Airbus (AIR.PA) has changed the design of its A350 passenger planes after a $2B dispute with Qatar Airways about surface damage, which erupted into a security discussion on Thursday. For months, the two corporations have been arguing in court over the safety implications of peeling paint that exposed rust or cracks in a metallic lightning protection sublayer.
A sandwich of copper foil between the carbon fuselage and outside paint of A350 planes is at the core of the argument, designed to allow lightning strikes to wash away safely. According to Reuters, Airbus was researching a new kind known as perforated copper foil (PCF) in November 2021, primarily because it was lighter than the present expanded copper foil (ECF), but also because it would reduce cracking.
On January 19, 2023, Qatar informed a London court that Airbus had begun making the adjustment and requested further details. Airbus acknowledged its limited use late last year. “PCF is being used on rear-section parts on aircraft delivered from the end of 2022,” an Airbus spokesman said, according to Reuters.
Judge David Waksman concluded the current preliminary hearing by describing the decision to begin utilising the new design as crucial to the case. Qatar Airways has attributed the damage to a suspected design flaw. Airbus claims the previous design is still cutting-edge and safe. What began as a complaint over paint damage on some A350s has evolved into a surgical assessment of current passenger aircraft technology. The A350 is a carbon-fibre passenger airliner that competes with Boeing’s (BA. N) 787 Dreamliner.
European officials say the planes are safe, but Qatar Airways claims this cannot be verified without more investigation. Qatar Airways wants access to raw modeling data so that its technical specialists may replicate the effects of lightning. However, violent exchanges erupted in court on Thursday as Airbus revealed that French security agencies had expressed reservations about sharing data models on planes, some of which are used by European countries. Airbus mentioned cyber assaults on such data as an example.
Qatar Airways accused Airbus of using a new technique to prevent the release of data that might be useful in its case after the plane maker was rejected in a previous attempt to invoke a special blocking statute to protect French interests. Lawyers for the two firms reached a preliminary agreement to protect the data, a rare sign of compromise.
According to diplomatic sources, the issue between two of France’s flagship enterprises, which have significant diplomatic and commercial relations, has come to the notice of leaders from both nations, who have spoken on the matter in recent weeks. In the absence of an agreement in ongoing settlement discussions, the two parties will face a rare corporate trial in June.
Airbus and Qatar Airways fought often during the preliminary hearings about how many emails and other information should be provided before the trial. Last week, a planned four-way meeting between both corporations and Qatari and European officials was cancelled. It is anticipated that it will be rescheduled later this month. On Thursday, Airbus was also compelled to submit information on compensation agreements with other airlines. According to Reuters’ exclusive 2021 investigation, numerous other airlines noticed issues with the painted surface of A350s, but only Qatar Airways has ceased flying them.
