Quote from: 47475 on November 02, 2014, 03:50:06 PM
The B747-SP is doing a farewell sightseeing flight out of Tehran later this month, which I will be on provided I get my visa. Of the four -SPs that Iran Air operated, the last one operating happens to be the only one I have not flown already, so all being well I will be able to say I flew on all of their -SPs.

I don't expect many people can claim to have been on one, let alone 3 and possibly all four.

Have a great time if you get your visa.

Nigel

Nice 47475! It's always been "in and out" for me. Have you managed to spend some time on the ground there?

Quote from: 47475 on November 02, 2014, 03:50:06 PM
Iran Air only use their A300-600s and A310-300s to Europe, including Heathrow.

They have one remaining B747-SP and a couple of B747-200s. The older A300s (B2 & B4 variants) are usually only used on Domestic and Gulf sectors. They also have A320s and a number of leased Ukrainian-registered MD-80s.

Theres two 747-300s and three very early build A340-300s in Iran now. The 747s were supposedly going to Iran air but have appeared with Mahan air titles but no knowledge whether they have actually flown. The A340s were again for Iran but again seem to be parked in Tehran this time without titles.

The 747SP occasionally still gets in to Europe. It was in Germany only a fortnight ago on a Admin flight (basically moving someone important) which are exempt from EU blacklistings and noise regs. Putins IL62 also makes the odd appearance including one at JFK! They also used to regulaly use one of the SPs on the Tehran - Havana flight as its extra range meant it could do it non stop. I believe thats why the above A340s were taken on as replacements.

Up until recently it was still possible to go on a 707 in Iran with Saha Air. Flights were hit and miss but many made the trip to see if one would come out to play. They now have two ex Korean A300-600s and two ex Iran Air force 747 freighters. Going from 707s to A300-600s must have been a shock!

When Iran was still heavily sanctioned they found they couldnt get parts, they simply reverse engineered many parts or used a freindly local country to provide parts under the radar. One 747-200 ended up going to one of the Iran friendly countries and was scrapped. The engines of this a/c were later found on an Iran Air example having mysteriously made it across the border. This was one reason why the jumbos ended up being blacklisted as they found more and more of this going on, trying to work out the paperwork on them was next to impossible. Certainly i doubt any ex Iranian aircraft would go back in to operation anywhere else in the world! But times have changed...

Richard

Hi Richard

Not sure if it's the 747-300's you're talking about but you do see Mahan Air ones around the Gulf and I think they also send them to places like Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.

Dan

Its quite possible. The last report i had was that they were in storage. Given we are in the Hajj time im not suprised theyve entered service. I know when they arrived though there were paperwork issues and there were certain maintenece requirements that needed to be completed. They were also non standard for Iran as they were RR powered whereas all the other 747s were P&W powered. There is EP-IAI which is GE powered but there have been no recent sightings so i wonder if this was another christmas tree.

Richard

Hi Richard

The ones I saw would have been a couple of years ago, but no longer than that. Now you've got me thinking, was it -200's or -300's I saw. Seen so many of the things that the mind can start to play tricks after a while. I'm pretty sure I've seen some Mahan air -300's because I always wonder why they're doing intra Gulf routes and also why it's Mahan Air on a (most probably) Iran Air schedule. That said, I think the two do work in tandem.

I've been digging around for a pic or two but will have to keep searching. If I find anything then I'll post it.

Cheers

Dan

Richard

I'd have to dig out my old hard drive to have a look to see if I have any pics but here's one in Dubai from airliners.net, dated April 2013. Not sure if these are the -300's you mention or whether you are talking about a more recent batch they acquired.

Must be getting on to becoming quite a rare bird too! Seen the odd Pullmantur in Madrid, trying to think of which others I've seen.

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Mahan-Air/Boeing-747-3B3M/2256255/&sid=c654fa5b6808ce8e96287c163e4287f9

Dan

Quote from: B757-236GT on November 02, 2014, 06:11:39 PM
Theres two 747-300s and three very early build A340-300s in Iran now. The 747s were supposedly going to Iran air but have appeared with Mahan air titles but no knowledge whether they have actually flown. The A340s were again for Iran but again seem to be parked in Tehran this time without titles.

Mahan Air have operated a couple of former UTA/Air France B747-300s for a few years now.

The ones that were meant for Iran Air were a couple of ex-QANTAS -300s which basically got parked up in Tehran and never flew for them. They may have left again now - I'm not sure.

Quote from: B757-236GT on November 02, 2014, 06:11:39 PM
They also used to regulaly use one of the SPs on the Tehran - Havana flight as its extra range meant it could do it non stop. I believe thats why the above A340s were taken on as replacements.

I think you mean the Tehran-Damascus-Caracas route. That only operated for a few months and was taken over by Conviasa using an A340-200. It only operated every 2 weeks and was ceased a few years ago. I flew on the DAM-CCS sector in 2007. Here is my report from that flight: http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/trip_reports/read.main/107603

Quote from: B757-236GT on November 02, 2014, 06:11:39 PM
Up until recently it was still possible to go on a 707 in Iran with Saha Air. Flights were hit and miss but many made the trip to see if one would come out to play. They now have two ex Korean A300-600s and two ex Iran Air force 747 freighters. Going from 707s to A300-600s must have been a shock!

Saha Air is history now, but Meraj Air is the current equivalent with links to the Air Force. They picked up and currently operate the A300-600s that briefly operated for Saha Air. I flew on 3 different Saha B707s in 2007 and 2010. Here is my report from 2007: http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/trip_reports/read.main/98977

Quote from: DesertHound on November 03, 2014, 03:51:51 AM
The ones I saw would have been a couple of years ago, but no longer than that. Now you've got me thinking, was it -200's or -300's I saw. Seen so many of the things that the mind can start to play tricks after a while. I'm pretty sure I've seen some Mahan air -300's because I always wonder why they're doing intra Gulf routes and also why it's Mahan Air on a (most probably) Iran Air schedule. That said, I think the two do work in tandem.

I've been digging around for a pic or two but will have to keep searching. If I find anything then I'll post it.

The active Mahan Air ones are -300s. They also had some -400s which they managed to get via the Tajikistan (I think) register, but they didn't last long and are currently stored in Fujairah, UAE. Maybe it was a spares issue.

Quote from: B757-236GT on November 02, 2014, 07:57:31 PM
There is EP-IAI which is GE powered but there have been no recent sightings so i wonder if this was another christmas tree.

EP-IAI is very much active, along with EP-IAG. They have both operated to Mumbai and Kuala Lumpur recently in place of the -SP which is apparently in a check right now.

Yup - pretty sure the ones I've seen in The Gulf and Asia were -300's.

Thanks for posting those reports 47475 - haven't gotten around to reading them yet, but I will!

Dan

Hi 47475.

You must be one of the few people who deliberately fly in antique aircraft.

Most people avoid them like the plague.

Reminds me of a flight I once took from Abuja to Lagos in Nigeria with Changchangi airlines. The hostesses were all blond and all the notices in the cabin were in Serbo-Croat - in fact the aircraft was registered in Yugoslavia.

Inside the luggage bins there were all kinds of cables and wires hanging down but the passengers stuffed their bags in anyway and didn't seem worry about doing damage to the electrics.

Was I glad to get out of that plane !

Best regards,


Joe

Yes indeed, thanks for clarifying it. I thought it was a little odd as i thought they were Qantas and when they said UTA i thought perhaps the gen had been wrong first time round. Werent all UTAs 300s combis. Airfleets doesnt differentiate the two types for UTA and just lists 3B3s and 3B3Ms as i thought the Combis were 3B3Cs but im happy to be corrected on that.

They did operate Havana as well but only for a short while im led to believe. Does the CCS-THR flight operate now as i thought Conviasas A340-200s were likely to be impounded if they came to certain countries having said that i doubt Iran isnt one of them!

Are Iran still opping their 727s or have they gronded them now? I didnt realise Saha had gone as they are still listed as operating with the same fleet. I wonder if its one name on the aircraft with Saha still on AOC.

There is big business in doing these kind of flights. People were paying mega money for a two hour flight on a BAC1-11 recently.

Richard

Was N176SG one of the Qantas ones that ended up in Iran as i note its stored at Kemble at the moment. I certainly didnt notice that one come in.

Richard

With the day that's in it - here is my Heavy Aviation Photo...



Bomber Command Memorial

Quote from: B757-236GT on November 03, 2014, 07:36:02 PM
Was N176SG one of the Qantas ones that ended up in Iran as i note its stored at Kemble at the moment. I certainly didnt notice that one come in.

Richard

Apparently it is, yes.