IRAN: Iran Air Now Has First Female CEO, Farzaneh Sharafbafi

Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Engineering, Abbas Akhundias has named the Ex-Director of Iran Air’s Research Department, Farzaneh Sharafbafi as CEO of Iran Air.

The administration of the recently re-elected Iran President, Hassan Rouhani, broke with Islamic tradition by appointing many women to management positions.

This is the first time a female has been appointed to this position since Iran Air started operations in the 1940's.

Farzaneh Sharafbafi was Iran’s first woman to earn a PhD in Aerospace. She also led several aviation projects and taught various aerospace courses at the Amir Kabir University of Technology and Shahid Sattari University of Aeronautical Engineering.

The news comes after Iran has agreed to purchase 30 737 MAX aircraft for $3.0 billion; the airline’s second major aviation deal under reduced sanctions.

Akhundias said Sharafbafi should develop the airline’s fleet and its equipment, pushing Iran Air to compete at regional and international levels, maintaining the safety and security standards of the carrier.

Developing Iran Air’s fleet may not be a challenge, Iran Air already has several billion-dollar deals with different aircraft manufacturers for a fleet renewal, with orders placed for 20 ATR, 80 Boeing, and 112 Airbus.

The carrier already received 7 new aircraft, four ATR 72-600 and three Airbus jets.

The first Boeing aircraft should be delivered by April 2018.

Iran Air’s previous CEO Farhad Parvaresh, said on June that the plan calls for us to receive another five ATRs until the end of 2017, starting in August or September, and a further eleven in 2018, bringing it to the total 20 we ordered.

From Airbus, we hope to receive two A320s by the end of the year. We are intentionally building up the new fleet slowly because we have to manage the arrivals and train pilots and technicians.

We have done it for the A321 and the A330s while the ATR training is still in progress.

I WISH YOU GOOD LUCK IN YOUR NEW ASSIGNMENT Madam Farzaneh Sharafbafi



Tourism Observer
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IRAN: Isfahan Receives 85,000 Visitors In One Month

More than 85,000 foreign tourists visited Isfahan Province in Farvardin—the first month of the Iranian year (March 21–April 20), breaking a 40-year record.

That is more than a third of the total number of inbound tourists in Isfahan (280,000) in March 2013-17.

This is particularly interesting because foreign tours are generally advised to avoid coming to Iran in the first two weeks of Farvardin, since it is the high travel season for Iranians out to spend the Norouz (Iranian New Year) holidays.

Isfahan, a historical province with two world heritage sites, is a popular destination for both Iranian and foreign holidaymakers, but such an influx of overseas travelers in just one month had not happened since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

“Tourists from 44 countries visited Isfahan in Farvardin,” Fereydoun Allahyari, the head of the provincial office of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, told ICHHTO’s news website on Monday.

“This is unprecedented in the past four decades,” he declared.

The French ranked first and were followed by German, Italian and Spanish tourists.

“Tourism to Isfahan has grown by 400% since the current government came to power (in August 2013),” Allahyari said.

The growing number of tourists has put pressure on local officials to fast-track plans to build more hotels and increase the province’s capacity to host tourists.

“The goal is to quadruple our capacity” in the next two years, the official said, adding that “there are plans to build 63 hotels”.

According to Isfahan Mayor Mehdi Jamalinejad, 80% of all construction projects in the city will help tourism in one way or

another. Iran’s goal is to attract 20 million tourists annually by 2025 and infrastructure development in Isfahan, which is one of the most-visited destinations in the country, is essential to realize the ambitious goal.

Last week, the city launched a raft of new technological upgrades to city services, including a new “Information Kiosk” in a prime location near the Zayandehroud river.

Along with Tabriz, Isfahan was designated “World Crafts City” by the World Crafts Council in September2015, becoming the only Iranian city to have the honor.

The historical city boasts two world heritage sites in Naqsh-e-Jahan Square and Jame’ Mosque.