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Aviation History
2002
2002 - 3384.PDF
IRANIAN AEROSPACE SHOW FLEET RENEWAL PAUL DUFFY / TEHRAN Iran Air to push Airbus for deal "Inflated" prices for spares and support on Boeing fleet puts European manufacturer in driving seat Iran Air is stepping up efforts to renew its ageing fleet of Boeing air craft as US sanctions hinder main tenance and put Airbus in the driving seat for any new deal. Speaking exclusively to Flight International, chairman and chief executive Davood Keshavarzian says that, because of the continu ing sanctions imposed by the USA, Iran Air has to pay "inflated prices for spares and support - we are get ting the parts, but only by using longer supply chains, which require higher prices". Iran Air's fleet consists largely of Boeings - six 727s, three 737-200s and seven 747s. It also has four ageing Airbus A300B4s that were introduced in the 1980s, six Fokker 100s and two A300-600Rs delivered new in the last decade. Over the The first Iranian international air show, held on Kish Island from 30 October to 3 November, demon strated how the country has devel oped an aviation industry to meet most of its needs while sanctions remain in force from its former principal supplier, the USA. Iranian aviation company HESA has established six divisions to manufacture, modify, overhaul and repair aircraft for the country's mil itary forces and the company recently moved into the commer cial sector with the manufacture of the 52-seat Iran-140 passenger twin turboprop - the first commercial Iranian aircraft. The first Antonov-designed Iran- 140 was displayed at the show, and the second and third aircraft are scheduled for delivery to launch customer regional airline Kish Air by January, says HESA. Kish Air confirmed an order for two Iran-140s at the show, and the manufacturer is working with past year, seven secondhand Airbus A310-200/300s have joined the carrier's fleet. The sanctions mean Iran Air's fleet utilisation is below interna tionally accepted levels, says Keshavarzian, "as we sometimes have to ground an aircraft until we receive spares". He says the International Civil Aviation Organisation should have a policy on this issue because "it is morally wrong, and manufacturers have an obligation to their cus tomers to provide support at acceptable prices". Iran Air's fleet has an average age of 21 years and Keshavarzian says the airline's owner, the Iranian gov ernment, "has funds available for [a fleet renewal]". With the sanc tions also preventing Iran Air from Antonov and Thales on a feasibility study to upgrade the aircraft's avionics. In an effort to further develop its activities, HESA has agreed with the Kharkov State Aviation Factory to combine marketing and support services, and with the Ukrainian aerospace industry to licence- produce aircraft and turboprop engines in Iran. Much of HESA's work involves the modification, maintenance and major repair of US-supplied aircraft and engines, including the Northrop F-5 and Grumman F-14 Tomcat, many of which remain in service in the country. Two F-5As, converted from sin gle- to two-seaters, were displayed at the show. Other reverse engineering work on display included Iranian-built Bell AH-1 Cobras, in two versions, and a local version of the Bell 206 called the Shahed 278. Iran is also building up experi- buying new Boeings, "Airbus has a major opportunity to enter the Iranian market", he adds. But the European manufacturer must come up with a workable offer, he says. Airbus senior man agement "seems to be too conserv ative, and is unwilling to help us find answers to obtain spares and support, particularly for engines". Keshavarzian says any deal with Iran Air would pave the way for future success with other carriers in the country. Instead of adding new aircraft to the fleet, Iran Air has had to use subsidiary Iran Air Tours for expan sion by leasing Russian aircraft. "Our passengers do not like the Russian interiors and would rather fly on Western aircraft," says Keshavarzian. ence in composites, with several composite aircraft displayed, including the four-seat Fajr F-3 pis ton single offered for the training, touring and patrol roles. The F-3 recently entered production to meet the needs of the country's growing aero-club market. The third development example of the new Tazarve jet trainer, fea turing composite fuselage and wing structures, also made an appearance at Kish Island. The Iranian air force has ordered five development examples, and 25 production aircraft, which will be The airline is concentrating on building services to northern Europe, but Keshavarzian says there are plans to revive operations to the USA and Canada where there is a "strong Iranian market". Last year Iran Air carried 5.9 mil lion passengers, while Iran Air Tours carried 1.98 million. • The Iranian government is examining plans to rationalise the country's eight major airlines, all of which have substantial state own ership. A plan to merge Iran Air, Iran Air Tours and Iran Asseman Airlines into one major operation is being considered, with a second group to be created by con solidating Aria Air, Caspian Airlines, Kish Air, Mahan Air, Qeshm Air and a number of other smaller regional operators. built by the air force at a new purpose-built factory. With Iran's ageing fleet of com mercial aircraft requiring mainte nance and support, a number of Western maintenance organisa tions exhibited. These included Fokker Services (Stork), which pre dicts the current fleet of 50-plus Fokker airliners in operation in Iran will grow substantially as airlines try to get round US sanctions to meet expanding travel market needs, and as Fokker 50s and Fokker 100s come out of service in other regions of the world. MANUFACTURING PAUL DUFFY / KISH ISLAND US sanctions drive industry progress Iranian industry has rebuilt single-seat F-5s as two-seaters 24 19-25 NOVEMBER 2002 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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