History Iran Air

1 history

1.1 formation
1.2 expansion
1.3 iranian revolution
1.4 refueling issues , eu ban
1.5 lifting of sanctions , modernization plans

history
formation

iranian airways douglas dc-3 freighter in 1954

iranian airways founded in may 1944 reza afshar , gholam ebtehaj. post-war, first passenger flight tehran mashhad, followed tehran-esfahan-shiraz-bushehr-abadan-ahwaz service. in 1946 airline established service cairo, baghdad , tel aviv, , in april 1947, paris. between 1945 , 1962, airline became major domestic carrier, operating international flights europe each week. fleet consisted of douglas dc-3s initially, supplemented douglas dc-4 , vickers viscount aircraft later on.

in 1954, privately owned airline persian air services (pas) established. pas operated freight services, followed passenger operations between tehran , other major cities in iran. in 1960, pas initiated passenger service several european destinations, including geneva, paris, brussels , london, using boeing 707 , douglas dc-7 aircraft leased sabena.

iranian airways nationalized in 1961. on 24 february 1962, iranian airways , pas merged form iran national airlines corporation (homa), known iran air, using homa bird symbol. homa public sector venture combined 2 predecessor air carriers. among aircraft used avro yorks, douglas dc-3s, douglas dc-6s , vickers viscounts. carrier became full member of international air transport association (iata) in 1964. first airline operate boeing 747sp.

expansion


iran air boeing 707–320 @ frankfurt airport in 1970



iran air boeing 747sp @ john f. kennedy international airport in 1976

in 1965, iran air took delivery of first jet aircraft, boeing 707 , boeing 727-100, followed boeing 737–200 in 1971, stretched boeing 727-200 in 1974 , 3 variants of boeing 747 (747-100, −200 , sp), starting in 1978–1979. mid-1970s, iran air serving cities in europe non-stop , one-stop flights, including on 30 flights week london alone.

on 29 may 1971, tehran new york city route inaugurated, using boeing 707s making stop-over @ london heathrow airport. shortly thereafter, route upgraded non-stop flight using boeing 747sps, making iran air second middle eastern carrier (after el al), offer non-stop service new york. flight, iran air set new world record in time , distance non-stop, scheduled long-haul flight (12 hours , 15 minutes, 9,867 km – 6,131 mi – 5,328 nm). in 1978, airline acquired 6 airbus a300 aircraft use on domestic trunk , busy regional routes. end of year, iran air serving 31 international destinations stretching new york city beijing , tokyo. plans made offer direct services los angeles , sydney, airline s long range boeing 747sp aircraft ideal. have allowed iran air use tehran midway point between east , west, because of favorable geographical location. such plans never realized.

by late 1970s, iran air fastest growing airline in world , 1 of profitable. 1976, iran air ranked second qantas, world’s safest airline, having been accident free @ least ten consecutive years. although both airlines accident free, iran air came second because of fewer operational hours flown compared qantas. prior ranking, fatal accident had occurred on 25 december 1952, in 27 of 29 passengers on board perished when douglas dc-3 crashed on landing.

iranian revolution

as result of economic sanctions against iran, iran air unable expand or replace fleet. last time iran air delivered brand-new western aircraft prior 2016 lifting of nuclear-related sanctions in 1994 when received 2 airbus a300-b4s in compensation downing of iran air flight 655 american cruiser in 1988. in 2001, iran air purchased 6 second-hand airbus a300s turkey, after 2 years, 6 of them ended grounded @ airports in tehran, mashhad , moscow. caused significant controversy in iran officials cited ge engine design flaw , subsequent overheating reason grounding planes. 1 of these 6 planes later confirmed have returned service 2010.

prior separation of iran air tours iran air in 2011, russian-made tupolev tu-154s formed backbone of former s fleet. however, several successive disasters involving plane led 2011 blanket ban on operations within iranian airlines, including iran air tours. tu-154 fleet gradually replaced md-83s on course of few months.

according iran s deputy minister of roads , urban devopment, iran has more 100 planes, of them owned iran air, grounded due lack of access new parts , technical expertise during sanctions era.

the prolonged period of time iran air under international sanctions , barred purchasing spare parts , new planes led dramatic rise in average fleet age , plunging safety record, extent became known 1 of worst airlines in world in terms of air safety record. of march 2017, iran air s average fleet age stands @ 24.1 years, though figure set improve through addition of new deliveries.

iran air s extremely subpar on-time performance, amongst of other iranian airlines, has led public anger , frustration, inciting protests in form of violent confrontations airline employees or airplane sit-ins many hours after severely-delayed flight has landed. officials routinely attribute delays economic sanctions, although @ least 1 pro-revolutionary ideologue has cited inefficiency , mismanagement chief cause of issue.

refueling issues , eu ban

technical stopover of iran air airbus a300b4-600r refuelling during london-tehran flight, @ milan-malpensa airport.



iran air airbus a300b4-605r lands @ london heathrow airport in 2014

on 5 july 2010, aviation official of iran accused u.k., germany , united arab emirates of refusing refuel iranian passenger jets. move followed unilateral sanctions imposed on nuclear weapons dispute. iran air , mahan air both claimed have been denied refuelling. spokeswoman abu dhabi airports company (adac) said contract in place refuel iranian passenger flights , adac continue so. spokesperson united kingdom civil aviation authority said sole decision of independent suppliers if aircraft refuelled or not. germany s transport ministry said refuelling of iranian aircraft not banned under eu or un sanctions did not whether independent refuellers denying refuelling. later in day, dubai airport revealed continued refuel iranian passengers flights in , out of dubai. next day, spokesperson iran said no such limitation had been imposed.

on 6 july 2010, announced european commission ban of iran air s airbus a320, boeing 727 , boeing 747 fleet eu on safety concerns. move came major blow iran air, limiting flights europe own aircraft.

in 2012, eu re-allowed refuelling of iran air aircraft @ secondary european airports such ljubljana , budapest, in effort retain refuelling contracts within eu, rather letting them go serbia or later belarus , ukraine.

in january 2012, iran air s flights , london heathrow operated fuel stop @ manston airport in kent. however, airport announced in december 2011 arrangement end , no longer refuel company s aircraft. announcement swiftly followed closure of iran s embassy in london consequence of ransacking of british embassy in tehran. airport stressed had not breached trade agreements, had no connections usa.

lifting of sanctions , modernization plans

arrival of iran air airbus a321

in anticipation of deal being reached lifting of sanctions, chairman of iran air - farhad parvaresh - stated airline seek obtain @ least 100 wide-body , short-haul jets.

on friday 15 january 2016 president barack obama authorized secretary of state, john kerry, lift sanctions on iran civil aviation. following iran s implementation of joint comprehensive plan of action on 16 january 2016, sanctions on iran civil aviation lifted. result, iranian airlines, including iran air, granted permission purchase new civil aircraft manufacturer refuel @ european airports, except 2 swedish destinations, stockholm , gothenburg, due fuel supplier british petroleum still refusing provide fuel iranian carriers.

on 24 january 2016 tehran hosted capa iran aviation summit organised capa - centre aviation in order bring both iranian , international aviation authorities considering development plans iran s aviation industry. capa put size of iran s economy somewhere between of turkey , australia, commercial airline fleets in order of 500-600 aircraft. bombardier presented regional models during capa summit in tehran.

in statement, mr. parvaresh announced airline expected spend 3-5 billion dollars purchasing regional aircraft manufacturers airbus, boeing, bombardier , embraer.