Airlines body warns of fallout from Airbus-Qatar Airways dispute

DOHA (Reuters) – A senior airline industry official criticised a decision by Airbus to revoke a plane order from Qatar Airways, saying the move would encourage airlines to take their own decisions to cancel deals whenever unhappy with planemaker performance.

Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association, issued the warning as the head of Qatar Airways told the same news conference that manufacturers should not take advantage of “market dominance” to bully airlines.

Airbus and Qatar Airways are locked in a dispute over the A350 that spilled over to the A321neo earlier this year when Airbus revoked a deal for the smaller plane on the grounds that the two deals were contractually linked.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher, Editing by Jamie Freed)