Airbus sells 73 planes to two Iranian carriers

June 22 (UPI) -- Airbus SAS announced Thursday at the Paris Air Show that it sold 73 planes to two Iranian domestic airlines.

The deals are part of 144 firm orders for planes Airbus obtained at the biennial display of aviation products, with agreements to build another 182 planes. The combined value of Airbus' deals totals $39.7 billion, although airlines typically receive discounts when purchasing a fleet of planes.

An Airbus statement said Zagros Airlines, a private company flying domestic routes in Iran, purchased 20 of its A320neo and eight A330neo planes. Each is designed as a single-aisle plane.

Iran's Airtours Airlines purchased 45 A320neo planes at the air show, Airbus said. The airline is a privatized division of IranAir, Iran's national airline.

The deals with the Iranian companies are contingent on government approvals, including that of the U.S. Treasury Department, which monitors sales to Iran as a contingency of Iran's 2016 nuclear arms deal.