Airbus and Qatar Airways settle bitter A350 jet row

Airbus and Qatar Airways settle bitter A350 jet row

PARIS - Airbus and Qatar Airways have settled a dispute over grounded A350 jets, the companies said on Wednesday, averting a potentially damaging UK court trial after a blistering 18-month feud that tore the lid off the global jet market.

The "amicable and mutually agreeable settlement" ends a $2 billion row over surface damage on the long-haul jets. The spat led to the withdrawal of billions of dollars' worth of jet deals by Airbus and prompted Qatar to increase purchases from Boeing.

The cancelled orders for 23 undelivered A350s and 50 smaller A321neos have been restored under the new deal, which is also expected to see Airbus pay several hundred million dollars to the Gulf carrier, while winning a reprieve from other claims.

Financial details were not publicly disclosed.

The companies said neither admitted liability. Both pledged to drop claims and "move forward and work together as partners".

The deal heads off what amounted to an unprecedented public divorce trial between heavyweights in the normally tight-knit and secretive $150 billion jet industry.

The two sides had piled up combined claims and counter-claims worth about $2 billion ahead of the June trial.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire welcomed the deal, which came in the wake of increasing