Iranian Airline in Talks with Airbus, Embraer
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An official with the Iranian private airline Zagros Air announced that the company has held direct negotiations with the European plane manufacturer Airbus, and is also in talks with Brazil’s Embraer for purchasing the planes it needs.
“We are currently in direct negotiations with Airbus for the supply of aircraft,” Abdolreza Mousavi, the Zagros Air's chairman of the board of directors, told the Tasnim News Agency on Wednesday.
“Airbus managers have promised us to propose their offers by the end of February,” he noted, adding that the airline is looking for immediate supply of 2-5-year-old Airbus planes.
He further explained that purchasing brand new airliners takes time, and thus Zagros Air is looking for offers to buy used ones.
Mousavi also pointed to a visit by the sale manager of Brazil’s Embraer aviation company to Iran, saying that the Iranian airline will have a meeting with the Brazilian side on Wednesday, and see what planes it can purchase from the giant South American company.
It comes a couple of days after Head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) Ali Abedzadeh said the country needs to purchase 160 planes to renovate its fleet of passenger aircraft.
“Iran needs 160 aircraft with a capacity of 100 seats and leasing companies can cooperate with banks in our country to meet Iran’s needs in the area of air transport,” Abedzadeh said, addressing a conference on development of aviation industry in Tehran on Monday.
Earlier this month, Iran’s national airline, Iran Air, finalized a contract with ATR aircraft manufacturer to purchase 20 turboprops.
The planes can accommodate 70 passengers and will be flown in short routes.
The deal followed a contract between Iran and Airbus on a major order, which includes dozens of Airbus’s biggest-selling jets.
Iran has agreed to buy 118 Airbus jets, including 45 A320 single-aisle aircraft, 45 A330 wide-bodies, 16 A350 twin-aisle aircraft, and 12 A380’s.
