Tour Report: Iranian S&C Day 2 – Iran Air A320 from Tehran to Isfahan

Keishi Nukina
February 28, 2016
Special Flights

<–Day 2 Pt. 1: Iran Aseman 727 to Ahwaz and Back

(Traveled on February 14, 2016)

The second part of the report of day 2 of our tour covers the time we spent in Tehran after our arrival from Ahwaz. Furthermore, it covers our flight from Tehran to Isfahan onboard an Iran Air Airbus A320 and time spent at the Hotel Abbasi gardens after our arrival.

The Towers of Tehran

Right after our arrival from Ahwaz, we met with my friend who was waiting for us at the terminal together with a van he had arranged for us to use for the rest of the day in Tehran.

Our Van — Our van – not exactly a “2016 model,” but that is part of the Iran experience.

We went to the aviation museum to try our luck, however, we were not let in (the museum is officially closed now) and so we continued to Azadi Square – one of the main sights in Tehran.

Before spending much time outside, we took a tour of the Azadi Tower.

Tehran Traffic — The notorious Tehran traffic as seen from the top of Azadi Tower.

Yukihiro wants a photo of the traffic too!

Once we were finished inside, we spent some more time photographing it from the outside.

Group Shot — Our group (plus two passers by) taking a group shot in front of the tower.

Jump! — Five of us trying to take a jump shot. One could call this a “failed attempt.”

Our next stop after Azadi Tower was Milad Tower. On our way there, we hit another car with our van. After the drivers talked it out, we continued towards the tower.

Milad Tower is the sixth tallest tower in the world and it offers great views of Tehran from its observation deck.

After having a quick fast food dinner inside the tower, we headed to the airport. Due to a (typical) traffic jam, we did not have much time left before our next flight to Isfahan, and so we quickly went into the hotel, took the necessary things and headed to Terminal 2 where the flight would be departing from.

Ex-ANA A320 from Tehran to Isfahan

At the airport, we proceeded to counter 8 where the check-in for our flight to Isfahan was handled.

FIDS — Flight IR238 to Isfahan, scheduled departure time of 20:55.

As we were already relatively late, right after getting our boarding passes, we cleared the security and went to gate 11 where boarding was already in progress.

While we were slightly disappointed as the equipment changed from the initially scheduled MD-82 to an A320, we were still excited to be boarding an ex-ANA aircraft in Iran.

EP-IEG was delivered to Iran Air in 2010. Originally, it was delivered to ANA as JA202A.

Once onboard, we settled into our seats for the third time in the day. As first part of onboard service, the flight attendants handed out a candy.

Tehran to Isfahan is a flight of less than one hour. Yet, in the air the crew immediately sprung into action to serve a meal. It was even bigger surprise that it was a warm (pre-heated on the ground) meal!

Cabin — Overview of the cabin prior to the meal service.

Meal — This is economy class meal on a 45 minute domestic flight. Iranian hospitality!

Shortly after the trays were collected, we started descending towards Isfahan. Before that, though, I visited the restroom to look for some signs of the previous operator – ANA.

Push — “押す” (osu / PUSH) – reminder of who the previous operator was – ANA of Japan.

After landing, we have once again managed to visit the cockpit. In fact, we spent quite some time chatting with the crew.

Business Class — The aircraft is equipped with “real” business class seats.

With Cockpit Crew — …and a photo with the friendly Captain and First Officer.

So much time that we were taken to the terminal by a bus that was sent just for a part of our group that got hang up in the aircraft!

Flight Attendant — One last photo before getting on the bus – one of the cabin crew members in front of the aircraft.

The Six of Us — The six of us (out of ten) in our “private” bus.

The Gardens of Abbasi

After getting into the terminal and picking up our luggage, we met our driver in the arrivals hall who took us straight to our hotel for the night – Abbasi.

Abbasi is one of the best hotels in Iran and one of the most historic ones in the world.

Even though it was almost midnight, after checking-in, some of us decided to visit the gardens to take some night photos before going to sleep. The lights in the garden were off at that time, but with some convincing, the nice guard lit them up just for us.