A draft prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India by Afcom Holdings Limited, doing business as Afcom (Chennai), reveals the cargo operator has secured two B737-800(BCF)s on dry leases for eight years. The detail is in the draft prospectus that outlines plans for a capital raising via a share issuance.
The two aircraft are VT-AFO (msn 28617) and VT-AFC (msn 30160), both sourced from Spectre Air Capital. VT-AFO is a 24.34-year-old aircraft that was Yakutia Airlines (R3, Yakutsk) until 2022. It underwent conversion at Guangzhou last year and ferried to Hyderabad International in September, where it has remained in storage since. VT-AFC is 24.03 years old and most recently flew for Azur Air (ZF, Krasnoyarsk Yemelyanovo) before it was withdrawn from use in 2022. The aircraft was later converted at Jinan, and also ferried to Hyderabad last October, where it has remained ever since.
Prior to securing their own aircraft, Afcom had been relying on other operators to provide aircraft, notably Asia Cargo Airlines (GM, Jakarta Halim), which operated on Afcom's behalf using a B737-400 type and Airmark Indonesia Aviation (Jakarta Halim) which also supplied a B737-400 type on a "quasi charter basis." The prospectus says the Airport Authority of India has allocated nine overnight parking spots at Chennai Airport.
The company wants to issue 6,840,000 shares with a face value of INR10 rupees (USD0.12) each. The actual issue price is yet to be determined. Afcom says they will use the capital to fund growth through fleet and network expansion, upgrade safety standards and quality, and improve operational efficiencies.
Meanwhile, there are some reports that Afcom is not paying its pilots and is also slow to pay some vendors. As of February 29, 2024, Afcom employed ten captains, six first officers, three transition captains, and two trainee first officers. It is reported that the crews have not been paid since the start of the year. ch-aviation has contacted Afcom for comment.
