BANGKOK: Thai Airways International Pcl is challenging some US$7.4bil (RM30.4bil) in claims from dozens of aircraft lessors and engine service provider Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc, saying it isn’t liable for the monies because they concern future expenses and were incurred after the airline received bankruptcy protection from a Bangkok court.
Thailand’s flag carrier, which is undergoing a court-supervised restructuring to trim debt and return to profit by raising fresh capital, is disputing around 192 billion baht (US$6.3bil) claimed by 48 lessors including BOC Aviation Ltd and SMBC Aviation Capital Ltd, and another 33 billion baht that Rolls-Royce says it’s owed for maintenance services, according to a copy of the debt rehabilitation plan seen by Bloomberg.