A senior executive at Qatar Airways announced today, Tuesday, that "the company has completed the return of its fleet of Airbus A350 aircraft to service after more than a year of settling a rare legal dispute with Airbus regarding damage to the outer skin of the aircraft." Thierry Antinori, the Chief Commercial Officer at Qatar Airways, told Reuters during an international exhibition in Berlin: "We see opportunities arising from having more aircraft in the fleet." He added, "Therefore, we see a lot of potential between Europe and Asia, Europe and Australia, as well as Europe and the Indian Ocean and Africa."
Qatar Airways took an unusual step by announcing a lawsuit against Airbus, the world's largest aircraft manufacturer, over safety issues after cracks in the aircraft's surface coating revealed gaps in a special lightning protection sub-layer in its new A350 aircraft, which are made using composite materials. Airbus has repeatedly denied any safety threats, supported by European regulatory bodies. Qatar Airways reached a settlement with the company last year, avoiding court proceedings.
Antinori stated that the A350 fleet has been fully repaired and is back in operation. "We faced a small issue. We reached a solution. The aircraft were repaired and returned to flying last week." Antinori expects travel demand to recover and even grow, with the upcoming summer season anticipated to be strong.
