order
to raise the capital it needs to buy new aircraft.
Iran Air Chairman Farhad Parvaresh has said that the airline plans to buy as many as 100 new aircraft, double what it currently owns.
He did not say what planes he would buy. No Iranian airline can buy American planes because of the US trade embargo and most European planes contain more than 10 percent US-made parts and thus also come under the US embargo.
His announcement appeared to indicate that previous announcements of plans to use funds from Iran’s oil profits had fallen through.
“Our company will be going to the Tehran Stock Exchange,” Parvaresh said. He said it had not yet been decided how much of the company’s stock would be sold. But he held out the possibility that 100 percent of the firm would be privatized. The firm is currently entirely state-owned.
Iran Air’s current fleet is made up entirely of Boeings, Airbuses and Fokkers. Under the embargo, Boeing and Airbuses are no longer available. Fokker is out of business.