AirAsia Bhd (AAB) has recently inked a Passenger Charter and Ancillary Services Agreement with its affiliate, AirAsia X Bhd (AAX). Under this agreement, AAX will be responsible for handling passenger charter services and ancillary provisions for the deployment of the Malaysian Battalion 850 UNIFIL (Malbatt) to Beirut, Lebanon. The contract is valued at RM29.7 million.
Capital A Bhd, in a disclosure to Bursa Malaysia, stated that its wholly owned subsidiary, AAB, successfully secured the tender for the charter operation. The Ministry of Defence (Mindef) awarded AAB the contract for a period of three years, commencing from October 1, 2023, and concluding on September 30, 2026. As per the terms outlined in the letter of acceptance, AAB is set to conduct 12 round-trip charter flights, occurring four times annually, between the Royal Malaysian Air Force base in Subang (TUDM Subang) and Beirut.
Additionally, the agreement encompasses ancillary services encompassing accommodation and “Door to Door” solutions to facilitate the movement of Malbatt forces and civilian personnel, along with their baggage and cargo, between their respective bases in Kuantan, Pahang, and Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, and TUDM Subang.
AAB intends to enlist AAX’s services for the charter operations, in accordance with the back-to-back scope of services and arrangements outlined in the agreement between AAB and Mindef. In exchange, AAB is slated to receive a commission equivalent to 3% of the contract sum, amounting to RM891,108.
AAB clarified that the contract was awarded following a competitive tender process organized by Mindef, which was open to all Malaysian carriers. One of the prerequisites for participation was possessing a valid registered account with the Ministry of Finance. Given that AAX did not meet this requirement, AAB submitted the tender based on AAX’s pricing.