Mahan Air

Mahan Air
IATA
W5
ICAO
IRM
Callsign
MAHAN
Founded 1992
Hubs Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport
Frequent-flyer program Mahan & Miles
Fleet size 36[1] (+2 orders)
Destinations 28
Company slogan The Spirit of Excellence
Parent company Mol-Al-Movahedin Credit Union
Headquarters Tehran, Iran
Key people Hamid Arabnejad, (Managing director)
Website www.mahan.aero

Mahan Airlines, doing business as Mahan Air, (Persian: هواپیمایی ماهان) is a private airline based in the Mahan Air Tower in Tehran, Iran.[2][3] It operates scheduled domestic services and international flights to the Far East, Middle East, Central Asia, and Europe. Its main base is Imam Khomeini International Airport, Tehran, Iran.

Contents

History

The airline was established in 1991 and began operations in 1992 as Iran's first private airline. It joined the IATA in 2001 and is owned by Mol-Al-Movahedin Organisation (96%). As of March 2007 it has 2,511 employees. At its operational launch in May 1993, Mahan Air fleet consisted of two Tupolev 154 aircraft, with a staff of 99 and a route network from Tehran to two domestic destinations. Growth was initiated with the addition of Airbus A300 wide-body aircraft to the fleet in 1999 and the Airbus A310 in 2001.[4] This enabled the airline to reach beyond the regional destinations it served. Its route network now spans 28 destinations in 12 countries with a fleet of 25 Airbus and Boeing 747 aircraft. It holds 13% of all international flights from Iran,[5] and 8% of the domestic market.

Destinations

Fleet

Due to the sanctions imposed by the US government, Iranian airlines can only acquire aircraft which are at least seven years old and have been purchased through a third party rather than directly from Boeing or Airbus. The Mahan Air fleet includes the following aircraft (as of February 2011)[6][7][8]:

Mahan Air Fleet
Type Total Seating Notes
J Y Total
Airbus A300B2 3 20
15
236
231
256
246
A300B2K-3C model
Airbus A300B4-100 1 Airbus A300B4-103 model
Airbus A300B4-200 2 Airbus A300B4-203 model
Airbus A300-600 13 24 227
232
251
256
10 A300B4-603 model, 3 A300B4-605R
Airbus A310-300 9 10
12
186
190
196
202
1 (EX-301) operated by Kyrgyz Trans Avia
1 A310-304 (EP-MHO), 6 A310-304(ET), 1 A310-308 (EP-MNP).
Boeing 747-300 Combi 2 26 412 438 Boeing 747-3B3(M) model
Boeing 747-400 3 44 394 438 Boeing 747-422 model
EP-MNB and EP-MNC stored at Tehran, EP-MNA has start her operation again, but only domestic between Mehrabad and Mashhad
Airbus 310 Previously operated by the German Government.[9]

The three 747-400s were according to the British High Court unlawfully taken by Mahan from their real owners in 2008 using forged bills of sale. When ordered to bring the aircraft back to Europe, Mahan apparently claimed they could not do so because they were being investigated by the Iranian authorities for fraud and the aircraft had to be kept in Iran.

Seating data provided from the airline'sofficial site. Other sources (as planespotters.net) give other data.

Safety concerns in 2007

On 11 September 2007, the European Commission added Mahan Air to the list of airlines banned within the EU.[10] The ban was subject to certain limitations; for example, Mahan Air was able to operate aircraft wet-leased from other carriers provided those aircraft met EU regulations, however this ban was lifted on 25 July 2008 in view of the progress made by the carrier, which were verified during an on site inspection in Iran.[11]

Alleged Involvement in 2011 Plot to Assassinate the Saudi Ambassador to the U.S.

On October 12, 2011, the United States Department of the Treasury designated Mahan Air as an entity providing financial, material and technological support to a designated terrorist organization, to wit, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force. The U.S. Government action came in the aftermath of its allegation that the Qods Force had attempted to assassinate Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States, Adel al-Jubeir. The Treasury Department alleged that Mahan Air assisted in carrying out that plot by providing transportation, funds transfers and personnel travel services to the Qods Force:

“Mahan Air’s close coordination with the IRGC-QF – secretly ferrying operatives, weapons and funds on its flights – reveals yet another facet of the IRGC’s extensive infiltration of Iran’s commercial sector to facilitate its support for terrorism,” said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen. “Following the revelation about the IRGC-QF’s use of the international financial system to fund its murder-for-hire plot, today’s action highlights further the undeniable risks of doing business with Iran.”[12]

The Treasury Department also accused Mahan Air of providing "travel services to IRGC-QF personnel flown to and from Iran and Syria for military training," facilitating "the covert travel of suspected IRGC-QF officers into and out of Iraq by bypassing normal security procedures," and of "not including information on flight manifests to eliminate records of the IRGC-QF travel."[13]

The Treasury Department also accused Mahan Air of transferring arms shipments and funds for the purchase of controlled goods and of providing transportation services for Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.[14]

As a result, all U.S. persons were prohibited from engaging in commercial or financial transactions with Mahan Air and any assets it may hold under U.S. jurisdiction were frozen.[15]

References

External links

Iran portal
Companies portal
Aviation portal
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Mahan_Air Mahan Air] at Wikimedia Commons