DOHA: Qatar Airways group chief executive officer Akbar Al Baker believes that there will not be a second-hand market for Airbus A380 as well as no revival of the superjumbo jet despite the rise in international air travel demand.
"There is zero second-hand market for the A380 and I don't think that this program will rebound. Unfortunately, we are using the A380s…And especially with the current oil price, it's the most un-economic aeroplane to operate."
"We are forced to operate it because we are in desperate need of capacity due to our grounded A350s," he told the New Straits Times on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) 78th annual general meeting and World Air Transport Summit here early this week.
Akbar is known to be one of the fierce critics of the A380 and he had said in 2021 that the purchase of the world's largest passenger aircraft was Qatar Airways' biggest mistake.
In November 2021, Qatar Airways said it was flying five of its A380 again temporarily to cater to the fleet capacity challenges following the grounding of 21 of its A350 fleet.
The grounding was due to the damage to the protective outer skin of the airplanes due to paint, which exposed cracks and damage in lighting protection, said the airline.
Qatar Airways held European aircraft manufacturer Airbus responsible over the claim.
The two companies were at loggerheads with each other and Qatar Airways had brought the dispute over air worthiness of the narrow-body aircraft to a court in London in December 2021.
Meanwhile, Airbus had said the damage was purely cosmetic.
Qatar Airways is pursuing Airbus over US$600 million in compensation for the A350 surface flaws as well as an extra US$4 million per day for each of its A350 that remains grounded.
The airline said Qatar's national regulator, the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority, had ordered it to stop flying 21 out of its 53 A350s.
"I don't want to comment too much. At the moment, we are litigating and the date for the trial is already set by the judge…We are always open to constructively resolve issues but we cannot accept somebody not following a contract they have signed with us," Akbar said when asked about the legal battles with Airbus.
Should Qatar Airways and Airbus did not settle outside of court, the two parties will be heading to court from June 2023.
Meanwhile, Akbar said Malaysia was one of Qatar Airways' most important destinations in Southeast Asia and the carrier's close partnership with Malaysia Airlines Bhd had brought Qatar and Malaysia closer to each other.
"We have a very close partnership with Malaysia Airlines. Malaysia is a very big country for tourism and Qatar Airways is doing very good business between Malaysia and our hub at Hamad International Airport and especially now that Malaysia Airlines is operating as a code-share of Qatar Airways," Akbar added.