Airbus and Qatar Airways are edging towards an agreement to settle a bitter dispute over grounded A350 jets, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. After months of public feuding, there is no guarantee that an agreement can be reached after previous attempts to avoid a high-profile trial in London this year were abandoned. But two of the sources said the tone appeared more encouraging and negotiations had accelerated after a flurry of political activity and a smooth four-way meeting between the two companies and their respective regulators in Doha last week. "There will be an agreement," one of the sources said, while another cautioned that the talks were still ongoing. Airbus and Qatar Airways had no immediate comment. The two companies have been fighting in a UK court for months over the safety impact of flaking paint that exposed corrosion and gaps in a sub-layer of lightning protection. The dispute between two of aviation's largest players has led to the unprecedented cancellation of large-scale orders from Airbus, and extra business for its U.S. rival Boeing (BA.N). The feud between two of the flagship companies of France and Qatar, which have strong diplomatic and economic ties, has also risen to the attention of leaders of the two countries. Diplomatic sources told Reuters this month that French President Emmanuel Macron and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani had spoken again about the dispute in recent weeks. An official in Macron's office said on Tuesday it had "no comment at this stage". Qatar's government media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<br/>
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Japan Airlines has disclosed operational details for its first Airbus A350-1000s, as it teases “unprecedented” cabin products for its new flagship aircraft. The airline on 31 January says it will deploy the type on the Tokyo Haneda-New York route during the Northern Winter schedule, which begins in November. JAL currently operates its Boeing 777-300ERs on daily flights between the two cities. In a Japanese language statement, the Oneworld carrier says: “With the introduction of the A350-1000, we have renewed the cabin specifications for international flights and are proceeding with development to provide an unprecedented new experience…[for] each customer.” It adds that it will disclose more details on cabin products “as soon as they are ready”. According to Cirium fleets data, JAL has 13 A350-1000s on order. The airline also has 16 smaller -900s in service and a further two more examples on order. The airline first disclosed plans to make the A350 its new flagship in May 2021, in a medium-term business update that was released alongside its full-year financial results. At the time, the airline said it would continue introducing the A350-900 on domestic operations, while retiring its 777s. On its international network, the airline said then it would take delivery of its first A350-1000 in fiscal 2023, which starts 1 April, and introduce the larger aircraft on flights to North America and Europe. The move will mean that the 777-300ER, the carrier’s current long-haul aircraft of choice, will no longer be the international flagship.<br/>