Qatar Air ups ante in A350 paint-job dispute with Airbus

Qatar Airways said a problem with rapidly deteriorating surface paint that led to the grounding of 16 of its Airbus A350 jets has also affected lightning protection on the model’s fuselage and caused cracks on the composite structure. CEO Akbar Al Baker also disputed a statement from Airbus that it had identified the cause of the problem, which the European planemaker said is limited to surface paint and doesn’t affect airworthiness. The dust-up with its largest A350 customer is escalating just as Airbus ramps up a sales campaign for a coming freighter version of the wide-body jet. Al Baker has said he’s interested in the new freighter, as well as a competing model expected from Boeing. The Doha-based airline will make a decision soon on an order for 50 freighters, but won’t buy any more A350s from Airbus until the surface issue is fixed, he said. “It is a problem with the paint that has led to us getting deterioration on the lightning protection of the fuselage and cracks appearing on the composite,” Al Baker said in an interview at an airline industry summit in Boston. The paint is not deteriorating on metal areas of the aircraft, and only where there is “aerodynamic stress,” he said.<br/>