VietJet Settles $250 Million Dispute After Court-Ordered Asset Freeze
VietJet's Legal Dispute and Settlement Details
By Julie Zhu
Settlement Plans and Government Involvement
SINGAPORE, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Vietnamese airline VietJet plans to pay about $250 million in the coming days to settle a legal dispute over four leased planes, said two people familiar with the matter, after British court orders froze its dealings in assets outside Vietnam.
The Vietnamese government encouraged a swift resolution and instructed the low-cost carrier to pay lessor FW Aviation, part of London-based investment firm FitzWalter Capital, the people said.
VietJet lined up funds earlier this week and aims to complete the payment by November 13, the date of a London court hearing at which additional sums owed by the airline may be determined, said one of the people.
Both people, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the airline was moving to pay as quickly as possible.
Impact on Aircraft Deliveries
VietJet, which has more than 500 aircraft on order from Airbus and Boeing combined, expects to receive its first A330neo and A321XLR planes in the coming weeks once the lawsuit is settled, the people added. Both deliveries would be first-of-type for the airline.
"As a legal process is ongoing, we are unable to comment," said an Airbus spokesperson.
VietJet, Vietnam's foreign affairs ministry and FitzWalter Capital did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
Court Orders and Asset Restrictions
Overview of Court Orders
COURT ORDERS
The expected settlement would end a standoff stemming from two London court orders issued last month restricting VietJet's dealings in aircraft on order and other assets outside Vietnam.
The freezing order requires VietJet to obtain court permission before dealing with undelivered aircraft, engines, purchase-contract rights, maintenance reserves and lease deposits located outside Vietnam, while allowing other dealings in the ordinary course of business.
The receivership order goes further: it gives court-appointed receivers the power to take delivery of new aircraft on VietJet's behalf, includes no ordinary-course-of-business exception, and bars VietJet from relocating assets into Vietnam.
Background of the Dispute
The orders were sought by FW Aviation, which sued VietJet in 2022 over unpaid rent on four Airbus A321 jets grounded in Vietnam during the pandemic. The debt has since grown to about $250 million including interest, according to the judgment.
VietJet paid only $2 million of that sum in May 2025, the day before an appeal hearing, the judgment said. A London judge said the evidence "amply supports" FW Aviation's characterisation of the airline as a "won't pay" rather than "can't pay" debtor. He noted its market capitalisation exceeds $3.8 billion and its total assets are about $5.4 billion.
Receivership and Asset Control
On October 22, another judge appointed two professionals from Alvarez & Marsal as joint receivers over a wide range of VietJet's assets outside Vietnam, according to a court order.
The receivers can collect money in VietJet's bank accounts, ticket-sale proceeds, maintenance reserves and lease deposits. They can also take delivery of aircraft and engines on order from manufacturers including Airbus, Boeing and Rolls-Royce and instruct them to deliver the aircraft to the receivers or a third party.
Alvarez & Marsal, Boeing and Rolls-Royce did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
The order further allows the receivers to seize and sell VietJet's existing aircraft and take over its offshore subsidiaries.
VietJet must give Airbus and 27 other named counterparties written confirmation of the receivers' authority.
The receivership order excludes property located in Vietnam as a matter of English law. Vietnamese courts have refused to recognise the English rulings, the judgment said.
Concerns Over Asset Dissipation
The first judge found a real risk VietJet would dissipate assets, citing agreements that transferred rights tied to its aircraft order book to Angelica Holding Ltd, a Cayman Islands company that he said appeared to have no offices or staff.
He also noted that VietJet stopped flying certain aircraft to Singapore after a court there ordered their seizure, calling it a step "plainly designed to frustrate enforcement."
(Reporting by Julie Zhu in Singapore and Phuong Nguyen in Hanoi; Additional reporting by Francesco Guarascio in Hanoi; Editing by Jamie Freed)
