IranAir CEO says no problems financing plane deals (updated)
08/02/2018 17:36
(Adds further CEO comments, details of plane deliveries)
By Parisa Hafezi and John Irish
Paris, Feb 8 (Reuters) - IranAir is not having problems
financing plane purchases from Boeing BA.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.
Sharafbafi confirmed deposits had not been paid, without
elaborating.
Industry sources have expressed doubts over whether Boeing
planes will be delivered as early as 2018, due to the lead time
needed to order parts for the planes involved, long-range 777s.
Former Airbus sales chief John Leahy said in January that
its schedule for deliveries to Iran could slip and cited the
importance of making downpayments. 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 eight 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.
Under the planned delivery schedule, the initial period
covered by existing licences valid until 2020 would include
37-38 Airbus jets, 15 from Boeing and all 20 ATRs, she said.
"We should utilise this timeframe under the licence," she
added.
Iran has accused the United States of dragging its feet over
the steps needed to implement the nuclear deal, which it says is
non-negotiable.
U.S. president Donald Trump in January warned European
allies and Congress they had to work with him to fix "disastrous
flaws" in the pact or face a U.S. exit. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1P71ZM
Trump said he would not keep issuing "waivers" on sanctions
against Iran unless his conditions were met.
(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/