Qatar Airways has indicated that a provisional agreement to buy up to 50 Boeing 737 MAX jets has lapsed, Boeing's rival Airbus said in a court document released on Thursday.
The deal, signed in Washington in January, is part of a series of inter-locking agreements caught up in a London court dispute between Airbus and the Gulf carrier over a larger jet.
Airbus requested a copy of the Boeing 737 MAX agreement after the airline brought it up as part of its bid for compensation for damage to the A350, now worth $1.4 billion.
Qatar Airways initially resisted the request on the grounds that the provisional Boeing deal had now "expired", Airbus said in a summary of arguments presented ahead of a UK court hearing.
Qatar Airways, whose own preparatory written arguments made no reference to the Boeing deal, had no immediate comment. Boeing declined comment on discussions with airline customers.
A redacted version of the Boeing agreement is likely to be shared with Airbus, people familiar with the case said following a procedural hearing on Thursday.
One person familiar with the case described the dispute over disclosure of the document as a "red herring" as Airbus and Qatar Airways lurch towards a trial on the core A350 dispute.
There was no independent confirmation of the status of the contract, which involves a type of 737 MAX that is itself in doubt over regulatory issues in the United States. read more
Boeing has a December deadline to win approval for the 737