AirAsia, MAHB boards to meet to discuss airline's lawsuit

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Bhd and Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) are expected to meet this month for talks on the low-cost carrier's RM409 million lawsuit against the airport operator.
Group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said the Transport Ministry has arranged for a meeting between the two parties to discuss AirAsia's letter of demand for losses incurred while operating from klia2 and the previous low-cost carrier terminal due to alleged breaches of contractual duties and duty of care by MAHB.
"The boards of both companies are going to meet in September. This is the first time in 14 years that both boards will meet with the management. It's a good sign. I think the transport minister has played a good part in bringing us together," he told reporters at the launch of the airline's Kuala Lumpur-Goa service yesterday.
"We are making a claim for our damaged aircraft. When one of our aircraft slipped off the chocks, it was out of service for seven weeks, and there were a lot of incidents where the aircraft had to be fixed for eight hours, landing gear and so on. These are the things we will bring up at the meeting," he said, adding that he felt optimistic about the meeting.
AirAsia served a letter of demand on MAHB and its wholly owned subsidiary Malaysia Airports (Sepang) Sdn Bhd in July. However, MAHB denied that it owes AirAsia for damages, calling the claims "wholly unjustified".
On MAHB seeking overdue payments from several airlines, Fernandes said AirAsia is not involved.
"As a company you owe every month, right; you don't pay on the dot. Aireen is on top of that. AirAsia has no problems with any payment," he said, referring to AirAsia Bhd CEO Aireen Omar.
Fernandes declined to comment on the irregular dealings related to its long-haul, low-cost affiliate AirAsia X Bhd, while Datuk Kamarudin Meranun, who was initially scheduled to attend the event, did not show up. Kamarudin is AirAsia X's group CEO.
Last month, AirAsia X announced that its auditors had discovered 24 payments amounting to RM7.01 million made between 2010 and 2014 to a service provider for "fictitious services".
The irregularities were found by PwC Consulting Services Sdn Bhd after carrying out a forensic audit. The payments were authorised by a person in a management position within the company. AirAsia X has lodged a police report and sought legal advice on the possible courses of action to recover the losses.
AirAsia X CEO Benyamin Ismail had reportedly told a business news portal that the person involved no longer works in the airline.
Meanwhile, Economic Times said AirAsia India may report another quarter of losses due to intense competition. Fernandes said it expected losses for the first year but is confident of making profits in December.