In an unusual move, Qatar Airways decided to publish excerpts from the London High Court ruling issued last week. In doing so, it seeks to refute what the airline calls “inaccurate statements” by Airbus.
According to Qatar, Judge Waksman’s ruling “has exposed Airbus’ fiction” that the condition affecting the A350s is merely a “cosmetic” problem. In his decision, Waksman concluded that “there appears to be no simple solution to the problem” of aircraft surface degradation, and that the only current remedy -patching the airframe of all affected aircraft- “treats the symptoms and not the disease.”
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The judgment adds that “Airbus does not suggest that these problems are one-off and limited only to Qatar Airways’ A350s. In fact, the manufacturer indicated that the condition will occur at some point in the service life of all A350s because it is the result of a different coefficient of expansion between the reinforced polymer -of which the fuselage is made- and the copper layer -which functions as lightning protection- that is bonded on top of it.” This difference in expansion coefficient causes the materials to expand and contract at different rates and, at least in the form present on the A350, leads over time to cracking of the paint layers.
Airbus’ current position is that there is no simple solution to the problem. The only thing that can be done is to apply patches to all affected areas. According to Qatar, the word “patch” is appropriate in this case as only the symptoms of the problem are being treated and not the problem itself.
For the airline, the problem is a consequence of the design of the aircraft: either the use of this relatively new form of composite airframe will inevitably cause the condition on all aircraft, or the plane must be designed and manufactured with appropriate materials that will prevent the problem from occurring. Qatar indicates that the first possibility seems unlikely as Boeing uses composites for the fuselage of its 787s and the problem has not occurred on this model.
The A321s are still at the center of controversy
In the statement, Qatar also referred to the cancellation of the contract for fifty A321s, unilaterally terminated by Airbus. “Qatar Airways is very concerned about the precedent set by Airbus in terminating the order for an aircraft from a launch customer. We have the right to refuse delivery of further A350s as long as the model suffers from a design defect. For Airbus, in retaliation, to abuse its market position to terminate a separate contract is extremely damaging to our industry,” the airline said.
