EU: Sale of Airbus A380s to Iran Faltering

An Airbus A380, the world’s largest jetliner, generates vortex during a flying display at the 51st Paris Air Show at Le Bourget airport near Paris, June 18, 2015. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo

Originally appeared at DWN, translated by John T. Sumner exclusively for SouthFront; Edited by Alexandros Spiliotis

Iran seems to have no interest in the Airbus A380 aircraft any more. The giant fliers are part of a large order of over 100 aircraft, which was made in the context of an overall modernization of the country’s aerial fleet.

According to insiders, the sale of a dozen Airbus A380 wide-bodied aircraft to Iran stands in the balance. Several reports from people who are closely observing to the negotiation process conclude that the interest of the Islamic Republic in the A380 has faded.

However, Iran will pursue the order of other types of aircraft. “The A380 was just one option out of several”, a government official has said, adding that Iran “can switch to other models”. Airbus had pulled the large order ashore in January.

President Hassan Rouhani sealed the billion-dollar deal in January, during his visit to Paris. It comprises a total of 118 aircraft worth 25 billion, according to the list price. The order includes twelve A380, 16 long-distance flier jets A350-1000 and 45 of each A320 and A330.

After the conclusion of the nuclear deal and the lifting of sanctions related to its nuclear program, Iran increases the pace to modernize its outdated aircraft fleet. Recently, Iran has sealed another major order of 100 jetliners from Airbus rival Boeing.

According to Reuters, an Airbus spokesman stated on Monday that negotiations with IranAir would further proceed. After a preliminary agreement was reached in January, the remainder of the process includes only the completion of the contracts. For the time being, nobody at IranAir was available to comment.