Filling a large courtroom at London’s High Court, the latest procedural hearing in a high-stakes contract and security dispute dealt with the intricate details of “shared disks” and “search terms” as each side searched for a smoking gun which showed cozy relations with regulatory authorities. “There will have to be a shortcut,” Judge David Waxman said after sometimes testy arguments over how to handle more than 100,000 documents that may hold the key to a potential trial next year in which the reputations of the major players are at stake. . The hearing comes after Reuters reported on Thursday that the leaders of France and Qatar discussed the dispute in December 2021. Qatar Airways is suing Airbus over damage to the painted surface and underlying lightning protection system of its A350 jets, prompting the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA) to ground 29 of the planes over concerns of a potential safety hazard. Backed by European regulators, the world’s biggest planemaker is acknowledging quality flaws in part of its global A350 fleet, but insists its flagship long-haul jet is safe. Qatar Airways said Airbus tried to influence the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) by providing the agency with a “Line to Receive” document. Public relations experts say this kind of document covers talking points for answering media inquiries and high-level talks. “Airbus tried, and appears to have succeeded, in exerting its influence on EASA,” the airline told the court. An Airbus spokesman said it followed all relevant procedures, including its decision to inform EASA of its position, “which is absolutely correct and normal”. An EASA spokesman said the European agency had “coordinated with Airbus to a limited extent only to ensure the technical accuracy” of its own “Line to Receive”.
TIES OF REGULATORS
The sharing of talking points emerged in Airbus emails provided to the airline as part of a discovery process. Airbus argued that while “collusion was lightly hinted at” between the plane maker and EASA, Qatar Airways had provided very little information in the discovery process about its own contacts with the QCAA. Instead of providing an analysis of alternative wide-body aircraft, for example, the airline had submitted photos of lavatories, Airbus said in written arguments. Although a seemingly mundane detail, industry sources say toilets are a key part of high-end product comparisons. Airbus said Qatar Airways “may have unfairly colluded or conspired” with its regulator to ground planes and improve its commercial position, a charge the airline denies. The groundings have prompted claims of penalties of up to $200,000 per aircraft per day. Airbus says the landings are invalid. Allegations of coordination could determine how far each side must go to provide internal documents in the case, which has already led to the revelation of unprecedented details about the workings of the $150 billion jet industry. Alleging that Airbus tried to garner EASA’s support, Qatar released an Airbus email summarizing a call between Chief Technical Officer Sabine Klauke and the EASA boss in July 2021. “I’ve just had Patrick Key on the phone … Patrick has fully committed to calling his QCAA counterpart and seeing with him how they would help them justify getting the aircraft back in the air,” Klauke told his colleagues. An EASA spokesman said the aim was purely to explain EASA’s position and offer technical support to the QCAA, which declined requests for comment during the dispute. The independence of regulators worldwide has come under intense scrutiny after a safety crisis involving the 737 MAX sparked widespread concern about close ties between the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Boeing plane. Court documents revealed US involvement in the Airbus-Qatar dispute for the first time since Airbus informed the FAA in December 2021. An Airbus engineering executive wrote in an email that the update was “well received” with no specific concerns. An FAA spokesman said: “We are aware of the matter and are in contact with EASA, which certifies Airbus aircraft.” The two sides also seized two A350s that Airbus said Qatar continued to fly after apparently repainting them. Qatar Airways said the planes needed only minor paintwork unlike those landed by its regulator. Report by Tim Hepher. Additional reporting by Andy Mills in Doha and David Shepardson in Washington, DC. Editing by Gerry Doyle, Susan Fenton and Cynthia Osterman Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
