Saha Airlines
Encyclopedia
Saha Airlines is an airline
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
based in Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, it also operates using abbriviated title Saha Air, it was rebranded as Iranian Airlines for a short while as well. Saha was established in 1990 as Saha Air Lines and is wholly owned by the Iranian Air Force. The airline operates domestic passenger services with two A300
Airbus A300
The Airbus A300 is a short- to medium-range widebody jet airliner. Launched in 1972 as the world's first twin-engined widebody, it was the first product of Airbus Industrie, a consortium of European aerospace companies, wholly owned today by EADS...
s and two 707
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
s, cargo charters are carried out with the two 747F
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
when required, also pending the aircraft's airworthiness.
The airline is notable for being the very last airline in the world to operate the Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
707
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
in passenger service. These particular aircraft are ex air-to-air tanker 707s, delivered in 1976 and pressed into passenger service due to sanctions
Economic sanctions
Economic sanctions are domestic penalties applied by one country on another for a variety of reasons. Economic sanctions include, but are not limited to, tariffs, trade barriers, import duties, and import or export quotas...
by the USA which have stopped Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
acquiring new aircraft since 1979. Airline enthusiasts (including American citizens) make regular pilgrimages to Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, including actual organised tour groups, to fly on the antique yet well-maintained 707s.
Due to their previous lives as military aircraft, the 707s have spent long periods in storage or only operating sporadic military missions, so for airline transports they have a very low number of hours on their airframes, about 25,000 hours each, meaning they may fly on for some time (the average life of a jet airliner is 100,000 hours). On 20 June 2010, 2 of the 707s were back in full service. The last scheduled passenger flight for the Boeing 707 was on 22 June 2010. After much discussion, 5 Boeing 707s are now back in service, and will remain in service for some time to come.
Rebranding stint
Saha was completely rebranded as Iranian Airlines with a new font, livery and logo in 2009, this however was only applied on to two Airbus A300Airbus A300
The Airbus A300 is a short- to medium-range widebody jet airliner. Launched in 1972 as the world's first twin-engined widebody, it was the first product of Airbus Industrie, a consortium of European aerospace companies, wholly owned today by EADS...
aircraft purchased back then . No flights were operated under the new name and the aircraft were stored at Tehran, for unknown reasons Saha reverted back to their previous name and logo in just a few months, while retaining the overall new livery and putting the aircraft into service. The former logo was modified to be without the light blue roundel in the background, while former titles were applied in the new combination of purple (Saha) and dark pink (Airlines) inline with the Iranian Airlines two tone style, but these too have since been removed from both Airbus, which are now flying in just the basic livery with a flag .
Destinations
It is very hard to get schedules for Saha Airlines, the only way that would to be possible is to be in Iran, as they do not have a website either. For this reason the list is incomplete, however regular domestic services include daily flights from its base at TehranTehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
Mehrabad Airport to Mashhad
Mashhad
Mashhad , is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia Muslim world. It is also the only major Iranian city with an Arabic name. It is located east of Tehran, at the center of the Razavi Khorasan Province close to the borders of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Its...
, Kish Island, Assalouyeh, Isfahan, Ahwaz and Shiraz
Shiraz
Shiraz may refer to:* Shiraz, Iran, a city in Iran* Shiraz County, an administrative subdivision of Iran* Vosketap, Armenia, formerly called ShirazPeople:* Hovhannes Shiraz, Armenian poet* Ara Shiraz, Armenian sculptor...
.
Fleet
The Saha Airlines fleet consists the following aircraft (as of November 2011):.| Aircraft | In Fleet | Orders | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A300B4-605R | 2 | 3 | |
| Boeing 707-3J9C Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on... |
5 | 0 | 3 stored |
| Boeing 747-200F | 2 | 0 | stored |
| Total | 9 | 3 |
In 2009, the airline secured a deal with China Southern Airlines
China Southern Airlines
China Southern Airlines is an airline headquartered in Baiyun District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China. It is the world's sixth-largest airline measured by passengers carried, and Asia's largest airline in terms of both fleet size and passengers carried...
over the purchase of Airbus A300-600R aircraft, this deal was formed in a par with other sales from CZ to Iran. As of April 2010, China Southern has delivered 2 A300s to Saha Airlines, with a further 3 on order. June 22, 2010 was scheduled to be the last passenger flight of the Boeing 707, but since has returned to service.
Incidents and accidents
- On 20 April 2005, Saha Airlines Flight 171, a Boeing 707-300CBoeing 707The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
, registration EP-SHE, flying from Kish Island, crashed on landing at Mehrabad Airport, TehranTehranTehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
following an unstabilised approach with a higher than recommended airspeed. Gear and/or a tire failed after touchdown and the flight overran the far end of the runway. Of the 12 crew and 157 passengers, 3 passengers were killed.
- On 3 August 2009, Saha Airlines Flight 124, a Boeing 707-300CBoeing 707The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
, registration EP-SHK, returned to Ahvaz AirportAhvaz Airport-Accidents and incidents:*On 19 April 1970, Douglas C-47B EP-AGZ of the Air Taxi Co stalled on take-off and crashed. The aircraft was destroyed by the subsequent fire. It was operating a non-scheduled passenger flight. All 25 people on board survived....
, AhvazAhvaz-History:For a more comprehensive historical treatment of the area, see the history section of Khūzestān Province.-Ancient history:Ahvaz is the anagram of "Avaz" and "Avaja" which appear in Darius's epigraph...
, IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
for an emergency landing 10 minutes after take-off due to a fault in 1 of the 4 engines. All 176 passengers and crew onboard survived.