Iran Air to Take Delivery of 14 New Aircraft by Yearend
EghtesadOnline: Iran Air, the country’s flag carrier, will take delivery of 14 brand-new airplanes, include three Airbus jets, three Boeing jets in addition to eight ATR turboprops, by the end of 2018, if it manages to provide the down payments set in the contracts.
Stating the above, Ali Asghar Fakhrieh-Kashan, deputy minister of roads and urban development in international affairs, also told IRNA on Wednesday, “No change has been made in our contract with Boeing [yet]. But we need to be cautious about our payments to the American planemaker, due to President Donald Trump’s erratic decisions.”
Fakhrieh-Kashan noted that negotiations are underway with Boeing over the delivery of these three jets by the end of 2018, adding that any attempt by the US government to disrupt the delivery process would be against the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the nuclear deal Iran signed with world powers in July 2015.
The official did not provide any further details about the other planes, according to Financial Tribune.
However, in September, Farzaneh Sharafbafi, Iran Air’s CEO, said the upcoming deliveries in 2018 include Boeing 777, Airbus A320 and Airbus A321.
The flag carrier is also set to take delivery of its ninth and 10th ATR 72-600 turboprops in May. Local aviation media reported this week that the two planes are going through final checks by the Iran Air crew.
Following the lifting of sanctions in January 2016, Iran Air finalized contracts for purchasing 100 Airbus jets, 80 Boeing jets and 20+20 ATR aircraft. It has taken delivery of 11 planes so far: one Airbus A321, two Airbus A330s and eight ATR 72-600s.