2021 ended on a mixed note for many European industries. The aeronautics sector, for example, has had its share of turbulence, some of it far more violent than usual.

AirAsia X Sets the Pace

In recent months, Airbus experienced several cancellations, all of which were detrimental to the company. The first one came from Asia, Malaysia's AirAsia X. The airline was the first to negotiate the cancellation of a portion of one of its orders.

The cancellation involves 63 aircraft of the A330neo model and 10 aircraft of the A321XLR model, according to Air Journal. In total, the AirAsia X order included 108 aircraft, which have now been reduced to 35 aircraft - 15 A330neo and 20 A321XLR.

Qatar Airways Clips the Wings of Airbus

Following this initial setback, strong turbulence from Qatar shook and continues to upset the European aerospace sector. In December 2021, the dispute between Airbus and Qatar Airways over A350 models, whose quality was questioned by Qatar Airways, entered a new chapter when Qatar Airways chose to submit the case before the London High Court of Justice's Technology & Construction Court.

"We have unfortunately failed in all our attempts to reach a constructive solution with Airbus regarding the accelerated surface degradation conditions which have a negative impact on the Airbus A350,” said the company, which specifies that it was forced to have 13 of its 53 A350s grounded due to this issue. According to Reuters, Qatar Airways is seeking compensation of $618 million from Airbus.

On the Airbus side, the company claims that these defects are superficial and do not justify Qatar Airways grounding part of its fleet, especially since Qatar Airways is the only company to have grounded its A350. Moreover, according to Airbus, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is an aircraft certification authority, has declared that it has not yet detected any safety issues with the A350s it has inspected. In response, the European manufacturer canceled an order worth around $5 billion for 50 single-aisle A321neos from Qatar Airways.

The coming weeks are likely to be difficult for the European aeronautical sector, not only because of the financial damage that could occur, but also because of the negative repercussions on the image of the company.

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