The summer of Qatar’s A350 discontent

Airbus continues to battle turbulence in the wake of its acknowledgement that it may have to redesign the A350.

Key customer Qatar Airways is clearly irked at the prospect of having two wait two extra years for an overhauled jet. Bloomberg News reports that CEO Akbar Al Baker had some particularly blunt words on the topic today. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000085&sid=aVwvjf76.pUc&refer=europe

Key Quote: “‘We as an airline have a business plan. We need to grow. And when there are delays in deliveries, we have to then rethink our fleet strategy. If they don’t have their game in order, then it is their problem.’”

Qatar has announced its intention to order 60 A350s, making it by far the largest customer for the jet Airbus has proposed to counter Boeing’s 787. But the state-owned Persian Gulf airline has never concluded the deal; Al Baker says it’s because Airbus keeps changing the A350 design.

In a British television interview, Airbus COO Charles Champion said he wished that potential customers had spoken up sooner about the problems they saw with the A350 proposal. http://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2006/06/06/Navigation/177/207039/Champion+regrets+customer+concerns+voiced+%E2%80%98a+bit+late%E2%80%99.html That’s why Airbus is in this situation right now, he said, in comments reported by Flight International.

Key Quote: “Champion also blames the timing of a decision to study a fundamental redesign of the aircraft on the fact that Airbus ‘underestimated how much our customers wanted a competition between Airbus and Boeing with a new product from our side.’”

But not all A350 customers are upset by the delays. US Airways, which has put down cash for 20 of them, isn’t worried, Flight reports. http://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2006/06/06/Navigation/177/207050/US+Airways+indifferent+to+Airbus%E2%80%99s+A350+dilemma.html

Airbus, you may recall, provided $250 million in cash to help US Air and America West merge last year, in exchange for the 20-plane order.

Key Quote: “In a memorandum to employees, the airline’s president and chief executive Doug Parker says US Airways management understands Airbus ‘is having internal debate as to whether or not they shouldn’t start over on the A350.’ He adds: ‘If they come back with a new aircraft, great. If they don’t and we don’t have an order any more, that’s fine. The merger’s done and [Airbus has] been paid back, so everyone’s happy.’”

Finnair, which has ordered nine A350s, also isn’t concerned, CEO Jukka Hienonen told Flight. http://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2006/06/05/Navigation/177/207103/No+plan+to+review+A350+order+Finnair+CEO.html

Key Quote: “‘If Airbus has to redesign it, then it will only be a better aircraft,’ says Hienonen … ‘We bought the aircraft as it was. The specification has not been changed because of our desires.’”