Malaysian court separates out Airbus in AirAsia X creditor talks

Malaysia’s high court ordered that struggling budget carrier AirAsia X Bhd’s largest creditor Airbus SE be separated out from other stakeholders in restructuring talks for the airline. 

By putting Airbus in a category of its own, smaller creditors, who had pushed for a greater say, will likely gain a larger voice against the European planemaker in the debt talks. Without majority consent from all three groups, the debt recast plans won’t be able to go ahead. Previously, Airbus and smaller creditors had been grouped together.

AirAsia X’s restructuring plan would wipe out almost 63.5 billion ringgit ($15.7 billion) of debt and save the carrier as the pandemic wreaks havoc on air travel. Airbus Asia Pacific President Anand Stanley said in a court filing last year that there’s a “strong possibility” that the plane builder will suffer substantial losses under the proposed restructuring plan.

The Malaysian court on Friday allowed a meeting on the proposed restructuring talks to proceed but didn’t set a date.

“We can not comment on the restructuring process at AirAsia X, which is ongoing,” said Sean Lee, a spokesman for Airbus.

Airbus had already built or substantially built seven A330neo model aircraft for AirAsia X and there were a further 71 of the wide-bodies on order, according to a filing in 2020.