Airbus has been given approval to cancel an order for its in-demand A321 single-aisle jets from Qatar Airways, giving the plane maker an incremental victory in a heated legal dispute with one of its biggest customers.
The Gulf airline had asked a London court for an injunction to stop Airbus from scrapping the contract for 50 planes. UK Justice David Waksman's decision to deny the motion clears Airbus to remarket the jets to other customers.
Qatar Airways, meanwhile, has suffered a setback in its high-profile battle with the world’s biggest plane maker. Airbus cancelled the A321 order in response to a larger court fight over alleged flaking paint on its A350 wide-body planes. The Qatari airline has refused to accept new deliveries of the larger jets since last year and is seeking compensation of $982 million.
Qatar Airways will now have to find other ways to meet its narrow-body needs. It will also have to pay £260,000 ($331,000) to Airbus in legal fees in the next 14 days.
“Qatar is able to source alternative aircraft to make up for the shortfall in A321s” meant to be put into service during the fourth quarter of 2023, Mr Waksman said.
The judge said leased planes could likely supply Qatar Airways, and that if the airline wins the larger A350 case at trial, Airbus is capable of reinserting the airline into its A321 production plans.
Qatar Airways had sought an injunction to prevent the cancellation until a full trial over the A350 issues. If it wins the broader case, the airline will not have been in breach of the A350 contract by not accepting unsafe aircraft.
An Airbus statement said it was pleased with the decision and reiterated that it would defend the A350 against claims about its safety and airworthiness. Qatar Airways gave no immediate comment.
Airbus’s decision to pull the A321 order in January shocked the industry and showed how badly relations between the manufacturer based in Toulouse, France and one of its most important customers had soured.
Lawyers for Airbus said a cross-cancellation clause allowed the plane maker to scrap the A321 contract after the airline failed to accept delivery of A350s. Mr Waksman said he saw validity to this stance.
He rejected Airbus’s assertion that relations between the parties had broken down to such an extent it would be wrong to force them to work together.
The judge described the Qatar Airways argument that it needed the A321s to fly to new destinations such as Bilbao, Spain or Lyon, France was “flawed and uncertain” and in any case the routes could be served by other aircraft, he said.
With the verdict on the cancellation given, the court moved on Tuesday to discussing the timetable for the A350 case.
Qatar Airways is seeking a preliminary ruling on whether Airbus has conducted a full analysis of the problems with the A350s as required. It has asked the court to block Airbus from cancelling A350 orders and selling two of the wide-bodies it rejected for delivery to other customers.
Airbus wants the entire case to be moved directly to full trial.
One possibility is a renewed focus on settling both sides settling the dispute.
Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury said in February that he would like to resolve the disagreement but the airline retorted that “neither Qatar Airways nor its legal team are aware of any efforts by Airbus to try to resolve the situation in an amicable way; in fact, the actual situation is to the contrary”.
THE SPECS
Engine: AMG-enhanced 3.0L inline-6 turbo with EQ Boost and electric auxiliary compressor
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 429hp
Torque: 520Nm
Price: Dh360,200 (starting)
War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
500 People from Gaza enter France
115 Special programme for artists
25 Evacuation of injured and sick
The years Ramadan fell in May
Story of 2017-18 so far and schedule to come
Roll of Honour
Who has won what so far in the West Asia rugby season?
Western Clubs Champions League
Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Runners up: Bahrain
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Jebel Ali Dragons
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Jebel Ali Dragons
Runners up: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Premiership Cup
Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Runners up: Dubai Exiles
Fixtures
Friday
West Asia Cup final
5pm, Bahrain (6pm UAE time), Bahrain v Dubai Exiles
West Asia Trophy final
3pm, The Sevens, Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Sports City Eagles
Friday, April 13
UAE Premiership final
5pm, Al Ain, Dubai Exiles v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
The End of Loneliness
Benedict Wells
Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
Sceptre
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
MATCH INFO
Arsenal 1 (Aubameyang 12’) Liverpool 1 (Minamino 73’)
Arsenal win 5-4 on penalties
Man of the Match: Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Arsenal)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Meatless Days
Sara Suleri, with an introduction by Kamila Shamsie
Penguin
UAE squad
Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
