Iran to receive 1st commercial plane from Airbus

Tehran, Jan 8 (IANS) Iran will receive the first commercial plane purchased from civil aircraft manufacturer Airbus, authorities here said on Sunday.

The plane, an A321 class, was officially registered under Iran Air ownership on Saturday, CEO Farhad Parvaresh said.

The plane will arrive and will be operated by an Iran Air team who have been attending Airbus flight operations training courses in France for months, said Parvaresh.

"Iran Air has made necessary arrangements for the incoming A321 to be used for domestic flights, nevertheless it could also be used for international flights if required," he said.

According to reports, this would be Iran's first brand-new plane in over 37 years. The country's current fleet is comprised of planes purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

All post-1979 purchases that were made with a variety of providers involved second-hand planes.

In December, Iran sealed a contract with Airbus to buy 100 aircraft worth over $18 billion.

Parvaresh said that Iran Air will receive seven or eight planes from Airbus in 2017. He hoped that the delivery would be made in due time.

In January 2016, Iran signed a preliminary agreement with Airbus to purchase 106 commercial planes. However, the agreement waited for the US Treasury Department's go-ahead license which was issued in November.

In December, Iran Air also finalised an agreement with Boeing to purchase 80 commercial planes.

The agreement envisages the purchase of 50 twin-jet narrow-body Boeing 737 planes and 30 long-range wide-body 777 aircraft with a total value of $16.6 billion.

The planes by Boeing would be delivered to Iran within 10 years, Parvaresh said, adding that the first deliveries are expected in 2018.