Iran Air’s Chairman and CEO, Farhad Parvaresh, has commented to the recent misinformation regarding the first delivered Airbus as well as providing a few details on the Airbus A330 deliveries.

Since Iran Air took delivery of its first new Airbus, an A321, there have been a lot of misinformation about the aircraft. Anything from it being a second-hand aircraft to being restricted from flying abroad. Mr Parvaresh responds in a press release that the aircraft is not banned from flying internationally and can fly to cities up to 7 hours away from Tehran.

The aircraft, originally ordered by Avianca, was never delivered to the airline and had not performed any flights on behalf of them. As Avianca cancelled their order, Iran Air seized the opportunity and claimed it to speed up the delivery process. The Airbus A321 was later deployed on domestic routes for one month, to familiarise with the new aircraft type. It had time to visit Iran Air’s domestic destinations several times and is since yesterday deployed on international routes. Three flights, two to Dubai and one to Paris have been executed. The reportedly planned flights for the next few days are as following:

15 February: 2017: Tehran – Frankfurt – Tehran

16 February: Tehran – Hamburg – Tehran

17 February: Tehran – Milan – Tehran

18 February: Tehran – Vienna – Tehran

Iran Air expects to take delivery of a second and third Airbus aircraft in the coming weeks, both Airbus A330-200s. Mr Parvaresh expressed his hope to receive the first aircraft before 23 February 2017, ahead of the airline’s 56th anniversary. Iran Air has reportedly received a certification for its first A330-200 from Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization (CAO.IRI). During the last year’s anniversary, Iran Air announced to be privatised.

The second aircraft is expected to arrive prior to 20 March 2017.

Photo: Airbus