Official: Iran Designing 150-Seat Passenger Jet

A senior aviation official announced on Tuesday that Iran is designing a passenger jet which can accommodate 150 passengers.
“The Iranian Armed Forces Aviation Industries Organization, Iranian Aircraft Manufacturing Company, Sharif University of Technology, Amir Kabir University of Technology, University of Science and Technology and Isfahan University under the supervision of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization are designing a 150-seater passenger jet, a move which is first not just in the country but also in the Middle-East,” Head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization Hamid Reza Pahlevani said.

He explained that the heavy plane will be equipped with a turboprop double-engine capable of competing with all other jets in its class.

Pahlevani had announced earlier this year that a number of home-made passenger planes, capable of carrying 80, 100 and 150 passengers, will join the country’s air fleet soon.

The Islamic Republic plans to manufacture three domestically-designed passenger planes by 2026, Pahlevani said in January.

Iran aims to fly its first Antonov-158 jointly built with the Ukrainian company as early as 2013.

The new air vehicle with a seating capacity of 100 passengers will be the next generation of Iran-140 airplane.

After purchasing the production license for the Antonov-140 from Ukraine in 2000, Iran built its first Iran-140 passenger plane in 2003.

The first IRAN-140 aircraft was introduced by Iran in 2003. Five domestically-manufactured IRAN-140 planes were completed in October 2008 to increase the country’s transportation capacity and upgrade the Iranian passenger fleet.

The IRAN-140 is a double-engine turboprop aircraft which can fly almost 1,865 miles before re-fueling and its passenger model seats 52 people.