed that it had partly completed the changes, which began late last year.
The decision to start using a new design was significant to the case, said Judge David Waksman, during preliminary hearings.
Qatar Airways has blamed the damage on a design defect, but Airbus claims the former design remains state of the art and safe.
The A350 is a passenger plane mainly made of carbon and is competing with Boeing's 787 Dreamliner.
According to European regulators, the jets are safe, despite Qatar Airways claiming that this assessment cannot be guaranteed without more detailed analysis.
Qatar Airlines said it is requesting access to raw modeling data, so its technical experts can simulate the impact of a lightning strike.
After Airbus was overruled in a previous bid to use a special blocking law defending French interests, Qatar Airways accused Airbus of trying to prevent the release of data that could be valuable to its case.
But in a rare note of compromise, lawyers for the two companies provisionally agreed to not publicize the data.
Several other airlines have reported flaws in the painted surface of A350s, but only Qatar Airways stopped flying them.
Get a daily dose of London Mercury news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to London Mercury.
More InformationARLINGTON, Virginia: This week, Reuters reported that Boeing delivered 46 narrowbody 737s jets in November. The total brings the U.S. ...
NEW YORK, New York - A positive employment report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicating a fall in ...
DALLAS, Texas: This week, AT&T said that by late 2026, it will use open radio access network (ORAN) technology for ...
NEW YORK: This week, ratings agency Moody's warned that it could downgrade China's credit rating, citing costs to bail out ...
NEW YORK, New York - AI set the scene for solid gains in technology shares on Thursday. Demand for Alphabet ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: To help reduce car collisions with wildlife and help animals safely cross roadways, the U.S. Transportation Department has ...