ATR signs US$536m 20-aircraft deal with Iran

Hot on the heels of major aircraft deals signed between Iranian airlines and Boeing and Airbus, ATR has announced it has agreed a sale of 20 ATR 72-600s twin-propeller aircraft to Iran Air, with an option for a further 20 in place. The value of the transaction is put at US$536m at list prices, but substantial deals usually attract major discounts and Iranian state TV has reported the deal to be at US$400m. The deal already has the seal of approval from the U.S. Treasury who are required to sign off any aircraft sales where 10% or more of the components are manufactured in the U.S. Farhad Parvaresh, Iran Air CEO, told the state-run IRNA news agency that ATR intends to deliver nine ATR 72-600s in 2017, with the remainder delivered in 2018. He said four of the aircraft will arrive within a month after signing the contract. In February 2016, ATR signed an initial agreement to explore selling the aircraft to Iran Air. ATR is the Toulouse, France-based partnership of Airbus and Italy’s Leonardo S.p.A., specializing in regional turboprop aircraft of 90 seats or under.
With a population of 80 million people, Iran represents a substantial and untapped aviation market as no major plane deals have taken place since 1979 and the takeover of the U.S. Embassy during the Islamic revolution. However, Western analysts are skeptical about the volume of demand for so many jets and the availability of financing for billion-dollar deals.