Wow: Airbus Terminates A321neo Contract With Qatar Airways

WeTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkias has heard of airlines canceling orders with aircraft manufacturers. It is not often that an aircraft manufacturer terminates a contract with an airline.

The A321neos won't be sold to the airline.

A few years ago, the airline placed an order for 50 A321 family aircraft, including 40 A321neos and 10 A321LRs. It has been revealed that the contract to sell these planes has been terminated.

At list prices, the order is worth over $6 billion. It is not yet known what the terms of the order cancellation were, or if it was a penalty or a clause that allowed the order to be canceled on short notice. The delivery of these planes was supposed to start in 2023, so that opens up some slots for other airlines on short notice.

The only narrow body aircraft that the airline had on order were these. A couple of years back, Qatar Airways canceled an order for some Boeing 737 MAXs. The plan was for the latest generation A321s to be used to refresh the short haul fleet. An all-new business class was going to be on these planes.

Time will tell if this is just a flexing of muscles by Toulouse, or if the situation will evolve into a fight between Boeing and Qatar Airways.

The A321neos won't be sold to the airline.

Why would an order be canceled?

It is an unprecedented move for an aircraft manufacturer to end an order with an airline. There is a $600 million legal dispute between the two airlines.

In August of 2021, Qatar Airways began to ground select A350 jets, as the carrier had reported a " significant condition" across the A350 fleet, whereby "the fuselage surface below the paint is degrading at an accelerated rate".
The challenge is that there is a serious problem with the A350, and that there is a serious problem with the A350, and that there is a serious problem with the A350, and that there is a serious problem with the A350, and that there is a serious problem with
Initially we saw a dozen planes grounded, but that number is now up to over 20 and it is causing operational issues for the airline.
The two companies are at a standstill as they are engaged in a legal dispute.

The relationship between the two companies is destroyed according to the CEO of the airline.

It seems that the 50 A321 jets that were to be sold to the airline have been taken to the next level by the company.

The A350 is also involved in this dispute.

The bottom line.

The sale of 50 A321neo jets was supposed to start in 2023, but the deal has been terminated. The two companies are at a standstill in a legal dispute.

I am curious to see how this plays out. Is this just a negotiating tactic? I think the 50 delivery slots will be filled by other airlines pretty quickly, in which case that couldn't be undone. That would leave the only option for the narrow body fleet for Qatar Airways.

What do you think about the A321neo order being terminated?