Airline leasing company BOC Aviation filed the request in the High Court of Malaya at Kuala Lumpur to register the UK’s court ruling on AirAsia X. In November 2020, the UK court judged that the airline must pay the leasing company more than $23 million for outstanding aircraft lease liabilities.
BOC Aviation took steps to take the UK‘s court decision into action by registering the foreign judgment on AirAsia X in the Malaya’s High Court on December 7, 2020. The airline is reviewing the documentation received and will be seeking legal advice.
„The financial impact to the Group will be a cash outflow equal to the amount of the said notice, if successful. There is no operational impact to the Group,“ AirAsia X stated in an announcement published on December 8, 2020.
On November 23, 2020, a Singapore-based lessor won its lawsuit against AirAsia X. The High Court of England and Wales ordered the embattled air carrier to pay almost $23.5 million over outstanding lease payments and other financial obligations relating to what was established as a breach of obligations for four non-specified aircraft lease agreements. In addition, to more than $23 million, the UK’s court designated the airline to pay up to $101,000 to BOC Aviation to cover the legal costs.
BOC Aviation filed its claim in the UK court in early September 2020. According to the leasing company, the parties signed a leasing agreement for four aircraft in November 2014 and later revised it in December 2018.
According to PlaneSpotters fleet data, the AirAsia X fleet is composed entirely of A330-300s. The airline has 23 aircraft of the type as of December 9, 2020.
The UK’s court judgment against AirAsia X appears to be the largest recovery litigation case so far. On August 25, 2020, Irish leasing company Peregrine Aviation Echo sued Bejing’s Capital Airlines in London over an unpaid lease agreement for two Airbus A330-200 aircraft allegedly reaching $7 million.