Iran Air announced its intention to acquire 10 new Airbus aircraft. The state-owned air carrier is also considering the purchase of 20 second-hand Airbuses from international airliners.
Engine orders for the new jets have yet to be placed. However, US sanctions, which ban American-based GE and Pratt & Whitney from competing for Iranian contracts, apparently leave British Rolls Royce alone in the running.
The Iranian Transport Ministry allocated $500 million from this year’s budget for the much-needed modernization of the national carrier’s ageing fleet, currently consisting of 20 Tupolev and Yak airliners leased from former Soviet states, as well as 10 Boeing jets procured before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
