2015: The Year of Aircraft Purchases

The year 2015 can be considered a year of good news for Iran's aviation industry. The year began with the purchase and arrival of several modern Airbus A340 aircraft acquired by Mahan Air, followed by the purchase of 118 Airbus and 20 ATR aircraft. In this year, negotiations were also held for the purchase of 50 aircraft from Brazil's Embraer and about 100 from Boeing. At the beginning of 2015, Mahan Airlines introduced 9 Airbus aircraft into its fleet. Eight of these aircraft are Airbus A340 Series 600, produced between 2001 and 2004, and one is an Airbus A321. With the arrival of these aircraft, over three thousand seats were added to the country's air transport capacity. With this purchase, Mahan's fleet became larger and more efficient than Iran's national airline, Iran Air. Currently, Mahan has 57 operational aircraft, while Iran Air has 44. As negotiations over Iran's nuclear program progressed and the time for an agreement approached, many reports emerged about behind-the-scenes negotiations between Iran Air and the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development with Boeing and Airbus, most of which were denied by these two major aircraft manufacturers. During this time, another report raised concerns within Iran's aviation industry. In late spring, some news indicated negotiations with the Russian company Sukhoi for the extensive purchase of the Superjet 100 aircraft. Before the conclusion of Iran's nuclear negotiations, it was initially Russian news sources that reported on the Iranian side's negotiations to purchase Sukhoi aircraft. At that time, it was argued that Iran was negotiating with the Russians to have an option for renewing its air fleet in case the negotiations failed. However, after the agreement was reached and sanctions on Iran's aviation industry were lifted, allowing the purchase of new aircraft from Boeing and Airbus, Russian sources again published this news. Initially, Iran's Civil Aviation Organization denied this news, but it was eventually confirmed to be true. Hamid Habibi, Deputy for Flight Standards at the Civil Aviation Organization, stated, "Negotiations have taken place for aircraft manufacturing collaboration between Iran and Russia, and there is a view that these two countries should cooperate." It is anticipated that if domestically produced, about 100 Sukhoi Superjets will enter Iran's airways. However, the purchase of aircraft from Sukhoi remains at the news level for now, and as far as it is known, this purchase will likely not be made by Iran Air but by other Iranian airlines. Not all aircraft purchase news in 2015 was like the Sukhoi purchase. Following the lifting of nuclear sanctions, Iran Air attempted to modernize the country's light commercial fleet by purchasing 20 new aircraft from the French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR. After this purchase, during the Iranian President's visit to France, the purchase of 118 Airbus aircraft, the largest purchase in the history of Iranian aviation, took place. Abbas Akhoundi, Minister of Roads and Urban Development, noted the intensive negotiations with Airbus executives and the agreement with them regarding the delivery of the purchased aircraft, stating, "This year, eight Airbus aircraft will be added to the Islamic Republic of Iran's airline fleet (Iran Air). With the agreement with the French side, it was decided that by 2024, that is, in the next eight years, 110 Airbus aircraft of various types will be added to Iran Air's fleet." It is estimated that Iran needs about 600 new aircraft, and the purchase of 118 aircraft from Airbus only meets 20% of this need. To meet the remaining air needs, Iran is currently negotiating with various companies, including Boeing for the purchase of about 100 aircraft and Bombardier from Brazil for the purchase of 50 aircraft. It has been clarified that after the initial nuclear agreement, negotiations between Iran Air and Airbus had begun, running parallel to negotiations with Boeing. After several months of initial expert negotiations, during the Paris Air Show in 2015, which took place in June 2015, Abbas Akhoundi pursued negotiations with Airbus officials at the general management level. At this time, Airbus denied these negotiations, but Abbas Akhoundi emphasized in interviews with Iranian media the conduct of negotiations and reaching initial results. One of the challenges of this plan was securing the funding for the large volume of aircraft purchases, which was practically beyond Iran Air's capacity. The government was also unable to provide such an amount in a difficult economic situation. Therefore, the leasing purchase plan for these aircraft was proposed. The Ministry of Roads and Urban Development announced that Iran Air would pay only 15% of the price upon delivery of each aircraft, and the remaining purchase amount could be paid from part of its income over 15 years. In this purchase, Iran Air acquired 45 A320 aircraft, 45 A330 aircraft, 16 A350 aircraft, and 12 A380 aircraft. However, the purchase of the A380 faced criticism, especially because only one airport in Iran can service this aircraft. Nevertheless, Abbas Akhoundi, Iran's Minister of Roads and Urban Development, stated, "With the contracts signed with Italian and French companies, there is a comprehensive plan for the modernization of Iran's airports. We hope that within the next four years, the passenger capacity of Imam International Airport will increase to 45 million passengers per year to become a regional hub. Plans are underway for most major cities and international airports.