IranAir has received its first delivery of a jet procured under a nuclear deal struck in 2015 with United States President Barack Obama and other Western leaders.
The jet, which is the first of 100 on order from Airbus, was already painted with the IranAir logo and will go into service Saturday traveling Iran's domestic routes.
IranAir Chairman Farhad Parvaresh said the new planes will allow the airline to upgrade its aging fleet “step by step” over the coming years.
IranAir expects to obtain at least two more of the Airbus A320 jets by March and another three jets by the end of 2017.
Order with Boeing in trouble?
IranAir has also placed an order with Boeing for 80 planes, though both those orders could be complicated by incoming President-elect Donald Trump, who has expressed interest in quashing the Iran deal.
Since the American companies need to obtain licenses to deliver the jets to Iran, there could be issues moving forward, though Parvaresh said he hopes to avoid any conflicts.
“Everything has been done according to the international regulations and rules up to now. We hope that nothing special happens to end this contract,” he said.
