Citing delay by US, reduces Airbus order by six and Boeing by one
IFM Correspondent
September 21, 2016: Fed up with delay in getting regulatory approvals, Iran has reduced the number of airplanes it plans to buy from Airbus by six and from Boeing by one. The country’s deputy transport minister said Iran finds it unfair on the part of US to delay what had been promised.
The renewed deal of 112 aircraft, instead of the previously decided 118 airplanes, will be finalised with Airbus in the coming weeks.
“There are six fewer aircraft. These are the ones that were due to be delivered in 2016,” the Iranian official told Reuters, speaking on the sidelines of the CAPA Iran Aviation Finance Summit in Tehran. Boeing, which has also agreed to provide jets to Iran as it emerges from sanctions, may see its deal clipped by one jet to 108 aircraft instead of 109, the Iranian official said.
“The majority of the reduction is for aircraft that were to be delivered this year but have been delayed by regulatory approvals,” says Paul Lyons, strategy director at International Bureau of Aviation.
Iran is expected to get a US licence for aircraft by the end of September. This will help facilitate the purchase of the Airbus and Boeing jets. Approvals were expected by the end of August.