IranAir (IR, Tehran Mehrabad) is planning to brand its point-to-point operation as "IranAir Regional" the carrier's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Farzaneh Sharafbafi has said.

In a company statement acknowledging the delivery of the carrier's fifth and sixth ATR72-600s later this month, Sharafbafi confirmed the ATR - Avions de Transport Régional turboprops' capacity would be used to develop various city-pairs which focus on connecting smaller Iranian border towns to larger cities in Iran as well as neighbouring states.

"The operation of these aircraft is very simple, and they can be operated at airports with few facilities," she said. "With that in mind, we are planning to use the aircraft to develop an international flight network from these underutilized airfields."

In August, Iran's Deputy Transport Minister Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan said the ATR fleet may be based out of the Caspian port city of Rasht for use in developing service from smaller towns to cities such as Tabriz and Mashad in Iran as well as the Azeri capital of Baku Heydar Aliev International. A similar strategy may be employed in southern Iran where, he said, the ATRs could be deployed to Bandar Abbas for use in opening up new services between Lar Larestan in Shiraz and Doha Hamad International in Qatar.