Iran Air retires the world's last active B747-100 from revenue service

Tehran appoints IRGC general to head IranAir

The Iranian minister of transport, Rostam Qassemi, has appointed Second Brigadier General Shamseddin Farzazadipour as the new chief executive officer of IranAir (IR, Tehran Mehrabad).

The minister said he expects Farzadipour, the current commander of aviation operations at the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) air and space force, to draw on his influence and experience in management to lead IranAir out of its financial quagmire. He is also expected to "optimise" the company's structure, including management structures. The appointment has yet to be formalised.

The IRGC is sanctioned by the US as a terrorist organisation, mainly due to the support it allegedly provides to various terrorist networks in the region, including the Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Other steps recently taken by the relatively new Iranian government, which took power in August 2021, include the proposed merger of IranAir's corporate retirement scheme into the National Pension Fund. The ILNA news agency reported that the carrier is unable to meet its pension commitments, with 90% of IranAir's retirement scheme already funded by the government.

Airbus considering delaying A350 production ramp-up

Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) is considering delaying its previously announced ramp-up in A350 production from five to six units per month until late 2023 amidst an ongoing dispute with Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad Int'l) coupled with the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg has reported, citing internal sources.

The European manufacturer originally planned to increase its A350 roll out rate in late 2022 but later deferred that to early 2023.

In a statement to Reuters, Airbus said it continued "to expect to increase the A350 production rate from around five per month to around six in early 2023".

The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows Airbus currently has orders for 325 A350-900s and 100 A350-1000s. The type's freighter variant has yet to be listed.

The current aeropolitical situation has cast doubt over a significant portion of the A350 backlog, including but not limited to:

• thirteen A350-900s ordered by Aeroflot (SU, Moscow Sheremetyevo), which cannot be delivered to the carrier due to the...

Iran aircraft talks in tandem with nuclear talks - official

Talks in Vienna aimed at reviving a 2015 deal with Iran, which would give sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on Tehran’s nuclear programme, have included the acquisition of Airbus and Avions de Transport Régional aircraft, the chief executive of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation (CAO), Mohammad Mohammadi-Bakhsh, revealed at a news conference in the Iranian capital on March 16.

In light of signs of advancement in the talks between Western powers and Iran in recent weeks following prolonged deadlock, Mohammadi-Bakhsh claimed that Iran had already purchased ten passenger aircraft over the last three months with an average age of 15 to 20 years.

The CAO, he added, is also currently negotiating with the two European manufacturers to supply the equipment and parts the country’s beleaguered airlines so badly need.

“Our negotiations for the supply of aircraft parts are being pursued simultaneously with the negotiations to revive the nuclear deal,” he clarified.

Stressing that the authority has a specific strategy to resolve the Iranian aviation sector’s travails due to its isolation in recent times, he...

Iran's Chabahar Airlines secures its AOC, preps for launch