AIRASIA X Bhd (AAX) seems to have defied the directive of the Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) which wanted the long-haul budget carrier to reimburse passengers who were not able to fly due to flight cancellations.
The airline has again insisted today that any form of reimbursement to the affected passengers will be subject to it being successfully restructured pursuant to terms of the scheme of arrangement (SOA) that was supported by 99% of all creditors last Friday (Nov 12).
“If the terms of the SOA are not complied with and the scheme fails, AAX will go into liquidation and the passengers will not receive anything in return,” the airline pointed out in a statement to clarify various media reports on passenger classification and their entitlements under the SOA. “It is not the intention for AAX to place the passengers in this situation.”
Earlier, AAX has assured all passengers affected by its restructuring exercise that it is the firm intention of the airline to put in place travelling privileges in the form of travel credits which can be utilised for future purchases of flight tickets once international borders reopen.
This comes on top of the 0.5% they will receive and other cash based entitlements based on annual revenue performance over three years as detailed out in the explanatory statement issued to all creditors recently.
“AAX’s policies are in line with many operators in the travel industry worldwide and are fully compliant with all regulatory requirements in each of the regions we operate in,” the budget carrier further noted.
“The airline has ongoing dialogue with all consumer regulators across the region to ensure compliance and is ISO-certified for customer complaint management which is a global benchmark for maintaining the highest standards.”
On Friday (Nov 12), MAVCOM urged AAX to reassess its proposal to treat air travel consumers as creditors and to pay only 0.5% of the value of tickets purchased as announced on Oct 18.
“MAVCOM takes the view that air travel consumers ought not to be classified as ‘creditors’ as the air travel consumers did not, inter alia, sell any products, provide services or make loans to AAX but instead have paid monies for the purchase of tickets in advance of their flights,” stated the civil aviation regulator.
Accordingly, MAVCOM reiterates its position that AAX should reimburse air travel consumers for the tickets purchased. – Nov 15, 2021
