13 Airbus A350s to Aeroflot and 23 to Qatar Airways have not yet been delivered. That might thwart the aircraft manufacturer’s production plans.
In fact, Airbus still sounded confident in February when it came to plans for the production of the Airbus A350. From the current five, the aircraft manufacturer wanted to increase the production rate to six in early 2023. But nothing will come of it for the time being, reports the Bloomberg news agency, citing internal sources.
An Airbus spokesman told Bloomberg that they wanted to continue ramping up production in 2023. But there is no longer any talk of the beginning of the year. There are good reasons for it. One of them is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting sanctions. They ban Airbus from extradition to Russia
Slower recovery
13 of the A350s ordered by the state-owned Aeroflot have not yet been delivered. And it doesn’t look like Airbus will get the chance any time soon, either. In addition, war means that long-haul demand is likely to take even longer to return to pre-pandemic levels. This also dampens the prospects for higher production rates.
And then there is another reason apart from the war: Airbus’ dispute with Qatar Airways over defective paintwork on the Airbus A350. As the news agencies Archyde.com and Bloomberg unanimously report, Airbus has canceled the delivery of a third A350 to Qatar Airways.
Quarrels keep escalating
The background to this is the dispute between the two companies that has been smoldering for months. Qatar Airways is now accusing Airbus of problems with the paint might cause fires in the fuel tank to lead. Airbus vehemently rejects this. Both companies have sued each other in different courts. In this matter, too, it does not look as if there will be a solution anytime soon.
And only if at least one of the two problems is resolved, according to the Bloomberg source, would a rate of six long-haul jets in early 2023 still be realistic.