Airbus and Qatar Airways face off again in $1.5 billion suits over A350

Airbus and Qatar Airways face off again in $1.5 billion suits over A350

Legal disputes over safety of the passenger jets, which reportedly have damage to its painted surface and anti-lightning system

By Reuters Published: Fri 14 Oct 2022, 1:02 PM

Airbus and Qatar Airways return to court on Friday as a contractual and safety dispute over A350 passenger jets descends into a tug-of-war over confidential documents while the sums at stake in their unprecedented falling-out top $1.5 billion.

Qatar Airways is suing Airbus over damage to the painted surface and anti-lightning system on A350 jets, saying safety could be at risk from a design defect. Airbus acknowledges quality flaws but denies design is at fault and insists the jets are safe.

The two sides must provide each other with thousands of pages of documents as their dispute - which has already altered the shape of competition in the jet market - heads towards a rare London aerospace trial in mid-2023, barring a settlement.

The case has shed a rare public spotlight on the inner workings of the global jet market, including contractual details and the industrial playbook for preparing delivery of new jets.

Friday's High Court hearing is expected to hear mutual claims of foot-dragging over the release of documents, including maintenance files and engineering analysis, as well