- I actually managed to fly
on the Mahan Air 747-300.
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(plane engine)
It was really cool actually
to fly on the 747 domestic routes.
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It was about a hundred dollars to fly business class
on the upper deck of a 747.
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So, finally, I've got some good news after a horrible year
of aircraft retirement, especially to my favourite aeroplane
Boeing 747.
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A Boeing 747-300 passenger aircraft has recently back
to the sky flying after spending five years in maintenance.
Can you believe it?
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Mahan Air used to operate two 747-300
predominantly on domestic routes inside Iran.
on 15 October, 2015, one of the 747-300 Mahan Air
has EP- M N E suffered uncontained engine failure
of number three engine during takeoff.
The flight was from Tehran to bender abas, some part
of the engine detached and struck engine number four
as well as damage to the aircraft structure,
an emergency landing was declared.
And part of the number three engine actually fell
during the final approach.
The aeroplane was actually able to return to land
safely. With 441 passengers and crew on board
After this accident, most of us would assume
this aeroplane will be a write-off
but surprisingly Mahan Air, put this aeroplane
in storage and then went through a heavy maintenance check.
After five years, it got two new engine transfer
from a recently retired sister ship, EPM and D.
So this 747 300 got a new life.
Now he's back to flying.
This is tremendous great news
for 747 fan knowing they're still 747
300 classic aeroplane flying the sky.
So I actually managed to fly
on the Mahan air 747, 300 back in 2016.
It was really cool actually, to fly
on the 747 domestic routes between Tehran and Mashhad.
This is actually their busiest trunk
route domestically in Iran.
There were about 40, 50 flights a day on average
the ticket price was quite cheap.
As a foreigner, we can afford at,
it was about a hundred dollars to fly in business class
on the upper deck of a 747, quite an experience
but for Iranians the prize was rather high
because the Iranian currency has just fallen off the cliff.
I every year, due to the increased international sanction.
So becoming very expensive and difficult for them to fly.
Surprisingly, after check in, prior to the flight
there was actually a business class lounge
at the domestic airport Mehrabad, the lounge is not bad.
I can tell you
there are actually a lots of food, lots of snack.
I will say it is probably better than a lots of lounges
in Europe and the us, in the first world countries.
And what I like the most is every dish
every coffee cup has a Mahan air logo on it.
It is fantastic for airline collectors.
So Mehrabad by airport is an old airport
in a downtown Tehran and only has two air bridges.
So most of the aircraft boarding was done by remote gates.
So we were bused out to the remote stand
and it's quite a sight on the run
because there have a lots of interesting aircraft.
It's great for afgeeks like me, you know
go by stairs boarding onto the 747.
We had about 300 some passengers.
So there were quite a queue to walking up the stairs.
There's only one stair open at that point to
board an aircraft at 747, just look massive.
The upper deck of Mahan Air 747
300 has 26 recliner seats.
There are probably no prize to guess where
these seats came from.
I can tell you this actually came from Lufthansa
German airline on their A300
but they do recline to a very deep angle.
So you feel like you on a very comfortable armchair
I honestly didn't felt the plane was that old.
When I get on board, it's actually remodelled inside.
The aeroplane was actually nearly 30 year old.
At that time I flew was 1986
but it seems like they went through a complete remodelling.
So it was okay.
And now there was the
pleasant element of paying business class.
You get the manual cart, newspaper
welcome drink, hot towels.
It's up to the international business class vendor
for this one, our domestic flight.
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So our flight departed on time
and during the taxi and takeoff as an afgeek
our eyes naturally glue out to the window.
It was interesting to see a sea of aircraft on the ramp.
There were 727, there were antanovs
there were a BAU146.
There were a wide range of aeroplane due to the sanctioning
around they use whatever they can get hold of.
An MD80 at that time was considered reasonably new.
And you will see a green hanger in the background
while we take off.
That's where the 747 Mahan Air got maintained
in that green hanger.
And then you will see a museum slightly left
to the picture coming up.
On take off, that's where a lots of old aeroplane
like TriStar and 747 classic were grounded.
There are climb on this
aeroplane will slow and steady.
We make a right hand turn and heading towards East
to Mashhad.
The fly was just routine one hour domestic flight
- [Charles] Mahan Air 747 300s were originally delivered
to French airline UTA.
The 747 300 was a minimum change upgrade
from the 747, 200.
So while it was the first jumbo
with the extended upper deck,
it still had the old fashioned cabin architecture
of the 200.
And an analogue three person cockpit complete
with analogue gauges.
- We followed the map.
There was no outer IFE.
Apart from these fold down LCD screen
the highlight on the fly was the meal was served,
a business class lunch, which actually have three choices.
I chose the Iranian kabob fillet with rice
which is very tasty and it came with salad
and dessert as well, which is a very reasonable meal
for a one hour flight in business class.
So after the meal, I went downstairs to take a look.
It was a single whole full deck of economy
class 434 economy, class seats
from the nose all the way to the end.
Mahan Air also have a praying area at the end.
It seems like they, they do weigh and balance.
So the front of the nose was rather empty
and most of the passenger were
cabbing in the middle sections.
You can see also inside the aeroplane bathroom
the bathroom has been redone.
There's led lights on the mirror.
That was obviously not the original delivered bathroom.
So it seems
like Mahan Air did a good job despite of the sanctions,
getting aeroplane parts to maintain these aircraft
to keep them flying.
Actually on all your Iranian airlines
one thing is they do carry a in flight Marshall,
inflight security guard,
and he usually was sitting near the front
or all near to cockpit and read newspaper.
He's actually more senior than the captain.
So on that flight, I was joined by other
20 aviation tourists were together
in the Iran to do our afgeek thing.
And this security guard was a little tense to see a lots
of people using cameras, take picture everywhere.
So we didn't manage to visit a cockpit on that flight
at which usually they are quite happy to accommodate
to foreigners, to show them their kindness
to allow them to have a quick visit.
And after that, we started our landing
and descended to Mashhad, the weather was overcast
but a 747 made it, very smooth landing.
I filmed it out from the upper deck window.
Now speaking of 747 Mahan Air also
currently flies a 747, 400 passenger aircraft
which has became increasingly rare as British airways
Qantas, KLM, Lufthansa.
Most of the airlines has retired their
747 400 due to the pandemic.
There 747 400 has a similar story grounded
I think 2009, and it's sit there
and grounded there for 10 years and 2019.
It came back from a heavy maintenance check and somehow
they managed to found the engine
and parts and it's back in the sky flying now.
- [Charles] Iran has old planes because of the major
diplomatic falling out with the United States
that followed the 1979 revolution in Iran.
So Iran's vintage fleet flies on,
mostly empty eighties, imported via Ukraine
which do the majority of domestic flying.
And some very old A320s and 737 classics.
On busy routes there is a sizable fleet of old,
A300 and A310 wide bodies
but when nothing else can meet demand such
as Tehran to Mashhad,
or to honeymoon Kish Island, Mahan Airs 747
300s are worth their weight in gold.
- Now speaking on the 747 in Iran, last year
we almost saw another 747 200 back in the sky.
After spending many years on the ground
they went through a heavy fee check.
This was with the Iranian air force.
Unfortunately it was very unforgiving during the engine run
the plane has suffered some failure or jumped the Trolks.
So the engine has suffered failure
and the fuselage has suffered some failure.
So you almost spent like six years
in maintenance and go straight back to maintenance.
I don't know if it will ever fly again
and given a track record
on the Mahan Air 747, 300, 400
you might see the 747 200 back into sky as well.
It's really sad to see most of the 747
didn't make it through the pandemic and most
of them are retired prematurely, but it's also
good to see now with the easing sourcing parts
some of the 747 kept flying
and hopefully they will fly longer.
And for those who hasn't flown the 747
there are still chances out there for you.