Qeshm Air CEO Mahmoud Shekarabi was quoted as saying that his company planned to buy 10 Boeing 737 MAX and 10 Boeing 737 Next Generation planes from the American planemaker.

“Memoranda of understanding have been signed in this regard,” he said on the sidelines of the opening of national flag carrier Iran Air’s Catering in Tehran on Monday, Tasnim news agency reported.

Qeshm Air is also negotiating an order for 15 Airbus A320 and A319 jets from the European manufacturer and another 10 planes from Canada’s Bombardier, he said.

“These negotiations are underway, but there are a number of problems,” Shekarabi said without elaboration.

The company may also consider buying Sukhoi Superjet 100s from Russia but “we do not currently have any plans for it,” he added.

Last week, two other Iranian airlines said they had signed deals for the purchase of 40 short-haul passenger aircraft from the Russian company.

The purchases were made by Aseman Airlines and Iran Air Tours and the related documents were signed on the sidelines of Eurasia Airshow 2018 in Turkey’s Anatolia.

Aseman signed a final deal last June to buy 30 Boeing 737 MAX jets in Iran’s first new business with the US planemaker since Trump took office vowing to take a tougher stance toward the country.

Iranian domestic carrier Zagros Airlines also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to buy 20 Airbus A320neo jets and eight A330neo aircraft, while privatized Iran Airtour signed an MoU for 45 A320neos.

The biggest orders, however, were made by Iran Air which has agreed to buy 80 aircraft from Boeing and 100 from Airbus in addition to 20 from Franco-Italian ATR company.

The deals were made possible after US-led sanctions against Iran were lifted in early 2016 under a nuclear agreement between the Islamic Republic and other countries.

Last year, Iran Air received three brand-new Airbus jets and eight new ATR turboprops. According to an official, Iran should receive 14 new passenger aircraft this year from Airbus, Boeing and ATR planemakers.

However, there are questions of what would happen to the deals if Trump went ahead with his threat to withdrew the US from the nuclear agreement on May 12 and whether the US Treasury would extend licenses for sales of the parts which are built in the United States.

The post Iran’s Qeshm Air in talks with Boeing appeared first on IRAN This Way.

Only a day after two Iranian airlines announced deals to purchase planes from Airbus, another Iranian carrier said it has sealed a third deal to buy advanced aircraft from US plane-maker Boeing, Press TV reported.

The head of Qeshm Air said on Friday that the company had placed an order for 10 Boeing 737 MAX planes.

Mahmoud Shekarabi was quoted by Fars News Agency as saying that the purchase of an additional five planes from Boeing 737-800 family was also on the agenda.

He added that relevant deal would be signed with the US aviation major within the next two months.

The purchase, he underlined, followed months of negotiations in Mexico and Iran.

The official further said Boeing would obtain the required licenses from the US Treasury Department for the sales of planes to Iran, adding that deliveries would be made after 2022.

On Thursday, European aviation giant Airbus says it has signed basic agreements with two Iranian airlines on the purchase of a total of 73 planes.

Also, Zagros Airlines CEO Abdolreza Mousavi told the domestic media that his company would lease the planes from Airbus.

In its statement Airbus added that the agreements with Zagros Airlines and Iran Airtour were contingent upon all necessary approvals, including those from the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

On the same front, Reuters quoted Airbus Sales Chief John Leahy as saying that he expected the US approvals within the next couple of months.

Zagros is already the largest operator of Airbus single-aisle aircraft in Iran with 11 A320ceo planes, AFP said in a report on the agreements.

Like Airtour, Zagros will use the new planes to upgrade its fleet and expand operations both at home and internationally, AFP quoted Zagros chief as saying in the Airbus statement.

Iran Airtour was established as a subsidiary of Iran’s national flag-carrier airline Iran Air in 1992 and privatized in 2011 but maintains a status as subsidiary of IranAir.

Zagros Airlines is a private carrier.

IranAir has already ordered 100 planes from Airbus, 80 from US rival Boeing and 20 ATR turboprops.

Boeing has also signed a deal for 30 737 MAX jets with Iran’s Aseman Airlines, which is managed as a private company and owned by Iran’s civil service pension foundation, Reuters added.

According to estimates from the Iranian civil aviation authority, the country’s airlines will need to purchase between 400 and 500 new planes over the next decade, AFP wrote in its report on the Airbus deals with Zagros Airlines and Iran Airtour.

The post Iranian airlines to buy over 80 planes from Airbus & Boeing appeared first on IRAN This Way.