IRAN: Iran Airtour And Zagros Airlines Sign Pact

Two of Iran’s domestic mid-size air carriers have signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concerning a total of 73 new aircraft, Airbus today announced.

Iran Airtour and Zagros Airlines’ commitments were disclosed at the Paris Airshow where the world’s major aircraft manufacturers have announced new orders and commitments during the past days.

Zagros Airlines, one of Iran’s prominent domestic airlines with a steadily growing fleet, signed a MoU with Airbus for the acquisition of 28 new aircraft, covering 20 A320neo and 8 A330neo.

The commitment was signed between the Iranian airlines’ CEO Seyed Abdolreza Mousavi and Airbus’ COO and President Commercial Aircraft Fabrice Brégier.

Nearly half of the airline’s current 18-aircraft fleet consists of Airbus aircraft; 7 A320, 2 A321 and 1 A319.

The rest of the fleet is composed of 5 MD82 and 3 MD83 aircraft. The A330neo would become the airline’s very first addition of a widebody aircraft, most likely indicating an international expansion.

While Zagros Airlines currently operates a number of international flights a day to countries such as Turkey, Georgia and Georgia, the majority of the airline’s capacity is spread out on domestic routes.

We are delighted to have been able to reach an agreement with Airbus for these new aircraft.

We have been a loyal operator of the A320 Family and the performance, operational and cost efficiencies of Airbus aircraft was the selling point for us to order these aircraft, said Seyed Abdolreza Mousavi.

This represents a practical step for Zagros Airlines’ fleet renewal as well as expanding our operations both domestically and internationally.

Zagros Airlines’ agreement with Airbus is yet in the stage of a commitment, expressed in a MoU and is subject to approval from U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

An eventual deal will act in full compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and associated rules, Airbus says.

The same conditions have applied to IranAir’s deal signed in January 2016 and will also do to Iran Airtour Airlines’ commitment signed today.

We thank Zagros Airlines for their trust in our most efficient single and twin-aisle product families.

They will allow Zagros to modernise and expand its fleet with minimum change benefiting from our fleet commonality which is unique to Airbus, said Fabrice Brégier.

Moreover, Iran Airtour Airlines signed a MoU for 45 A320neo aircraft, a great expansion which will once again welcome Airbus to the fleet that today consists of 8 aircraft; 1 B737-300, 1 B737-500, 4 MD82 and 2 MD83.

The A320neo Family with its unique features enabling operational efficiency and reliability will contribute to our growth and expansion strategy, said Majid Shekari, Chairman of Iran Airtour Airlines.

Our success as a domestic and regional airline will be reinforced by this investment in the world’s leading single-aisle aircraft.

Iran Airtour Airlines almost exclusively operates domestic flights, with the exception of Turkey, UAE and charter flights.

On the airline’s website, it is announced that the agreement’s commitment is valued at €4,5 billion.

In February 2017, Iran Airtour Airlines joined IATA.

This commitment for 45 A320neo Family aircraft demonstrates the confidence airlines have in our successful market leading single-aisle for its operational efficiency and unrivaled passenger comfort, said Fabrice Brégier, Airbus COO and President Commercial Aircraft.

We are delighted to add Iran Airtour as a new Airbus customer and we look forward to our long-term partnership.

A few weeks ago, Iran Aseman Airlines announced that it had finalised the MoU signed in April 2017 However, the deal’ is still in subject to a final OFAC approval.

Boeing has yet not officially commented the case.


Tourism Observer

INDIA: Rajasthan And Singapore Deepen Cooperate Tourism

Singapore on Thursday (Oct 6) signed two agreements with the state of Rajasthan. The agreements aim to boost Rajasthan’s tourism industry, while giving Singapore companies opportunities to expand overseas.

International Enterprise (IE) Singapore signed the first agreement with the Rajasthani government to facilitate partnerships in the areas of urban solutions and tourism development. In the works are two projects: One on waste management, and another to provide digital networks to remote areas.

Rajasthan is the largest state in India by land area, with 83 cities and a population of 68.6 million people.

IE Singapore’s subsidiary, the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE), signed the second agreement to develop a training programme for about 100 Rajasthani government officials in the state’s Tourism Department.

Tourism is a key sector in Rajasthan. In 2013, it received more than 34 million visitors, including 1.5 million foreign tourists. The city of Udaipur is also a popular Indian tourist destination, known as the "Venice of the East".

The SCE programme will consist of seven workshops - five in Jaipur and two in Singapore - spanning topics like promotion and destination marketing. The Temasek Foundation will provide a grant of S$484,010 to co-fund the training programme, while the Rajasthani Tourist Department will provide S$215,200.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is on a five-day working visit to India, witnessed the exchange of the agreements at the Oberoi Hotel. He had earlier met Rajasthan’s Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Thursday.

Mr Lee then launched a new tourism training centre at the Mohanlal Sukhadia University, a public varsity in Udaipur. The centre is slated to begin courses in late 2016, and will offer tourism and hospitality training in areas such as retail services and culinary arts.

Singapore’s ITE Education Services (ITEES) will help develop the curriculum and training programme, while the Rajasthani government will be responsible for the facilities, equipment and recruitment of trainers. The centre will have up to 36 trainers, and accommodate up to 480 students per year.

The launch comes more than a year after both parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Jaipur. The centre also comes in support of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s "Skills India" initiative, which aims to train 400 million Indians by 2022. It is the second project involving ITEES after the World Class Skills Centre in New Delhi, established in 2012.

Singapore’s Acting Education Minister Ong Ye Kung, who unveiled a plaque with Ms Raje to mark the centre’s launch, said these initiatives and agreements come as governments around the world are pushing for more skilled training, and in turn, better skilled workers.

Boosting bilateral cooperation in the area of skills development has also been a recurrent theme of Mr Lee’s visit. “I think all around the world there’s greater realisation that it is really your skills, your competency that will make you valuable to industries and valuable to employers,” Mr Ong said.

The Acting Education Minister, who co-chairs the Future Jobs and Skills sub-committee of the Committee on the Future Economy, added that Singapore brings to India its knowledge in “training people and upgrading vocational expertise”.

“India is going through a phase where more investments are coming in, it’s growing at 7.3 per cent, 7.5 per cent, and lots of industries need people with the correct vocational skills, and from this aspect they find it’s useful to learn from the Singapore experience.”

He added that various states have been approaching Singapore to set up skills development centres throughout India.

INDIA: IndiGo Signs Off Airbus Record Order

Indian budget carrier IndiGo has confirmed a previous Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in October 2014 for 250 Airbus A320neo aircraft, with an estimated value of $27 billion based on list prices.

Airbus informed in an e-mailed statement today that the order, the biggest ever by number of aircraft, has catapulted its backlog to over 4,100 single-aisle Airbus family jetliners.

In 2005, the New Delhi-based airline placed an initial order for 100 A320s, which have all now been delivered. Currently, the carrier has an all-Airbus fleet, comprised by 95 aircraft.

“It fills us with pride that IndiGo, India’s largest airline and one of the early launch customers for the A320neo, is coming back for more of our benchmark aircraft. This order confirms the A320 Family as the airliner of choice in the most dynamic aviation growth markets.” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer Customers.

The announcement of the Indian carrier confirms the expansion plans, intended to keep its leading role in the local market with now almost 40 percent share. Aditya Ghosh, President of IndiGo said, “This new order reaffirms IndiGo’s commitment to the long-term development of affordable air transportation in India and overseas,” aligned with the regional trend of other budget carriers in the region, which are expanding rapidly to serve a burgeoning middle class in a fast-growing environment.

IndiGo growth in India has been challenged by the entry of Air Asia India and Vistara Airlines -a joint venture of Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines-, new players in a market in which profits are elusive. This year, Jet Airways and Spicejet have reported losses, while Kingfisher Airlines has remained in ground since 2012 with $1.4 billion in debts.