Lessor files $23mn claim against Malaysia’s AirAsia X

AirAsia X (D7, Kuala Lumpur Int’l) has revealed that Singapore-based lessor BOC Aviation has filed a claim against it at the Business and Property Courts of the High Court of Justice in London for exactly USD22,975,392.17 in outstanding payments. The claim pertains to individual lease agreements covering four aircraft, all of which were dated November 24, 2014, and amended and restated on December 28, 2018, the long-haul carrier outlined in a statement posted on its website on September 4. The claim was expressed in a letter dated August 19, which AirAsia X received on August 25, the statement explained. In it, BOC Aviation alleged a breach of AirAsia X’s lease agreement and its obligations under guarantees stated in the December 2018 contract, according to the statement. The AirAsia X board “is currently reviewing the documentation received” and “will be seeking legal advice” in relation to the claim. According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, BOC Aviation currently leases three aircraft to the Malaysian carrier, all of them A330-300s. BOC is one of ten lessors supplying AirAsia X with a least nineteen of the twenty-four A330-300s that make up the entirety of AirAsia X’s fleet. None of the aircraft in the fleet is currently active. The travel restrictions the coronavirus pandemic has triggered have severely impacted AirAsia X’s finances. As previously reported, it said on August 26 that it needed its creditors’ support to survive the crisis and had appealed for payment deferrals and concessions from lessors, lenders, and suppliers.