Iran Air increases flights on Dubai-Tehran route

Iran Air is doubling its flights on the Dubai-Tehran route due to high demand. The airline on Sunday introduced two flights a day between Tehran and Dubai.

The increased flight schedule is expected to continue through the summer, said Naser Hashemian, area manager, Iran Air. "We are doing this of course because of the heavy demand - especially for cargo," said a spokesman from the airline.

"The airline has had almost an 18 per cent increase in cargo on last year."

The airline is confident that if there is enough demand for two flights a day during the winter then flights should be even busier during the peak summer season.

Return fares for travel between Tehran and Dubai will remain at Dh595 for now, but may increase after Ramadan, said the spokesman. The spokesman added that the airline is negotiating with aircraft manufacturers to increase its fleet size.

If the negotiations go well, the airline may further increase its flights from Tehran and Dubai.

In July, the airline was forced to drop plans to buy four Airbus jets because the U.S. blocked Britain's Rolls-Royce from supplying the engines, said Davoud Keshavarzian, head, Iran Air.

It was reported at the time that funding was also a problem for the $500 million order, which Iranian President Moh-ammed Khatami placed in October 2000.

Keshavarzian said Rolls-Royce had been unwilling to risk U.S. displeasure by supplying the engines.

Nearly half of Iran Air's fleet still consists of Boeings dating from before the fall of the Shah in 1979, though it has 17 secondhand Airbuses.