IranAir CEO says no problems financing plane deals
08/02/2018 11:21
By Parisa Hafezi and John Irish
Paris, Feb 8 (Reuters) - IranAir is not having problems
financing plane purchases from Boeing BAA.N and Airbus
AIR.PA but deliveries could be hampered if the United States
does not extend export licences, Chief Executive Farzaneh
Sharafbafi said on Thursday.
She told Reuters on the sidelines of a Euromoney Iran
conference in Paris that the national carrier would receive its
first Boeing passenger jet later this year, after
nuclear-related sanctions were lifted in 2016. IranAir expects
to start receiving custom-built Airbus aircraft next year.
"The delivery of Boeing will be in 2018 and Airbus in 2019.
We have no problem with the financing of the deals," Sharafbafi
said.
IranAir has agreed to buy 80 aircraft from Boeing and 100
from Airbus but only a handful have been delivered amid what
bankers describe as a shortage of financing for Iran, due to the
reluctance of Western banks to risk U.S penalties.
Industry sources say another key sticking point is that
IranAir has been slow to pay deposits, which are needed
for Boeing and Airbus to start building new jets.
Airbus sales chief John Leahy said in January that its
schedule for deliveries to Iran could slip. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1PA4LA
Boeing has yet to publish the Iran order officially, a step
which the company says it can only take if it has a downpayment.
So far IranAir has received three brand-new Airbus jets
originally built for other airlines that could not take
delivery, and 8 new ATR turboprops.
It is able to purchase planes under the 2015 deal to open up
trade in exchange for curbs on Iran's nuclear activities.
Even after the accord, all exports of Western aircraft to
Iran need licences from the U.S. Treasury because of the number
of U.S. parts. Current licences expire at the end of 2020 and
would need to be extended to complete the planned deliveries.
"Whether the licences will be renewed, we have to wait and
see: it depends on the United States," Sharafbafi said.
Iran has accused the United States of dragging its feet over
the steps needed to implement the nuclear deal, which has been
publicly criticised by U.S. President Donald Trump.
(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi, John Irish; Editing by Catherine
Evans)
((parisa.hafezi@thomsonreuters.com; +90 532 176 3452; Reuters
Messaging: parisa.hafezi@thomsonreuters.com))
Keywords: IRAN AIRPLANES/