Boeing: A Missed Opportunity

When Iran Air signed a contract with Boeing after months of negotiations, many in Iran's aviation sector hoped that Iran Air and subsequently other airlines in Iran would undergo transformation. However, with political changes in the United States, everything changed, and this opportunity was lost. Nonetheless, some believe that Iran Air had opportunities during this period that were squandered. According to a spokesperson for Boeing, the company has not delivered any aircraft to Iran and, since it no longer has the 'license to sell' aircraft to Iran, it will not deliver any planes to the country. This statement was not entirely unexpected; aviation activists in Iran had known for months that there would be no news of Boeing aircraft. However, some experts criticize that Iran Air missed two golden opportunities in the past two years. One of these opportunities dates back to when Turkish Airlines, due to financial issues, canceled the purchase of two Boeing 777s. At that time, Boeing offered to sell these two models to Iran Air, but Iran Air declined the request. Some say that Iran Air and the Iranian Ministry of Roads and Urban Development rejected this golden opportunity out of fear of criticism from government opponents. At that time, with the delivery of the first batch of Airbus aircraft to Iran, critics of the JCPOA claimed that the aircraft delivered by Airbus were rejected from other companies. The Tasnim News Agency had published a report at that time with the headline 'Why is the Airbus delivered to Iran a rejected aircraft?' This was while the aircraft delivered to Iran Air by Airbus were completely new, and Airbus had delivered these products to Iran due to the withdrawal of two airlines, one from Spain and the other from Colombia. The pressure from domestic media regarding the delivery of these few Airbus aircraft became so high that it was repeated in the case of the Boeing 777s, and Iran Air passed on the purchase of these two aircraft. Boeing had suggested to Iran Air to order models that would be ready sooner instead of requesting models that would need to stay in the purchase queue for several years. One of these models was the Boeing 747 series 800, an aircraft that has faced a decline in customers for several years. Currently, due to high demand orders for manufacturers' products, airlines usually have to wait several years in line, and when an airline cancels its orders for any reason, manufacturers offer the canceled orders to other airlines. Boeing did just that, and to break the sales curse of aircraft to Iran, it offered Iran Air to buy the canceled Boeing 777 from Turkish Airlines, but Iran Air refused to purchase and stated that it would wait until May 2018 for its turn to receive its Boeing 777 order. These events had even occurred at the beginning of the contract; Boeing had suggested to Iran Air to order models that would be ready sooner instead of requesting models that would need to stay in the purchase queue for several years. One of these models was the Boeing 747 series 800, an aircraft that has faced a decline in customers for several years. It was even said that Boeing could deliver two to four aircraft to Iran Air in less than a year, but Iran Air still refused to purchase the Boeing 747 series 800. Iran Air has, for several years, discontinued its long-haul routes, such as those to China and Malaysia, due to the retirement of its aging Boeing 747s. The delivery of about six Boeing 747 and 777 models could have revived these routes. On the other hand, Iran Air could have been insured against potential sanctions for at least thirty more years by purchasing these aircraft. However, by rejecting Boeing's offers, the situation reached a point where, with the tightening political atmosphere, the Boeing contract was canceled by the American company, and it is likely that the same trend will be repeated for Airbus. The U.S. Treasury Department announced that following Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the U.S. from the nuclear agreement with Iran, the license for the sale of Airbus and Boeing aircraft to Iran is revoked. Any passenger aircraft that has at least 10% of its parts made by American companies must receive official permission from the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department (OFAC) to be sold to Iran. However, Iran Air has a few months until this license is revoked. Iran Air has announced that it may be able to receive three new Airbus aircraft and eight more ATRs by that time. In this context, Boeing is not delivering any aircraft to Iran, and Iranian aircraft are in limbo, waiting for Airbus's decision regarding the purchase of 100 aircraft. The U.S. has stated that the license for the sale of Airbus and Boeing aircraft to Iran is revoked, while the advisor to the Minister of Roads has stated that the contract with Boeing remains in effect. The entry of Boeing into Iran is now a matter of 'maybe another time,' and delays in the delivery of purchased aircraft from Iran continue. Will the renewal of Iran's aging air fleet continue?