Iran Air
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| Iran Air | ||
|---|---|---|
| IATA IR |
ICAO IRA |
Callsign IRANAIR |
| Founded | 1962 | |
| Hubs | Mehrabad International Airport Imam Khomeini International Airport |
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| Focus cities / secondary hubs | Mashhad International Airport Isfahan International Airport Tabriz International Airport Shiraz International Airport |
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| Fleet size | 35 | |
| Destinations | 44 | |
| Parent company | Iran National Airlines Corporation | |
| Headquarters | Tehran, Iran | |
| Key people | Saeid Hesami (Chairman, CEO) | |
| Website: http://www.iranair.com | ||
Iran Air is Iran's flag carrier airline. Its acronym Homa (هما in Persian) is derived from two sources: the initial letters of the name in Persian, هواپیمایی ملی ایران Havapeyma'i-ye Melli-ye Iran; and from Homa, a griffin of Persian mythology. It operates services to 39 scheduled and 5 charter destinations. Its main base is Mehrabad International Airport, Tehran.
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[edit] History
[edit] Formation
In 1946, a group of businessmen founded Iran's first flag carrier under the name of Iranian Airways Company. Operations covered domestic and regional passenger and freight services plus a weekly freight service to Europe. The fleet consisted of DC-3s initially, supplemented by DC-4 and Viscount aircraft later on. In 1954, the privately owned airline PAS - Persian Air Services was established, which initially operated only freight services, followed by passenger operations between Tehran and major cities in Iran. In 1960, PAS initiated service to several European destinations, including Geneva, Paris, Brussels and London, using DC-7C aircraft leased from Sabena.
On 24 February 1962, Iranian Airways and PAS were merged to form Iran National Airlines Corporation, known as Iran Air. It was as a public sector venture that combined the assests and liabilities of the two predecessor air carriers. Among the aircraft used were Avro York, Douglas DC-3, Douglas DC-6 and Vickers Viscount. The carrier became a full member of IATA in 1964.
[edit] Golden Age
In 1965, Iran Air took delivery of its first jet aircraft in the form of the Boeing 727-100, followed by the Boeing 737-200 in 1971, the stretched Boeing 727-200 in 1974, and three variants of Boeing 747s (747-100, -200 and SP) starting in 1975. By the mid-1970s, Iran Air was serving numerous key cities in Europe with non-stop and one-stop flights (there were over 30 flights per week to London alone).
On 8 October 1972, Iran Air placed an order with British Aircraft Corporation for two Concorde supersonic jets plus 1 option. These orders were cancelled in April 1980 in the wake of Iran's Islamic Revolution, making Iran Air the very last airline to cancel its Concorde orders.
On 29 May 1975, the Tehran-London-New York City route was inaugurated with Boeing 707s, followed by the use of 747 and 747SP aircraft later on. In 1978, the airline acquired six Airbus A300B4 aircraft for use on its domestic trunk and busy regional routes. By the end of that year, Iran Air was serving thirty-one international destinations stretching from New York City to Beijing and Tokyo. Plans were made at that time to offer direct services to Los Angeles (USA) and to Sydney (Australia), for which the airline's long range 747SP aircraft were ideally suited. This would have allowed Iran Air to use Tehran as a convenient midway point between East and West because of its home base's favourable geographical location. Such plans were never realized.
By the late 1970s, Iran Air was the fastest growing airline in the world, and one of the most profitable. By 1976, Iran Air was ranked second only to QANTAS as the world’s safest airline, having been accident free for at least 10 consecutive years. Although both airlines were accident free, Iran Air came second only because of fewer operational hours flown compared to QANTAS. Prior to this ranking, a fatal accident occurred on 25 December 1952, in which 27 of the 29 passengers onboard perished when their Douglas DC-3 crashed on landing.
[edit] After the Islamic Revolution
In the wake of Iran's Islamic Revolution, Iran Air began to reorganize its international operations as of 26 February 1979, discontinuing service to a range of foreign destinations. Tehran was designated as the only official gateway to Iran, while Shiraz could be used as an alternate only in case of operational requirements. All other cities in Iran lost their international status.
The last departure from NYC was on 7 November 1979. The last scheduled flight from Tehran to New York City on 8 November 1979 was diverted last minute from NYC-JFK to Montreal, prompted by an embargo suddenly imposed by the US government. Subsequently, the Boeing 747SPs became extensively used on the airline's European and Asian routes. In 1980, the first of six new Airbus A300-B2K joined the fleet.
After the start of the Iran-Iraq War in September 1980, Iran Air's domestic and international operations were often subject to cancellation and irregularity in line with the changing wartime situation. This continued until August 1988 when a cease-fire agreement took effect. Right from the start of the Iran-Iraq War, Abadan -- gateway to Iran's oil-producing region -- lost all its air links because the airport had to be closed down.
1981 saw the official name of the airline changed to The Airline of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran Air carried 1.7 million passengers in that year. In 1990, the first of six Fokker F-100 jets was added to the fleet, and five more units joined later on. In 2001, the airline bought six second-hand Airbus A310 aircraft (five -200 and one -300 series) since the US authorities blocked the planned purchase of new Airbus A330 units. In 2005, the carrier bought another 2 ex-Olympic Airbus A300-600s. In the wake of the growing tension between the US and Iranian governments over Iran's nuclear programme, the plan to supply Boeing spare parts or aircraft to upgrade the aging fleet of Iran Air was blocked by the USA and members of the EU.
[edit] Organizational Chart
The airline is wholly owned by the Government of Iran and employs 8,887 staff, including 1,198 cabin crew members, 1,732 engineers and maintenance experts, and 885 in commercial departments. The remaining 1,900 employees work at airports or in other flight service departments.
[edit] Iran Air Family
[edit] Iran Air Tours
Iran Air Tours is a low cost airline based at Mashad International Airport (MHD), and is a subsidiary of Iran Air. At the present time, only Soviet-design Tu-154M jets are in use, some still in hybrid livery. Although formed in 1973, Iran Air Tours initiated scheduled operations only in 1990, taking over the bulk of domestic services formerly operated by Iran Air.
Iran Air Tours has been responsible for the remarkable build-up of a very extensive route network focused on the northeastern Iranian city of Mashad, home to Shi'ite Muslims' holiest shrine. Reservations for Iran Air Tours flights can be made via the Iran Air system, which is the only widely available airline reservations system in Iran. The carrier also operates charter flights reaching as far as Northern Europe.
[edit] Homa Hotel Group
Homa Hotel Group is a subsidiary company of Iran Air, which owns a chain of five star hotels in major cities of Iran. 5 star Homa hotels are situated in Tehran, Shiraz, Bandar Abbas and Mashad (2 hotels). Homa hotels are all famous for their first class facilities and excellent services.
It was established on 1972 by Iran Air and has more than 800 furnished rooms.
[edit] Hajj and Umrah Operations
Special Hajj charter operations form a major part of Iran Air's annual activities, and play an important role for religious, national, financial and professional reasons. Every year, tens of thousands of pilgrims fly from major cities in Iran to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia's important aerial gateway to Makkah / Mecca, to take part in pilgrimage ceremonies. These special Hajj charter flights are arranged in such a way that pilgrims spend a minimum time in Saudi Arabia to perform their religious duties before returning home.
In the year 2001, Iran Air carried around 60 thousands pilgrims to / from Jeddah within a span of 40 days. 352 Hajj charter flights were operated from / to 17 different cities in Iran, an achievement that was very remarkable in that these flights were operated in addition to the other daily Iran Air scheduled service commitments.
Iran Air also operates special charter flights from cities in Iran to Jeddah during the Umrah season. In order to deal with the operational requirements and to meet traffic demand, the airline leases aircraft including Boeing 747-200s and Airbus A300B2s .
[edit] Destinations
[edit] Fleet
The Iran Air fleet includes the following aircraft (at August 2006) [1] :
| Type | Number | Seats |
|---|---|---|
| Airbus A300-600R | 4 | 261 |
| Airbus A300-B2K | 4 | 277 |
| Airbus A310-200 | 6 | 215 |
| Airbus A310-300 | 2 | 167-203 |
| Boeing 727-200 | 4 | 154 |
| Boeing 747-100B | 1 | 449 |
| Boeing 747-200B | 3 | 449 |
| Boeing 747SP | 1 | 305 |
| Fokker 100 | 12 | 104 |
Previously operated:
- 2 Airbus A300B4 (at December 2005)
The average age of Iran Air fleet is more than 22 years in october 2006.
[edit] Grounded A310's
Iran Air has grounded its six second hand Airbus A310s owing to difficulties in maintaining them. The carrier has said it will not use the aircraft unless they are safe. The problem is that Iran Air's A310s need an immediate overhaul of their General Electric CF6's motors.
In October 2006 US regulators have approved the export of spare components and technical data to repair engines on Airbus aircraft operated by Iran Air, despite US sanctions against the Iranian government.
[edit] Fleet Upgrade
Iran Air is in the process of retiring the 747SP, 747-100B and 747-200B. The 737s and 707s were retired in the mid 1990s.[citation needed]
Iran Air is to begin a partial modernisation program of its own fleet and subsidiary Iran Air Tours using new-generation Russian aircraft. Five Tupolev Tu-204-100s will be acquired for Iran Air Tours, while two Ilyushin Il-96-300s will be taken on short-term lease for the airline’s mainline fleet, which could potentially lead to an order for four aircraft.
The Tu-204 deal has been disclosed by Moscow-based lessor Ilyushin Finance (IFC), which says that the firm contract will be signed by 15 December 2006 with the deal also including five options.
Iran Air expects the five firmly ordered twinjets to be delivered to Iran Air Tours in the second half of 2008 at a rate of one aircraft per month. Iran Air Tours’s current fleet comprises 12 Tupolev Tu-154Ms.
'In contrast to our previous deals, this contract will not have backing from the government in the form of export credit guarantees. ' says IFC director Alexander Rubtsov, referring to a string of agreements recently signed by the company with Cuba, Syria and Zimbabwe on the supply of Tu-204s and Il-96s.
Iran Air will take two Ilyushin Il-96-300s on short-term leases on from Russia’s Kras Air in October 2006 and will use these aircraft on a trial basis for up to one year. If they meet its operational requirements, IFC will consider placing an order for a batch of three or four aircraft.
Iran Air has also displayed a keen interest in the Sukhoi Superjet 100 and wants to take an in-depth look at the type closer to its roll-out in 2008.
[edit] Livery
The airline's livery is an all white fuselage, with Iran Air in dark, block letters above the passenger windows, and a dark blue drawing of a bird named Homa on the tail, with a shade of dark-blue over it. Model airplanes of its fleet are manufactured by Schabak of Germany.
[edit] Trivia
- As Iran is an Islamic society, where the sale of alcohol is forbidden, Iran Air does not serve alcohol on board its flights and all meals served are halal.
- All Flights of Iran Air are non-smoking.
- Iran Air was the sponsor of Iranian football team in 1978 FIFA World Cup.
- Iran Air was the sponsor of Iranian national teams in 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.
[edit] Incidents and accidents
- December 25, 1952; Iran Air Douglas DC-3; Tehran, Iran: 27 fatalities and 2 survivors
- January 21, 1980; Iran Air Boeing 727-86; near Tehran, Iran: The aircraft hit high ground in a snowstorm during the approach to land. All eight crew members and 120 passengers were killed.
- On 3 July 1988, Iran Air Flight 655 was flying over the Persian Gulf on its way to Dubai from Bandar Abbas. The USS Vincennes, a U.S. Navy cruiser equipped with the most sophisticated radar and electronic battle gear, claimed to mistake the airliner for an Iranian F-14 Tomcat. When the aircrew failed to respond to a message on a channel they were not supposed to be monitoring, the cruiser shot the airliner down with a missile killing all 16 crew and 274 passengers. The United States called the incident a tragic mistake. Newsweek published a long article ( “Sea of Lies”, July 13, 1992) that largely blamed Capt. Will Rogers, the Vincennes' commander. See Iran Air Flight 655.
[edit] List of operating Airlines of Iran
- Aria Tour
- Bon Air
- Caspian Airlines
- Ilam Air
- Iran Air
- Iran Air Cargo
- Iran Air Tours
- Iran Aseman Airlines
- Iranian Air Transport
- Kish Air
- Mahan Air
- Naft Airlines
- Pariz Air
- Payam Air
- Qeshm Air
- Safat Airlines
- Safiran Airlines
- Saha Airlines
- Saha Air Cargo
- Sahand Airlines
- Simorgh Airlines
- TA Air
- Taban Airlines
- Tara Airlines
- Tehran Airlines
- Zagros Airlines
[edit] External links
- Iran Air
- Iran Air Cargo
- Iran Air Tours
- Homa Hotel Group
- Iran Air at IKA Airport
- Iran Air Fleet Detail
- Iran Air Passenger Opinions
- Iran Air online booking
- Iran Air Photos
Regional Iran Air websites:
- Iran Air UK - Information for flights to the UK and North America
- Iran Air Germany - In German and English
- Iran Air Russia - In Russian
- Iran Air Austria - In German
- Iran Air Netherlands - In English
- Iran Air Italy - In Italian
- Iran Air East Asia - In Japanese and Korean
Historical reviews: For a complete history of the airline see:
- The Evolution of the Iranian Airlines Industry, by Abbas Atrvash.
[edit] References
- ^ Flight International, 3-9 October 2006
