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Why Iran Will Never Proceed with the Proposed Plane Purchases
(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Patrick Clawson - Earlier this year, Iran Air signed three agreements to purchase about 260 planes: a firm contract with ATR for 20 turboprops, a preliminary agreement with Airbus for 118 planes, and a preliminary agreement with Boeing for about the same number. Yet these plans make no commercial sense. Iran Air will have grave difficulties financing those planes, and even if it succeeds, Iran Air would face tough competition from other foreign and domestic airlines. The new planes would more than double Iran's total passenger-carrying capacity, but the country's economy seems to be growing far too slowly to generate such a rapid spike in demand. Iran Air would have difficulty training the requisite new pilots and mechanics, while the government would have trouble providing the necessary airspace control. Iran has had a dreadful aviation safety record since the revolution, with multiple crashes. The writer is director of research at The Washington Institute.