The event is the first international business event since the lifting of anti-Iran sanctions following the last year nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, Tasnim News Agency reported.

Representatives of Canada’s aerospace and transportation company Bombardier and Brazil’s aerospace company Embraer were among 160 delegates from 35 countries attending the Tehran aviation summit on Sunday.

“The aviation market potential in Iran is immense due to the pent-up demand after decades of sanctions,” CAPA’s Executive Chairman Peter Harbison told the event.

According to CAPA research, the size of Iran's economy on a PPP basis sits somewhere between that of Turkey and Australia whose commercial airline fleets range between 500-600 aircraft.

Iran and Europe are about to ink their first major trade deal in years when President Hassan Rouhani visits France on Wednesday, Press TV reported.

Iranian Minister of Road and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi said Saturday night that Iran Civil Aviation Organization will sign a contract to buy 114 passenger planes from Airbus during the visit.

Airbus’s first deliveries to flag carrier Iran Air are due as early as July, Akhoundi said last week.

According to another official, the deal will include a mix of new and used jets from the A320 family and the out-of-production A340s to feed domestic demand in the country of 80 million.

Iran’s Deputy Minister for Roads and Urban Development Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan said on Sunday Iran has struck a provisional deal with Europe's Airbus to buy eight A-380 superjumbo planes to be delivered from 2019, Reuters reported.

A deal for 127, mainly new, aircraft which it hopes to complete this week also includes 16 A350 jets, he said in an interview on the sidelines of the aviation conference in Tehran.

He also said Iran was interested in regional aircraft including Mitsubishi's MRJ and Canada's Bombardier C Series and has had some contact with both companies.

Iran Air is interested in wide-body planes including A350s and A380 double-decker to add destinations in the US, Canada, Australia and Europe to its network, the official said on the condition of anonymity because the details were private.

 

Boeing contract

 

Furthermore, Iran is considering to buy narrow-body 737s for domestic flights and two-aisle 777s for long-haul routes from US aircraft maker Boeing, Akhoundi said.

Negotiations for purchase of aircraft from Boeing will begin soon, Akhoundi told IRIB 3 Channel late Saturday night.

Boeing officials were about to attend the Tehran aviation summit but their trip was cancelled due to visa issues.

 

Iran-US direct flight

 

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the event, Akhoundi said Iran and the United States are in talks for launching direct flights between the two countries.

While in New York to attend the 68th session of the UN General Assembly back in 2013, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani had pledged to facilitate travel to homeland for Iranian expatriates residing in the US.

The US, Los Angeles in particular, is home to hundreds of thousands of Iranian expatriates.

 

Open to investment

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Akhoundi also said Iran's aviation is open to investment by all international companies barring Israeli firms.

Chairman of Iran Civil Aviation Organization Ali Abedzadeh said Sunday Iran had an immediate demand for 150 aircraft in the 250-seat range and above.

"We also need 300 medium- and long-haul aircraft while there is only nine long-range planes in our current fleet,” he added.

Iran needs 500 new commercial planes in its fleet in the next 10 years, Abedzadeh said.

The total purchase is estimated to cost about $50 billion, with officials indicating that Iran seeks to acquire the aircraft under lease or sale/leaseback deals.

Iran’s aviation industry is in dire need of a major overhaul, which has become possible with the recent lifting of sanctions.

Akhoundi said the country seeks $250 million of investment to upgrade its air navigation system.

Extra funding is needed to develop and expand Iranian airports. The minister said out of 67 airports in the country, only nine are operational.

A deal will be signed soon to expand Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKIA) and make it accommodate 45 million passengers, he said. It is currently operating well over capacity for seven million passengers. 

 

Thailand keen to boost Iran ties

 

The Thai foreign minister also said Tehran-Bangkok relations have always been based on mutual respect. He said his country seeks to boost cooperation with Iran in the fields of politics, economy, trade and culture.

Pramudwinai praised the positive outcomes of the nuclear agreement reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries and hoped his country would find new grounds for cooperation with Iran.

He emphasized that Thailand seeks to improve the level of its cooperation with Iran in regional and international organizations.

Heading a high-ranking delegation, the Thai foreign minister arrived in Tehran on Sunday to hold talks with Iranian officials.