Iran’s national flag carrier airline, IranAir, has put up 11 of its old planes for auction.
Initially a list of 12 aircraft with their starting bid price was published by local and foreign media last week. Later, it was announced that one of these planes will be transferred to the aviation museum at Tehran Aviation Exhibition.
According to a report by Salameno.ir, citing the advertisement published on IranAir’s website, the initial list of 12 aircraft up for auction is as follows:
1. Boeing 747SP EP-IAA c/n 20998 with a starting bid price of 965 million rials ($3,584)
2. Boeing 747SP EP-IAB c/n 20999 with the starting bid price of 1.08 billion rials ($4,011)
3. Boeing 747SP EP-IAD c/n 21758 with a starting bid price of 1.12 billion rials ($4,160)
4. Boeing 747-100 EP-IAM c/n 21759 with a starting bid price of 1.04 billion rials ($3,863)
5. Airbus A300B2K EP-IBT c/n 185 with a starting bid price of 715 million rials ($2,656)
6. Airbus A300B2-2K EP-IBV c/n 187 with a starting bid price of 625 million rials ($2,321)
7. Airbus A300B2-200 EP-IBZ c/n 226 with a starting bid price of 925 million rials ($3,436)
8. Boeing 727-200 EP-IRR c/n 20946 with a starting bid price of 415 million rials ($1,541)
9. Boeing 727-200 EP-IRS c/n 20947 with a starting bid price of 470 million rials ($1,745)
10. Airbus A310-200 EP-IBN c/n 375 with a starting bid price of 855 million rials ($3,176)
11. Boeing 747-200 EP-IAG c/n 21217 with a starting bid price of 867.5 million rials ($3,222)
12. Airbus A310-200 EP-IBQ c/n 389 with a starting bid price of 900 million rials ($3,343)
“All these planes have been out of service for extended periods of time and their main parts were used as the source of spare parts,” Maqsoud Asadi-Samani, secretary of the Association of Iranian Airlines, told the news portal of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development on Monday.
The official noted that finding a space to park these old jetliners has been one of the problems troubling Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport and mounting costs for IranAir.
“Customers who might participate in the auction are usually those who seek to strip them down for spare parts, or break them up for their aluminum scrap value. Others might be willing to refurbish them as restaurants or hotels.”
The planes on auction have reportedly all had one owner, apart from the A310s that were previously operated by Turkish Airlines.
A300 is the European manufacturer’s first-generation widebody twin-jet, while A310 is a shortened derivative, introduced in 1982.
The US equipment consists of the classic trijet 727, two of the earliest 747 variants—the 100 and 200 Series—and the short-bodied 747SP, The Drive wrote. Excerpts follow:
Admittedly, these aircraft are all now very old—the trio of 747SPs being the most antiquated, the earliest having been first flown in 1976—and it’s hard to see they could have much use as part of a viable commercial venture.
Most of these aircraft were grounded some years ago and IranAir is now giving them up entirely, on account of their age, reduced overall passenger numbers, as well as the significant difficulties the carrier faces in getting the spares required to fly them.
It has been suggested that the airliners might have a useful scrap value, which could make them attractive to a breaker, but the United States is also likely to be watchful of exactly where any spare parts end up.
Among the aircraft up for grabs, the Boeing 747SP is almost certainly the most interesting. While it retained the appearance of the 747, the SP (for Special Performance) was around 48 feet shorter, losing around 100 seats in the process. The resulting aircraft offered reduced fuel consumption and longer range, as well as improved performance across the flight envelope.
Only 45 of these “mini Jumbos” were ever built, examples serving with prominent operators, including Korean Air Lines, Pan Am, Qantas and TWA. In its latter period of commercial service, IranAir was the major operator, until it finally withdrew the type in 2016.
The three 747SPs now being offered were retired in 2013 and 2014.
Ultimately, the 747SP found its niche as a VIP transport for governmental customers in the Middle East, while one serves NASA as a laboratory carrying a 106-inch reflecting telescope.
For IranAir, the latest aircraft disposals reflect its aim of rationalizing its fleet, which is now dominated by Airbus twin-jet types, as well as a fleet of ATR 72-600 turboprops for regional connections. The last American equipment in the fleet is a pair of MD-82s and a single 747-200 used for cargo transport.
In recent years, the airline has faced many hurdles, with sanctions preventing an overhaul of its aging fleet and reducing the availability of spares. At the same time, operations have been severely limited by a ban on its A320, 727 and 747 fleets from the European Union over safety concerns.
The 2015 nuclear deal saw sanctions relaxed and provided the impetus for IranAir to place orders with the two major commercial manufacturers. Tehran had ordered 80 Boeing jetliners valued at around $16.6 billion, plus 118 Airbus aircraft worth around $25 billion.
Additional regional aircraft orders were placed with ATR and Bombardier. However, the related contracts were suspended after US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal in 2018 and impose a new round of sanctions.
In the meantime, only three of the Airbus aircraft and a few ATR turboprops had been delivered to Iran.
It’s just possible that a buyer might see the potential in these aircraft and snap them up, provided it’s not deterred by the sanctions.
