Re: Iran: aerei e dintorni dopo il trattato sul nucleare.
Only days after some of the economic sanctions against Iran were lifted in mid-January, the aviation industry discovered a new wonderland. Orders for 500 aircraft in the next five years, 200 deliveries in the next few month—these announcements by the Iranian government sound too good to be true. But are they?
Iran, a country of 82 million people, has been an outsider in international air transport for almost four decades. Because of the economic sanctions against Iran, airlines in the country could not buy new aircraft. Some have managed to procure used equipment, but the Iranian civil fleet is aging and in urgent need of replacement. Airports are underdeveloped, as are air traffic control facilities, so not many Iranians are traveling by air.
Few doubt that Iran is an emerging air transport market with big potential. Although it has a population of comparable size, Iran’s passenger numbers are less than 10% of Germany’s. The country’s geography and, in places, inadequate ground infrastructure, makes air travel a sensible option even for domestic journeys. Iran is rich in natural resources and could base an economic recovery on oil income once the price of crude increases, which is likely in the coming years.
Like the big airline hubs on the other side of the Persian Gulf in Doha, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Tehran is well-located in the middle of important and fast-growing traffic flows that could in theory feed development of a major hub airport. And unlike the big three Gulf carriers’ bases, there is a potentially huge local market that would complement connecting traffic once properly developed. The big question is: How long will it take for this potential to become reality?
For now, enthusiasm rules. “I hold your hands in friendship,” Iran’s Transport Minister Abbas Akhoondi told an audience at a Tehran aviation conference organized by the CAPA consultancy. Friendship in this case means business, the aerospace industry hopes. “I was amazed to see the authorities are moving much faster than we thought,” says Betrand Grabowski, member of the board of managing directors of DVB Bank, which is heavily involved in aircraft financing.
And government officials have talked about potential deals worth billions. On the occasion of President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to Paris on Jan. 28, Iran Air Chairman/CEO Farvad Parvahesh signed an agreement for 118 Airbus aircraft. The deal includes 21 A320ceo-family aircraft, 24 A320neo family jets, 27 A330s, 18 A330neos (A330-900s), 16 A350-1000s and even 12 A380s. The aircraft are to be delivered in 2016-23. The A380s will begin arriving in 2019 and provide a crucial boost for the struggling program, which has lacked orders of late. “Today’s announcement is the start of reestablishing our civil aviation sector, to the envy of the region, and along with partners like Airbus we will ensure the highest world standards,” says Parvahesh.
Some of the Iran Air Boeing 747s are now 40 years old and not all of them are airworthy. The carrier’s youngest 747 is 27 years old. Its oldest Airbus A300 was built in 1981, the youngest in 1994. The picture at other Iranian carriers—such as Mahan Air or Zagros Air—is little different: A large part of their fleets was built in the 1980s. Even given some younger secondhand aircraft airlines have been able to secure over the years, the average age of Iran’s civil aircraft fleet is now around 22 years.
Other aircraft manufacturers are also likely to benefit. Iran is pondering orders for 100 Boeing aircraft, although talks do not appear to be very advanced. ATR hopes it can secure a large commitment for around 40 aircraft to serve secondary domestic markets. Canada’s foreign minister, Stephane Dion, also announced that the country will lift its sanctions on Iran, a step clearly intended to open up new sales opportunities for Bombardier: “If Airbus is able to do it, why will Bombardier not be able to do it? In which way is it helping Canada, or the Iranian people or Israel or anyone that Canada is hurting its own industry?” he asks.
But there are huge challenges to overcome before all these aspirations can be realized. Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis at the Teal Group, is particularly skeptical. “It’s very much in Iran’s interest to overstate demand for anything the U.S. and Europe build,” he says. “That’s how you get leverage in negotiations.” He also argues that once access increases to Iran’s air transport market, most of the additional traffic will be taken by Gulf carriers. The current low price of oil is likely to make financing difficult. Lenders and lessors should also be concerned about their ability to repossess aircraft in cases of default, Aboulafia warns.
And Iran’s airline landscape is extremely fragmented for a market of its size. Fourteen airlines—three of which were launched only last year—operate on domestic routes. Most carriers are small, and capacity trends show how unstable the market still is. Most important, domestic capacity provided by Iranian airlines has been reduced by 20% since 2011, according to an OAG schedule analysis. The industry overall grew by 10% in 2014 but contracted by 13% last year. Some airlines have seen massive change, most prominently Iran Air: The country’s flag carrier controlled 68% of the domestic market in 2000, but only 33% in 2010. Five years later, the airline offered just 22% of the industry’s overall domestic capacity in what is a shrinking market.
Other carriers have seen similar swings. Mahan Air had 16% of the domestic market in 2010, but offers no domestic routes anymore. Instead, it has become the largest international carrier to and from Iran. Like Iran Air, it suffers from an aging widebody fleet. Iran Aseman Airlines and Iran Air Tours have both significantly reduced flying inside Iran over the past five years. In contrast, Zagros Air, Kish Air and Ata Airlines now have market shares of around 14% each.
According to OAG, Iranian carriers’ international capacity has grown by an average of 6% per year since 2010 but accelerated to reach 15% in 2014 and another 14% last year. While Mahan Air was the main driver of that growth among Iranian carriers, growing its international capacity by 22% (while at the same time pulling back from domestic routes), Iran Air did not benefit. Its international capacity declined by 9% in 2015. Overall, Iranian airlines had a 43% market share on international routes. That compares to 33% for Gulf carriers which have been growing rapidly of late, offering 55 routes to Iran, up from 33 two years ago. Turkish Airlines is also becoming a major player in airline service to the country.
The balance is almost certain to shift again in 2016 as a result of the political tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which led to a suspension of direct air services between the two countries. Saudi Arabian Airlines is most affected, with 19 routes. None of the Iranian airlines fly to Saudi Arabia. Gulf carriers offering connecting services via their Gulf hubs are certain to benefit most.
Given all the conflicting trends in the market, aircraft manufacturers and lessors will have to be cautious in evaluating with which airlines to work. To add to the uncertainty, there is at least a theoretical chance that sanctions might kick in again, which will make securing financing more difficult. “We are not looking at doing financing in Iran yet,” says Grabowski. “A lot of work has to be done before we get there.” Given that the first new Airbus aircraft from the envisaged government commitment is to be delivered later this year, “the big Airbus order will be the first test case for aircraft financing in Iran.” Airbus has indicated it may provide financing for initial deliveries itself. And as Aengus Kelly, CEO of lessor AerCap points out, there are still “residual” limitations in place for trade with Iran and Western companies must make sure they are on safe legal ground before beginning negotiations. Among the restrictions is the requirement to secure export licenses for products with U.S. content exceeding 10% of their value. That is the case for essentially every Western aircraft, but what is not so clear yet is whether these licenses will be granted on a routine basis without major bureaucratic delays.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has not lifted all of the imposed sanctions. “Mahan Air has been specifically targeted,” says Grabowski. “That raises questions about Mahan’s ability to renew its fleet.”
By contrast, the DVB Bank executive believes that “the Iran Air risk profile is more acceptable from a lender’s point of view, given that it is state-owned and has good prospects of returning to profitability relatively soon.”
Once such issues are clarified, lessors could quickly benefit from Iran’s opening because they typically have at least some short-term aircraft availability. AerCap, for instance, has recently pulled 25 aircraft back from Russia because the local airlines could no longer afford to pay the lease rates.
But in addition to all the uncertainty surrounding economic development and market trends, the other key factor is infrastructure—airports and air traffic control.
As part of Rouhani’s visit to Europe in late January—an effort to reestablish the country as an international trade partner—French airport operator Aeroports de Paris announced an agreement to upgrade Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport, which is Iran’s principal gateway, increasing its capacity from the current 6.5 million passengers annually to 34 million in 2020.
Of 65 airports in the country, only 10 do not have to be upgraded for the expected influx of capacity. But the government promises to act fast. The expansion of Tehran’s airport could ultimately lead to the establishment of another major transfer hub in the region. “Tehran could be the Istanbul of the next decade,” says Grabowski. “It has a huge population base, a large diaspora and is politically stable.”
Fonte: aviationweek.com