Saha Air Lines

Infobox Airline
airline = Saha Air Lines
ساها


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IATA = -
ICAO = IRZ
callsign = SAHA
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hubs = Mehrabad International Airport
secondary_hubs =
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fleet_size = 7
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headquarters = Tehran, Iran
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Saha Air Lines ( _fa. ساها) is an airline based in Tehran, Iran. It operates domestic passenger services with three 707s and occasional cargo charters with 747s. It was established in 1990 and is wholly owned by the Iranian Air Force. Regular domestic flights include daily flights from its base at Tehran's Mehrabad airport to Mashhad, Kish Island, Assoulyeh and its aircraft also make regular appearances at Shiraz.

It is notable for being the last airline in the world to operate the Boeing 707 in passenger service. These particular aircraft are ex air-to-air tanker 707s, delivered in 1976 and pressed into passenger service due to sanctions by the USA which have stopped Iran acquiring new aircraft since 1979. Airline enthusiasts (including American citizens) make regular pilgrimages to Iran, including actual organised tour groups, to fly on the antique and 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).

Incidents and accidents

On 20 April 2005 a Saha Air Boeing 707-300 suffered a landing accident at Mehrabad Airport, Tehran 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, two passengers were killed in the crash and a passenger drowned during the evacuation (the aircraft came to rest partly in a creek). [Flight International, July 2005] Far from signalling the end of passenger 707s in Iranian skies, a low-time 707 tanker was converted to passenger service, bringing the fleet back up to a strength of three machines. The decision to acquire an additional 707 was not spurred by the additional revenue that plane spotters bring to the airline.

Fleet

The Saha Airlines fleet includes the following aircraft (at August 2006) [Flight International, 3-9 October 2006] :

*3 Boeing 707-320C
*2 Boeing 747-200F
*2 Fokker F27 Mk600

References