IRAQI AIRWAYS / B787-8 / YI-ATC

Photo: Ilgaz DEGER

 

FLEET - Iraqi Airways has retired its sole B777-200LR, serial 40993, which is powered by GE90-115B engines.

The aircraft is parked in Marana, AZ.

Photo: Iraqi Airways

HYBRID COLORS - Iraqi Airways (Tailwind Airlines) / B737-8FZ /TC-TLI

Photo: Konstantin von Wedelstaedt
 

NEW AIRCRAFT - Iraqi Airways Celebrates Delivery of its First Boeing 787 Dreamliner

- Increased stability in Iraq enabling airline to expand its international network and profitably open new routes with 787-8 Dreamliner

- Dreamliner and new 737 MAX jets support airline’s growth and fleet renewal

BAGHDAD, June 22, 2023 — Boeing [NYSE: BA] and Iraqi Airways today celebrated the delivery of the airline’s first Boeing 787 Dreamliner with a special event in Baghdad to welcome the flag-carrier’s super-efficient widebody jet. The Iraqi flag carrier has taken the first of 10 787s on order, to profitably grow its long-haul network and connect Iraq to more international destinations.

The delivery of Iraqi Airways’ first 787 follows delivery of four Boeing 737 MAX airplanes since February. The airline has ordered a total of six 737-8s and 10 737-10s, providing its single-aisle fleet with more capability across its regional and medium-haul routes.

“We are proud to be taking delivery of an airplane with the capabilities of the 787 Dreamliner. As domestic and international air traffic gains momentum, it’s crucial that our Iraqi Airways fleet matches growing demand with more efficient, capable and comfortable airplanes,” said Manaf Abdel-Monem, Director General of Iraqi Airways. “The 787 and 737 MAX airplanes we have received are key to our fleet renewal program which aims to ensure we can fly our passengers around the world in the safety and comfort they expect from a modern and efficient airline like Iraqi Airways.”

Iraqi Airways currently serves more than 50 destinations from Baghdad and is expanding and renewing its fleet to support the anticipated increase in international business and leisure travel to and from the country. Iraq is seeing increased stability and economic growth, with the country’s annual gross domestic product growth rate expected to reach 7% by the end of 2023. With global air traffic rebounding, Middle Eastern airlines are seeing more than a 40% traffic increase compared to last year.

“Today marks a new beginning for Iraqi Airways, taking delivery of its first 787 Dreamliner that will support the airline in connecting Iraq to the world,” said Omar Arekat, Boeing vice president of Commercial Sales and Marketing for the Middle East. “Boeing is committed to supporting Iraqi Airways’ ambition to bring greater optimization and new route possibilities to the region.”

“Air transport is at the heart of economic growth. It creates employment, facilitates trade, enables tourism and supports sustainable development. The arrival of the Boeing 787 today is an important step in connecting the Iraqi people to the region and the world,” said Kuljit Ghata-Aura, President Middle East, Türkiye and Africa, Boeing. “We look forward to supporting the Iraqi government and the Iraqi private sector as they grow Iraq’s commercial fleet and modernize the country’s commercial aviation infrastructure.”

The 787-8 Dreamliner can fly 248 passengers up to 7,305 nautical miles (13,530 km) in a typical two-class configuration. Using 25% less fuel and creating 25% fewer emissions than the airplanes it replaces, the 787 family has reduced more than 141 billion pounds of carbon emissions since entering service in 2011.

Boeing designed the 787 family with superior efficiency, which allows airlines to profitably open new routes to fly people directly where they’d like to go in exceptional comfort. Since 2011, the 787 family has launched more than 350 new non-stop routes around the world, including more than 50 new routes since 2020.

Passengers enjoy many improvements with the 787 family such as the largest windows of any jet; air that is more humid and pressurized at a lower cabin altitude for greater comfort; large overhead bins with room for everyone’s bag; soothing LED lighting; and technology that senses and counters turbulence for a smoother ride.

In addition to the 737-8 and 787-8, Iraqi Airways operates a fleet of more than 40 Boeing airplanes, including 737-800s, 747s and 777s, serving more than 50 destinations from Baghdad.

NEW AIRCRAFT - Iraqi Airways takes delivery of first B737 MAX 8

Iraqi Airways (IA, Baghdad) took delivery of the first of six B737-8s on February 26, 2023, and expects a further five by the end of April 2023.

YI-ASL (msn 65405) was ferried from Seattle Boeing Field via Reykjavik Keflavik and onwards directly to Baghdad over the course of February 24-26, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows. As previously announced, the airline plans to take another B737-8 by the end of February, two more in March, and a further two in April.

The state-owned carrier's fleet renewal programme is now in full swing with a fifth and final A220-300 due in March 2023, followed by the first two of its ten B787s later this year. The carrier's Boeing (BOE, Washington National) widebody order book comprises nine B787-8s and a single B787-9, all of which will be delivered by the end of 2026. Iraqi Airways has also decided to add B737-10s with 10 due between 2024 and 2027.

Speaking during the MAX welcoming ceremony, Chief Executive Karim Kazem Hussein stressed that the airline is fully committed to gaining authorisation to fly to the European Union as soon as possible. The airline was added to the European Commission Air Safety List in 2015 over safety supervision lapses. As such, it is barred from operating its own aircraft both to the bloc as well as through its airspace.

CH Aviation  / Photo:  Brian Worthington

Iraqi Airways is moving forward to purchase aircraft under direct contracts between the Iraqi government and Boeing and Airbus

These include five A220s, four of which have delivered, along with options for five more A220s. In addition, six B737-8s arrive by April 2023, and two B787s to follow. The airline is also expected ten B737-10s by 2027.

Photo: Iraqi

Iraqi Airways launched inaugural A220-300 scheduled operations on the Baghdad – Cairo.service on 06 November 2022.

 Iraqi Airways

Iraqi Airways receives its first A220-300

Mirabel, Canada, 07 January 2022–Iraqi Airways, the national carrier of Iraq, has taken delivery of its first out of five A220-300 aircraft from Mirabel, Canada. Upon entry into service, Iraqi Airways will become one of the first airlines to operate the A220 in the Middle East region. 

With the A220, Iraqi Airways will benefit from the aircraft’s exceptional technical, economic and environmental performance. Iraqi Airways’ A220-300 features a modern and highly comfortable dual-class cabin that seats 132 passengers; 12 in business class and 120 in economy class. The state of the art aircraft will play an integral part of Iraqi Airways fleet renewal and modernization plan. 

The A220 is the only aircraft purpose-built for the 100-150 seat market and brings together state-of-the-art aerodynamics, advanced materials and Pratt & Whitney’s latest-generation PW1500G geared turbofan engines. 

Featuring a 50% reduced noise footprint and up to 25% lower fuel burn per seat compared to previous generation aircraft, as well as around 50% lower NOx emissions than industry standards, the A220 is a great aircraft for regional as well as long distance routes operations. 

As of the end of November 2021, over 180 A220s had been delivered to 13 operators, from  Asia, North America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East - proving the great versatility of 

Airbus’ new generation single-aisle family member.

1st Iraqi Airways A220 painted

Iraqi Airways: Airbus A220-300 at the Airbus-factory at Mirabel Airport near Montreal in Canada. The aircraft is currently registered C-FOVL (55136) but will be registered YI-ARE once delivered.

In total, Iraqi Airways has five A220-300s on order, with options on another eleven. The new Airbus will join a fleet of three A320s, two A321s, one A330-200, fourteen B737-800s, two B747-400s, one B767-300ER, one B777-200LR and six CRJ900s.

Photo by Iraqi Airways.

Iraqi Airways expects 1st A220-300 in October

CH-Aviation is reporting that Iraqi Airways is expecting to take delivery of its first A220-300 in October. The airline is currently in talks with Airbus and Transport Canada to discuss what's needed to incorporate the new type into the fleet.

Iraqi Airways has a total of five A220-300s on order, which were ordered in 2013 when the aircraft was still the Bombardier CS300. It also has options on eleven additional aircraft. The first A220 for Iraqi Airways will be construction number 55139, of which the fuselage has been built.

The new aircraft will join the airline's fleet of 30 aircraft, featuring three A320s, two A321s, one A330-200, fourteen B737-800s, two B747-400s, one B767-300ER, one B777-200LR and six CRJ900LRs.

Illustration by Bombardier.

Iraqi Airways eyes widebody fleet renewal, US ops

Iraqi Airways (IA, Baghdad) is planning to renew its widebody fleet and is considering either B777s or A330neo for this purpose, Assistant Director General (Commercial Affairs) Sana Al-Khayyat said.

Al-Khayyat told Arabian Aerospace in late 2018 that the carrier was planning to retire all its Boeing widebodies in 2019, subject to government approval of the plan.

According to the ch-aviation fleets module, the Iraqi carrier's widebody fleet currently includes two B747-400s, one B777-200LR, and one A330-200. The airline recently decided that it will retire its two B767-300(ER)s due to the excessive cost it would take to return the units to active service.

The Iraqi carrier is looking at expanding its network to the United States and Bangladesh.



Iraqi Airways is also hoping to be removed from the EU blacklist and secure EASA Third Country Operator (TCO) authorisation within the first half of 2019, which would allow it to operate to the European Union. Currently, all Iraqi Airways flights to Europe are operated under its code and with its aircraft but using the Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) of AtlasGlobal (KK, Istanbul New).

ch aviation

Iraqi Airways Germany / Russia service changes from Oct 2017

Iraqi Airways in recent OAG Schedules Analyser update filed changes to selected Germany and Russia service, with flights departing from Baghdad from October 2017, instead of Erbil and/or Sulaymaniyah. Filed operational schedule as follow.

Baghdad – Berlin Tegel eff 06OCT17 1 weekly
IA263 BGW1100 – 1500TXL 320 5
IA264 TXL1630 – 2230BGW 320 5

Baghdad – Dusseldorf eff 03OCT17 2 weekly
IA233 BGW0950 – 1405DUS 320 2
IA245 BGW1000 – 1420DUS 320 3
IA234 DUS1535 – 2150BGW 320 2
IA246 DUS1550 – 2215BGW 320 3


Baghdad – Moscow Vnukovo eff 04OCT17 1 weekly
IA241 BGW0900 – 1300VKO 737 3
IA242 VKO1400 – 1700BGW 737 3
Jim Liu  - Airlineroute, Routesonline

IRAQI AIRWAYS / AIR EXPLORE - OM-HEX

Julien Klein - Frankfurt am Main (Rhein-Main AB) 

IRAQI AIRWAYS - A321-200 - YI-AGR

Ton Jochems - AYT

Iraqi Airways to use an Aerovista A320 for Euro flights

Iraqi Airways (IA, Baghdad) has wet-leased a Hermes Airlines (H3, Athens Int'l) A320-200 - SX-BDS (cn 879) - from UAE-based lessor Aerovista for use on flights to Europe. The agreement is effective immediately.

Iraqi Airways to Link Manchester to Erbil and Sulaymaniyah

The new flights from the Iraqi flag carrier will be the first non-stop scheduled links between Manchester and the country, although a previous charter series have linked the markets previously via a one-stop offering. Both routes will be flown using a new Boeing 737-800 configured with 162 seats.

New weekly links to Sulaymaniyah and Erbil will be introduced by Iraqi Airways to Manchester by the end of the first quarter of this year, the airline has confirmed. The weekly flights will commence on March 15, 2015 with a Wednesday rotation to Erbil, the largest city and capital of the Kurdistan Region in Iraq, and Sunday flight to Sulaymaniyah, a city in Southern Kurdistan.

The new flights from the Iraqi flag carrier will be the first non-stop scheduled links between Manchester and the country, although a previous charter series have linked the markets previously via a one-stop offering. Both routes will be flown using a new Boeing 737-800 configured with 162 seats.

“We are looking forward to working with everyone at Manchester Airport to offer passengers the opportunity to fly direct to Iraq,” said Saad Al-Khafaji general manager UK, Iraqi Airways. “With a strong Kurdish community across the region in the North and West Midlands, we are sure the route will prove to be popular.”

Iraqi Airways was founded in 1945 and is one of the oldest Middle Eastern carriers, but it continues to rebuild its global activities after years of conflict in its home market. The airline now operates a multi-type fleet including Airbus A320, A321 A330 and Boeing 737-800, 747, 767 and 777 equipment. It has an outstanding order for 34 new Boeing aircraft types for delivery by the end of 2017 when its fleet will grow to around 60 aircraft.

The Manchester flights will be the only non-stop services between Iraq and the UK as Iraqi Airways’ existing flights to London Gatwick from Baghdad, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah operate via Vienna on the way to the UK, albeit they do fly non-stop back to Iraq.

The airline made its return to the UK market in September 2013 with the return of links to Baghdad and Sulaymaniyah, while Erbil services were introduced from August 2014. It currently offers two flights per week on the routes between London and Baghdad and Sulaymaniyah and a weekly link from the UK capital to Erbil. 

“Manchester is now the only airport outside of London to offer these routes with Iraqi Airways, and confirms the national role played by our airport. With Manchester already having two runways and a catchment area of 22 million people living with two hours of the airport, we have the capacity to support airlines that have ambition to grow in the UK,” said Ken O’Toole, chief commercial officer, Manchester Airports Group (MAG).

From next month Iraqi Airways will be operating seven flights per week across five city pairs between the UK and Iraq. According to MIDT data, over 60,000 bi-directional O&D passengers a year are currently flying between the two countries, a milestone that was achieved in both 2013 and 2014.

The Iraqi Airways passenger totals do not currently appear in the IATA billing and Settlement Plan data, but according to the UK Civil Aviation Authority, the carrier handled around 25,000 passengers across its routes from London Gatwick during 2013 and 2014. Alongside the direct flights a large proportion of passengers are connecting with Turkish Airlines via Istanbul, although there are also notable flows via Dubai with Emirates Airline and Amman with Royal Jordanian.

Routesonline

IRAQI AIRWAYS - B747-400 - YI-ASA

Paul Denton - Dubai

IRAQI AIRWAYS - A330-200 - YI-AQY

Ton Jochems - IST

IRAQI AIRWAYS - B737-700 - YI-AQL

Ton Jochems - IST

Iraqi Airways now an A340-600 operator

Iraqi Airways has become the latest A340-600 operator with its recent acquisition of 9H-SEA (cn 383) formerly with Hi Fly subsidiary, Hi Fly Malta.