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PAKISTAN's flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), has sent a seven-member delegation to Jakarta, Indonesia, to resolve a dispute involving two Airbus A320 aircraft the airline leased from AirAsia on a six-year agreement in 2015.
The dispute has been ongoing since the airline returned two A320s to its lessor, AirAsia, in September 2021, reports Montreal's Simply Flying.
The lessor has refused to take the jets back, saying that they do not meet the contract criteria. The losses due to the ongoing dispute add to the ongoing financial turmoil the airline has been going through in recent years.
The pair of jets delivered new to AirAsia in 2006, were leased out to PIA in September and November 2015. At the end of the lease term, PIA offered to buy the aircraft from the lessor, but the offer was declined. PIA returned the two aircraft in September following the third-party inspection at the end of the lease term.
The inspection conducted in Indonesia revealed that the aircraft were not in the condition agreed upon in the contract. Issues with some parts of the aircraft revealed that the required C Checks were not performed by the airline. As such, AirAsia refused to accept the aircraft.
PIA denied all allegations pertaining to the condition of the aircraft and said that they were in good condition for return. The aircraft has since been stored at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK). The dispute has been going on since that time, costing PIA hundreds of thousands of dollars each month.
According to Islamabad Post, the airline, yet again, offered to purchase the aircraft for an additional US$30 million but has not heard back from the leasing company. PIA aims to resolve the dispute once and for all and possibly bring the two aircraft back into service with PIA. This is going to be a final effort in the dispute, and the authorities are eager to make a decision on this.
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