Iran’s Kish Airlines signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Boeing to purchase of 10 commercial planes, said the airline’s managing director.

Mohammad Taqi Jadidi added that the MoU to purchase 10 Boeing-737-MAX airplanes was signed following negotiations with representative of the US company, Fars News Agency reported on Friday.

He further said that, Kish Airlines seeks investors to finance the deal, adding that, since purchasing new airplanes in cash is not economically feasible, airliners prefer to obtain financing on the purchases.

Domestic banks have obtained licenses to open L/Cs and can easily undertake the financing of the deal, added Jadidi.

He noted that Kish Airlines will purchase six Airbus A-320 family jets by March 20, 2018, explaining that these will be the planes repossessed by financier banks.

Jadidi said that talks are underway with Boeing and Airbus and he predicted that the talks will be concluded within two months.

Iran had been expected to receive the first of 80 aircraft ordered from the US planemaker in April or May 2018, but Iranian media and industry sources have said that Iran might get the first Boeing jet a year earlier than expected under a proposal to swap deliveries with Turkish Airlines.

Industry sources had said Boeing was in talks to release at least one 777-300ER originally built for Turkish Airlines, which is deferring deliveries due to weaker traffic following last year’s failed coup attempt in Turkey.

Boeing said it does not comment on specific deliveries. “Boeing and Iran Air continue to work on implementing the sales contract for commercial passenger airplanes signed in December 2016, at which time we announced first deliveries are scheduled to start in 2018,” a spokesman said.

“We continue to follow the lead of the US government on all our dealings with approved Iranian airlines.”

Since last year, when most sanctions imposed on Iran were lifted under a 2015 nuclear deal with six major powers, Tehran has joined a long waiting list for new airplanes and the swap would have allowed it to speed up its fleet renewal.

Iran Air has also ordered 100 aircraft from Europe’s Airbus under a deal to lift most sanctions in return for modification on Iran’s nuclear program, and has taken three deliveries.

Iran’s return to the aviation market after decades of sanctions is a boon to planemakers trying to dispose of some new planes discarded by airlines facing economic difficulties.

/ Iran daily /