^^There are over 3 million Iranians living abroad and a huge number of them travel to Iran regularly and you rather suggest small regional jets??!! and do you think if they order those regional jets today, they will be ready and delivered tomorrow?!
nope, the regional jets manufactures also have backlog.
The 3 Million Iranians abraod are already traveling to Iran with the foreign carriers.
I am not against large planes. once you have iranian airlines that can fulfill iran's domestic needs first.
as it stands traveling internally in iran sucks. but really traveling abroad is quite easy. you have a number of choices
and adding one extra of choice of IranAir or Mahan won't change it dramatically.
also as I have stated before even many Iranians would prefer the foreign airlines due to alcohol, Hejab, and frequent flyer miles.
I would have thought it made more sense for Iranian airlines to buy 737s and expands its core share agreements with Turkish, Qatar, Azarbayejan, Emirates, Etihad,Air Indiaو...
I would have preferred to see internal connecting flights from Tehran to Shiraz, Kerman, Urumieh, Queshm, ...
rather than trying to displace existing players in the Iran Market.
What makes them preferable for you compared to the big planes?
It is called public policy making 101. Iran currently has limited resources.
you should use the limited resources in a way where it impacts the lives of those that have little; not the lives of those who have a lot.
it would be the correct public policy to buy planes that can serve the needs of most iranians not just the 3 million living abroad.
or the few million that travel abroad.
as a matter of public policy (if government is paying for the planes not the private sector)
I would have stayed with at most A320/737 size. capacity of 150 people can easily travel from Tehran to Dubai, Tehran to Istanbul, Mashhad to Ahavaz,
Tabriz to Chabahar. Tabriz to BandarAbbas.
but I would gone with a large order book Brazilian or Canadian RJs (Regional jets) that can fly from small iranian airports to many destinations.
This would have impressed an everyday iranian in Izieh or Yasooj a lot more than hearing that some rich kid in Tehran, Esfahan Tabriz, Shiraz
will now have the choice to Fly Mahan or IranAir to London, NY or Beijing.
but again. if we had true private airlines in Iran. I would not have cared at all. but when it is the government spending money.
they should use the scarce resources to improve the lives of many not the few.
It is just called smart politics. that many elites among reformists and/or sarnegooni talabs don't get.
and then they wonder why somebody like ahmadinejad appeals to certain portion of the public that are otherwise very nice people.