Aircraft
ATR, Airbus Help Open Commercial Floodgates to Iran
Separate orders from Iran Air call for delivery of at least 20 ATRs, 118 Airbus jets
Iran Air chairman Farhad Parvaresh (left) and ATR chief executive Patrick de Castelbajac sign an historic deal in Teheran Monday covering orders for as many as 40 ATR 72-600s. (Photo: ATR)
Iran Air chairman Farhad Parvaresh (left) and ATR chief executive Patrick de Castelbajac sign an historic deal in Teheran Monday covering orders for as many as 40 ATR 72-600s. (Photo: ATR)

The diplomatic breakthrough between the West and Iran has resulted in nearly immediate windfalls for Airbus and Franco-Italian turboprop maker ATR, the beneficiary of a new firm order announced Monday from Iran Air covering 20 ATR 72-600s. The €1 billion deal, which includes options on another 20 of the turboprops, followed talks in Rome and Paris during the official visit to Europe of Iranian president Hassan Rohani. The Iranian contingent sealed a deal covering 118 Airbus jets while meeting with French President François Hollande at the Élysée Palace in Paris last Thursday.