As part of an ambitious fleet renewal program, Iran Air has taken delivery of its first new, modern aircraft – an Airbus A321. Decades of sanctions by US and EU had forced the airline to keep operating their old aircraft, like 8 Airbus A300 (37 years old), 2 A310, 21 year old A320, and 27 year old MD82, without proper access to spare parts and maintenance.
In 2016 US president Barack Obama lifted all sanctions on Iran civil aviation, allowing them to purchase new civil aircraft from any manufacturer.
Iran is forecast to require 400 to 500 new aircraft to modernise as well as to grow its existing passenger fleet to catch up with years of pent up demand on domestic as well as international routes.
The delivery is the first from a firm order placed by Iran Air in December 2016 for 100 Airbus aircraft (46 single aisle and 54 wide-body jets). This covers 46 A320 Family, 38 A330 Family and 16 A350 XWB aircraft.
The airline has also ordered 80 airplanes from Boeing, that include 50 737 MAX 8s, 15 777-300ERs and 15 777-9s with first delivery scheduled for 2018.
(c) Airbus S.A.S. 2017 – C.Brinkmann