On Wednesday morning, Airbus shares were down 3%.
A Reuters on-site visit has revealed the evidence of damage to parts of the two Airbus A350 planes caught in the middle of a global legal dispute between European industrial behemoth Airbus and Qatar Airways.
The court fight has resulted in two cutting-edge Airbus A350 planes sitting idle in a floodlit hanger in Qatar, with their windows taped and engines covered.
While the aircraft may appear to be just another long-haul flight at Doha airport, a rare on-site visit by Reuters journalists revealed what looked to be proof of surface damage to several of the wings, tail, and hull.
The two aircrafts, which analysts estimate to both be worth a total of $300 million, are among 23 grounded A350s that are the subject of a $1 billion London court dispute over whether the damage poses a threat to the safety of passengers, which Airbus vehemently denies.
After premature paint erosion revealed damage to a metallic sub-layer that shields the fuselage from lightning strikes, Qatar’s aviation authority grounded the aircraft.
However, European officials deemed the A350 safe, prompting other airlines to continue using it.
Reuters observed the unusual surface faults on the A350s, including a lengthy section of blistered, cracked, or missing paint along the roof or crown of the aircraft.
The protective lightning mesh that lies between the hull and the paint appeared exposed and deteriorated in several places, such as on the curving wingtips.
It appeared to be missing in other places, exposing some of the composite hull.
One of the A350s’ tails had the maroon Arabian Oryx emblem of Qatar Airways painted on it, but the paint was scratched, missing, and fractured, revealing the layer beneath.
On the hull, Reuters observed small patches of what seemed to be fraying or delaminated carbon threads, and on the major wing regions, so-called “rivet rash” or paint loss from fastener heads.
Regarding Reuters’ findings, neither Airbus nor Qatar Airways immediately responded.
On Wednesday morning, Airbus shares were down 3%.
While Airbus admits that the A350s have quality issues, it disputes that there is any safety risk as a result, given the number of backup systems and tolerance included in the design.
In its refusal to accept additional planes, Qatar Airways has maintained that this cannot be known without further investigation.
As a required trade-off for weight savings, Airbus claims that some paint erosion is a characteristic of the carbon-composite technology used to construct all modern long-haul jets.
According to the report, the paint, an anti-lightning substance known as ECF, and the composite structure, interacted to cause cracks. The ECF foil is not present along the entire tail, raising the question of whether damage is a result of the same issue.
A UK court has heard testimony from Qatar Airways that its similar Boeing 787s do not experience the same issues as Airbus’ explanation.
During the three-day industry conference held in Qatar this week, Chief Executives of Qatar Airways Akbar Al Baker and Airbus Guillaume Faury got the chance to talk.
Al Baker advised that the two sides keep far apart when asked if the relationship had improved following the incident, which saw the two men sitting next to one another during dinner.
