Iran Air and Boeing signed an agreement for eighty aircraft, to be delivered to the airline over the next ten years.
The 10-year deal includes 50 737 MAX 8s, 15 777-300ERs and 15 777-9s, valued at $16.6 billionat list prices.
The news comes as U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill in November that would block the sale of commercial aircraft to Iran, which would also affect sales by U.S. firm Boeing.
As a result of economic sanctions against Iran, Iran Air has been unable to expand and replace its fleet. In anticipation of a deal being reached for the lifting of sanctions, the chairman of Iran Air stated that the airline would then seek to obtain at least 100 widebody- and short-haul jets.
In January 2016, the Irani airline signed an agreement for 118 Airbus aircraft (21 Airbus A320s, 24 Airbus A320neos, 27 Airbus A330s, 18 Airbus A330-900neos, 16 Airbus A350-1000s and 12 Airbus A380s).
In June 2016, Iran Air officially announced that it was in talks with Boeing for a possible order “close in size to the 118 Airbus aircraft agreement”. On 21 June 2016 Boeing announced it has signed a tentative agreement to sell aircraft to Iran, in what would be one of the Islamic Republic’s biggest deals with a U.S. manufacturer since trade sanctions on Tehran were eased.
Iran Air’s current fleet includes the following aircraft types: A300, A310, A320, A321, ATR 72-600, Fokker 100, MD-82 and a Boeing 747-200F.
(image under CC BY-SA 3.0)