Historic Iran Air order

arbour

Iran today placed an order for 12 A380s, 16 A350s, 45 A330s and 45 A320s.

- 21x A320ceo
- 24x A320neo
- 27x A330ceo
- 18x A330neo
- 16x A350-1000
- 12x A380-800

Very interesting news. I think they were always going to go with Airbus over Boeing.

BZ

arbour wrote: »

Iran today placed an order for 12 A380s, 16 A350s, 45 A330s and 45 A320s.

- 21x A320ceo
- 24x A320neo
- 27x A330ceo
- 18x A330neo
- 16x A350-1000
- 12x A380-800

Very interesting news. I think they were always going to go with Airbus over Boeing.

There is a boeing order to follow shortly apparently. An order for a few 747-8s would be nice!

Comhrá

BZ wrote: »

Iran today placed an order for 12 A380s

Wow! A huge boost for the A380. That must take some of the pressure off it - for the immediate future anyway.

hmmm

What would they need A380s for?

Shannon757

Where are they getting the money for this?

zone 1

local credit union....no shortage of money now since inbargo has been lifted with america. and the rest of the world boeing wont be happy with that order they will surely want a slice of the pie now...

Bsal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFlr6wmN3Zs

Atlantic Dawn

Shannon757 wrote: »

Where are they getting the money for this?

Oil mostly.

They had for decades also paying over the odds for parts sourced from dodgy markets to keep thei ageing fleet of planes in the air, plenty or large scale crashes and people killed as a result of the sanctions preventing them from maintaining and updatting their fleets.

Tenger

Shannon757 wrote: »

Where are they getting the money for this?

Banks will be falling over themselves to give credit to a whole new developed nation (coincidentally with large oil reserves)
Both manufacturers will offer generous delivery slots/discounts in order to win big orders.

hmmm wrote: »

What would they need A380s for?

I too would question this? Perhaps Airbus gave them a knock down price as a bundle with the A330neo and A350?

JCX BXC

With all these new aircraft and the rapid migration of people from that part of the world it will be interesting to see how many European services will be started by Iran Air.

MuffinsDa

It is a welcome development for Iran Air. I have flown on their older fleet numerous times and they are a great, well run airline. Can imagine them getting really good with the new fleet, although it is slightly sad to see their beautiful classic 747 and 747-SPs go. IMO their livery on 747 is really classy.

The order itself looks very strange and rushed. How the hell are they going to fill A380s?! I can't think of a single destination that have enough traffic to fill an A380. And IKA currency doesn't lend itself to becoming to a connection hub (and even if it did, not easy to compare with Emirates, Etihad and THY all next door). In fact I think IKA can't even handle A380 properly yet (Emirates did an A380 test flight there recently) and I don't think many -if any at all- of domestic airports can handle it either.

In my opinion it would have made a lot more sense for them to put a large Embraer order for domestic fleet (to replace aging Fokker 100s), a medium-ish order for A320NEO for medium haul routes to Europe, and maybe 20-30 (max) A350s. I really can't see how on earth can they utilise that order unless there is a major political change in the country.

Unless they have a large 737 order coming too...

circular flexing

Pity the USA have basically made Iran a no-go area (if you want to use the VWP).

Atlantic Dawn

circular flexing wrote: »

Pity the USA have basically made Iran a no-go area (if you want to use the VWP).

I suppose it depends who you are...Joe soap fecked but seller of US made goods fine.

MuffinsDa

circular flexing wrote: »

Pity the USA have basically made Iran a no-go area (if you want to use the VWP).

Not exactly. It's only a slight inconvenience: if you travel to Iran you won't be able to travel with just ESTA, you need to drop to the embassy and get a visa which apparently only takes a couple of days and they give long term multiple entry visas. In effect it may actually be more convenient if you can get a 10 year multiple entry visa so you won't have to apply for ESTA every 3 years. i wouldn't hugely worry about that (and I work for an American company myself).

Noxegon

MuffinsDa wrote: »

Not exactly. It's only a slight inconvenience.

It's only a slight inconvenience to have to take a day off work to attend for an in person appointment in an embassy that may well be in a different city to where you live...?

I think the original poster is spot on here; the VWP thing will mean that many of us who would otherwise think of a visit to Iran will go elsewhere.

franer1970

Wonder if the US will finally complete the delivery of Grumman F-14's that Iran has been waiting for since 1979

https://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwig3_Kv0c7KAhVFWw8KHYl0BBMQygQIJjAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FGrumman_F-14_Tomcat%23Iran&usg=AFQjCNE8sl6Sn0aE7AYkK1AVlmoKFMZ8TA

elastico

hmmm wrote: »

What would they need A380s for?

My guess is they effectively got them for free given the amount of other planes they bought.

Buy all these planes guys and we throw in 12 A380's for low cost.

Airbus needed to keep the plane in production and Iran needs the ego boost of having some of these, to keep up with all the other ME airlines.

Perhaps Tehran will become another transit hub.

goingnowhere

Could be a nice earner during the Hajj to have all those A380's to fly to to Mecca

Tenger

franer1970 wrote: »

Wonder if the US will finally complete the delivery of Grumman F-14's that Iran has been waiting for since 1979
......

I'm sure they will get a good price on some F-16's....can't see them getting F-15's or F-18's however. (Israeli's and Saudi's may be less than happy)
The US will want to get in there before the Chinese/Pakistani's or Russian's do.

MuffinsDa

On the A380s usage: unless they got them for a really heavy discount I can't see them making economic sense. I don't think the suggested Hajj routes would make much of a difference at all, firstly the whole thing is suspended at the moment due to worsening relation with Saudis. In addition to that, there is a major grassroots anti-hajj campaign going on in Iran and once the current generation of grannies and granddads die there would be very little traffic going that way I can assure you!

On F14/F15/F16/F18: I can't see anything like that happening in the near to medium future. US went to great length to ensure they won't even get spares for F14s by destroying their (US Navy) retired F14 fleet completely so that the parts won't make their way to Iran. They have a few operation ones and they have been overhauling them but they are missing crucial electronic parts which renders them far less useful. They also have a limited supply of Pheonix AAM, which served them very well against Iraqi Migs but won't stand up to modern warfare. They would be lucky if Russia sells them some Mig 29s or Mig 35s or Su-35s or some Chinese crap. They won't even get near any European or American made fighters unless they fundamentally change which is very unlikely in the short term.

On visas: I wouldn't consider a trip to the US embassy which can be rebooked and would take a couple of hours at most to be a MAJOR inconvenience, I stand by it being a minor inconvenience. It is a fairly small price to pay for seeing a country that you are interested (if you were interested to go), consider it as part of your visa application for your destination country. Iran issues visa fairly easily (at airport), compare that to the chaotic Indian visa procedures and you'll actually be saving time overall comparatively!

Noxegon

MuffinsDa wrote: »

compare that to the chaotic Indian visa procedures and you'll actually be saving time overall comparatively!

Eh? Indian procedures are straight forward. I did an online application late last year.

I've never had to do a face to face interview for a tourist visa and I've visited over fifty countries...

MuffinsDa

Noxegon wrote: »

Eh? Indian procedures are straight forward. I did an online application late last year.

I've never had to do a face to face interview for a tourist visa and I've visited over fifty countries...

Dunno - 4-5 years ago when I went to Indian embassy for a business visa (with Irish passport) it was absolute chaos , took me 5 hours and lots of arguing to get it sorted. Maybe it's improved now. Regardless, I think a couple of hours drop-in to a well-organised embassy won't constitute a major inconvenience. Let's agree to disagree on this, especially since it's not really aviation related.

Lets focus on the juicy A380s and the plight of the last flying 747SP and 707s!

hmmm

Tenger wrote: »

I too would question this? Perhaps Airbus gave them a knock down price as a bundle with the A330neo and A350?

Perhaps it's to both keep the line working & to put pressure on the Sunni states (e.g. Saudi, UAE) to buy more A380s e.g. the Iranian order would only be completed if the order book dried up.

I see ANA also announced an order today (3).

hmmm

elastico wrote: »

Perhaps Tehran will become another transit hub.

There's some strict regulations on attire (particularly for women) for planes over Iranian territory, and is particularly enforced on landing & takeoff. It's not going to happen anytime soon.

Junkyard Tom

Shannon757 wrote: »

Where are they getting the money for this?

They have billions of dollars worth of assets and currency frozen around the west afaia. Also, I presume they're expecting to turn a profit on their airline or at least not lose too much.

It's good to see the vindictive western embargo on civil aviation products lifted - it was cruel and cost the lives of many Iranian civilians.

12 A380's does seem like a large order alright but I was just reading up on the Iranian diaspora and there's:

'four to five million Iranians living abroad, mostly in North America (half a million), Europe, Persian Gulf States, Turkey, Australia and the broader Middle East ... Their combined net worth is $1.3 trillion'.

wiki

L1011

MuffinsDa wrote: »

Regardless, I think a couple of hours drop-in to a well-organised embassy won't constitute a major inconvenience.

For a business person its often hideously disruptive.

MuffinsDa

hmmm wrote: »

There's some strict regulations on attire (particularly for women) for planes over Iranian territory, and is particularly enforced on landing & takeoff. It's not going to happen anytime soon.

Yes and No.

Planes overflying, obviously, do not need to do anything and continue as you would normally.

"During landing and takeoff" nothing is enforced, even on Iran Air. Only a reminder of what they need to do on the ground.

The only time the enforcement (albeit a mild version of it compared to outside of the airport) takes places would be when people leave the plane.

Normally, on Iran Air and Foreign flights alike, the minute women step on the plane (on international flights) they take off their headscarves and no-one would (or can) bother them. Likewise, upon arrival, they only don the acquired attire when leaving the plane. I know that as I have taken off and landed from there on International flights numerous times.

But you are correct, it would still greatly hurt their chances of ever becoming a hub as transiting passengers will have to do that and that would piss most people off.

Not sure if this is aviation related anyway - aside from the impact of it on whether IKA can become a hub or not...

MuffinsDa

L1011 wrote: »

For a business person its often hideously disruptive.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is making exceptions to the new law for people who visited the four specified countries to do humanitarian work, journalism or for "legitimate business-related purposes."

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-congress-visa-idUSKCN0V62UU

So in theory people going there on business should still be eligible for ESTA.

questionmark?

I doubt I'm the only one that doesn't think a trip to Iran would be great. So much history and yes I know they have restrictions but Saudi Arabia it isn't!

Stinicker

Having met some wonderful and friendly "liberated" Iranian women in Malaysia a few years I can say from my albeit limited encounter that the Iranians seem to be very friendly and as Malaysia was one of the few countries giving them Visa free access they do like to travel and let their hair down outside the country. I hope the A380 order comes to fruition but if Trump gets elected he plans to really clip Irans wings which is a pity as it seems to be making good progress there.

Has anyone seen a mockup of an Iranair A380 yet?

JCX BXC

Iran will hopefully distance itself from the Saudis Arabia model should it be given space to modernize.

Would be a country of interest for many to visit, maybe myself some day.

arubex

Stinicker wrote: »

Has anyone seen a mockup of an Iranair A380 yet?

Not other than flight-sim renderings. But this would be a great opportunity for Iran Air to commission a new livery, rather than the bland pseudo-Lufthansa scheme they currently use.

I'd love to see something using colours and images associated with the country; perhaps each tail could have a different photo of a scene from Iran, might be a good way to introduce us to its attractions.

elastico

Carnacalla wrote: »

Iran will hopefully distance itself from the Saudis Arabia model should it be given space to modernize.

Would be a country of interest for many to visit, maybe myself some day.

Bobby sands street is a must for irish tourists. Interestingly the British embassy is also on the same street.

smurfjed

there is a major grassroots anti-hajj campaign going on in Iran and once the current generation of grannies and granddads die there would be very little traffic going that way I can assure you!

I guess that you dont know how much Umrah traffic is going from Iran to Saudi, and its not all old people.

distance itself from the Saudis Arabia model should it be given space to modernize.

How are they following a Saudi model? Sunni v Shia and all that?

Iran is a great country, lovely people who are extremely open and friendly in most of the larger cities.

Tenger

smurfjed wrote: »

.......
How are they following a Saudi model? Sunni v Shia and all that?

Iran is a great country, lovely people who are extremely open and friendly in most of the larger cities.

I think he meant in terms of enforcement of religious attire for visitors. Enforcement would be bad if they wanted to create a hub in Iran.

MuffinsDa

elastico wrote: »

Bobby sands street is a must for irish tourists. Interestingly the British embassy is also on the same street.

My wife and I were nearly arrested in 2004 by security guards trying to photograph the walls of British embassy with Bobby Sands signs on them.

Apparently it's one of the best signposted streets of Tehran. A "Bobby Sands St." sign every couple of hundred meters along the entire length of British Embassy compound in central Tehran (which is quite large).

Perpendicular to Bobby Sands, incidentally, is Neuphle Le Chateau St. Google to see why it's funny...

Here


according to Wikipedia:

The Iranian government renamed Winston Churchill Boulevard, the location of the Embassy of the United Kingdom in Tehran, to Bobby Sands Street, prompting the embassy to move its entrance door to Ferdowsi Avenue to avoid using Bobby Sands Street on its letterhead.[55] A street in the Elahieh district is also named after Sands.[56] An official blue and white street sign was affixed to the rear wall of the British embassy compound saying (in Persian) "Bobby Sands Street" with three words of explanation "militant Irish guerrilla".[54]

smurfjed

think he meant in terms of enforcement of religious attire for visitors. E

Saudi doesn't enforce a dress code for transit passengers

Iran air has just order 40 ATR72-600's 20 firm 20 options.

MuffinsDa

That makes perfect sense for the domestic flights to smaller airports (of which there are many!). Would be a lower cost replacement to ageing F100 fleet.

MuffinsDa

and allegedly a large Boeing deal on the way, details of which are still rather vague but previously a mix of 737, 777 and 787 was mentioned:

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-transportation-boeing-idUSKCN0Z01QZ

0lddog

Thats a good start at building a decent sized airline

Only an Irishman could be relied on to run it.

Who will have their hat in the ring for this one ?

MuffinsDa

Deal is supposed to be 17B USD!
Mostly 737s
Detail to be announced today.

Shannon757

It's official. 100 Boeing aircraft.

deaddonkey15

Is the travel industry in Iran really big enough to warrant such a large fleet of short and long haul aircraft?

Lockheed

deaddonkey15 wrote: »

Is the travel industry in Iran really big enough to warrant such a large fleet of short and long haul aircraft?

Iranians have some serious diaspora globally. Now that these restrictions are lifted there are probably going to be many many people going home to visit their family, and to visit their own country again - there's certainly quite a sizeable demand.

arubex

deaddonkey15 wrote: »

Is the travel industry in Iran really big enough to warrant such a large fleet of short and long haul aircraft?

Iran is a nation of 80 million generally well-educated people. Basically the same demographically as Germany ( but with fewer immigrants! )

Tenger

deaddonkey15 wrote: »

Is the travel industry in Iran really big enough to warrant such a large fleet of short and long haul aircraft?

Iran is also quite a large country with difficult geography, (mountains and deserts) so domestic air travel certainly is a better option than road, rail or canal for their growing economy and population.

JCX BXC

It will be interesting to see if it has the possibility to transform Tehran into a more world friendly city, promoting tourism and transit.

Shannon757

Carnacalla wrote: »

It will be interesting to see if it has the possibility to transform Tehran into a more world friendly city, promoting tourism and transit.

A new Dubai perhaps?

colbarr

On the Bobby Sands stuff, intrestingly enough, Iran Air's ICAO code is IRA (for obvious reasons, but funny nonetheless).

MuffinsDa

It's still at a MOA stage, pending approving by respective governments (which could be tricky on US side as a lot of congressmen oppose this deal).

Also looks like no 787. A mix of 737, 777-9 and 777-300ER. Ridiculous stuff really, where are they going to fly all those long range planes to?!