Revenues for Iran's national airline, Iran Air, have seen a drop of between 20 and 30 percent since the September 11 attacks in the United States, the company's director-general Davoud Kechavarzian said Tuesday, November 13.
"Since the attacks, our revenue fell 20 to 30 percent below expectations," Kechavarzian was quoted as saying by the press. At the same time, however, he expressed the hope that the national airline "will succeed in increasing its revenues and progressively reducing costs."
Kechavarzian noted that several international airlines have been hit by crises and some were facing possible bankruptcy." The director general of Iran Air, which is a state-owned company run by the transport ministry, did not issue figures on the company's performance.
Iran Air has over recent weeks announced the cancellation of several international flights due to a sharp fall in customer demand. The company decided in October to cancel one of its two weekly flights to Rome, having already announced it was reducing its flights to Berlin and Kuala Lumpur.
The Iran Air fleet comprises some 30 planes, mainly Boeings, bought before the Islamic revolution of 1979. — (AFP, Tehran)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
