Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 17
By Fatih Karimov – Trend:
Iran’s ATA Air has received its first light passenger jet from Embraer, a Brazilian aerospace company.
The second-hand 50-seat ERJ 145 jet landed in Tabriz international airport on Dec. 16, the public relation office of the airline company announced.
Mohammad Niknam, head of the public relation office of the airline, said that the company has finalized an agreement with Brazilian airplane manufacturer to buy 10 passenger fleets.
The remaining planes will be added to ATA airline's fleet within the next six months, he added.
The new plane, which is capable to fly 4 hours, will be used in domestic routs as well as flights to neighboring countries including Baku in Azerbaijan and Istanbul in Turkey, the company announced.
Iran’s fourth largest airline, ATA, owns 15 aircrafts including eight McDonnell Douglas MD-83s, three Airbus A320s and four Boeing 737s.
The Tabriz-based airliner performs up to 80 flights per day.
The Brazilian aerospace conglomerate, Embraer, which manufactures commercial, military, executive and agricultural aircrafts, competes internationally with Canadian Bombardier for the title of third-largest airplane maker after Airbus and Boeing.
Earlier this year, Iran’s Kish Air received four 108-seat Embraer 195 aircraft from the Brazilian company.
More Iranian airlines are expected to receive airplanes from Embraer by the end of the current fiscal year (March 2018).
It was earlier reported that the plane-maker was in talks to sell about 20 E195 jets to the Islamic Republic with a total list price of more than $1 billion.
Brazil has been producing the E-Jet narrow-body and medium-range jet liners powered by twin engines since 2002.
After long years of embargo on the Islamic Republic over its disputed nuclear program, Airbus was the first aircraft manufacturer to deliver an airplane to Iran this January following the implementation of the country’s nuclear deal with the six world powers last year.
Iran seeks to renew its aging aviation fleet through purchasing 500 new aircraft over the coming years.