Tour Report: Iranian S&C Day 1 - Iran Air 747-200 from KL to Tehran

(Traveled on February 13, 2016)

This is the first part of a megareport about the Iranian Skies & Cities 2016 tour organized by me and YK Aviation. It covers the first day of the tour including spotting in Kuala Lumpur before our departure, the flight from KL to Tehran, and a dinner in Tehran with Iran Air crew members.

Spotting in KL

Since we had time after our arrival from Singapore, Yukihiro, Akiko and I met with one of our friends in KL and went to the runway end to take some photos. At the runway end, we met Nabe-san and Suzuki-san who would be joining the tour.

Nabe-san excited about the upcoming Iran trip.

In about one hour, we were able to capture, among others an Iraq Airways 777-200, Mahan Air A340-300 and Iran Air 747-200. It was especially nice to catch the Iran Air – the aircraft that would be taking us to Tehran later on.

YI-AQZ — Iraqi Airways Boeing 777-200 arriving from Baghdad.

EP-IAI — Iran Air Boeing 747-200 arriving from Tehran. Later, it would take our group to Tehran.

EP-MMB — Mahan Air A340-300 arriving from Tehran. Want to try this flight once as well!

Meeting the group

We arrived at the Iran Air check-in counter at around 10:35. Within a couple of minutes the whole group of 10 assembled. As one of the participants made special T-shirts for the tour, we distributed those, and then nine of us (except for one person that checked-in earlier) proceeded to check-in.

The very nice station manager allowed our group to skip the line and so we were at the counter in no time.

Behind the Counter — …or should I say behind the counter? Yukihiro picking the best seats available.

Seatmap — Thanks to the Iran Air ground staff at KLIA for being so hospitable and letting us see the seatmap and stand behind the counter.

With boarding passes in our hand, we exited the check-in area, but decided to wait for our crew to arrive to say greet them. They arrived in no time, and it was great seeing Captain Shadmani again – the one that took me to Tehran for the first time back in 2014.

With Our Crew — With the crew of our flight including Captain Shadmani – the Captain of my first ever Iran Air flight in 2014, and the check pilot on our flight.

A “see you on board” to the crew and a “good bye” to our KL friend Mr. Ong later, we were on our way through immigration.

To Tehran Onboard the 747-200

After having a quick tea with Yukihiro and Akiko, we headed to our gate where we met with the rest of the group.

Final Call — Boarding in progress, final call.

After taking photos of our aircraft through the windows, we were one of the last people to board. Once onboard, we asked one of the cabin crew to mention our presence to the cockpit crew.

Production Data — Production data plate. Boeing 747-230B, serial no. 22670.

Photographing the Plate — I was not the only one taking a picture of the plate!

After I settled in my seat next to Yukihiro and Akiko, we received a positive answer – two people could go into the cockpit for take-off. As such, one of our participants – Ryo and I headed upstairs. Ryo settled in the front jump seat, and I stayed in the rear one.

Within a couple of minutes, we pushed back and all four of our GE engines were started up. A short taxi to runway, and we were ready to take off.

V1, rotate! You can watch the video of our take-off below.

After we took-off and started climbing, we started talking with the crew. Once again, they had stories from Tokyo. Furthermore, the flight engineer explained the flight information sheet to us and gave us blank copies to keep.

Flight Information Sheet — The flight engineer explaining us the flight information sheet.

Overhead Panel — A detail of the overhead panel.

As a lunch is served shortly after take-off, once we left the cockpit and went back to our seats.

The choice for lunch was either chicken or beef. While Akiko and I ordered chicken, Yukihiro decided to go with beef. As you can see below, both of the meals were exactly the same – except for the meat.

Lunch - Chicken — My lunch – chicken with rice and some side dishes.

Lunch - Beef — Yukihiro’s lunch – beef with rice. No difference compared to the chicken lunch except for the meat.

We finished the fairly tasty lunch, and then the real “party” started. Talking with the cabin crew. Taking turns to visit the cockpit, taking wingshots, you name it.

One of the pursers – Mr. Mosaferi – spoke really good Japanese! Here he is with me (right) and two of the tour participants.

Friendly Crew — Three more cabin crew members – all extremely friendly and hospitable.

Calvin with Crew — Another tour participant – Calvin – with two of the cabin crew members.

Business Class — …among all those group photos, we managed to peak into the business (Homa) class.

Group Photo — Another group photo – this time me with three participants and three cabin crew members.

Me and Cabin Crew — …and finally, me with the cabin crew.

Galley — After all those group photos, I went to take picture of the galley… It was “photobombed” by one of the friendly pursers!

With that much fun onboard, the flight time passed really fast, and soon another meal was served – this time a fruit plate consisting of an apple and grapes.

A bit of relax in my seat, and once again – for the third time… Another meal was served. This time, a simple croissant. Impressive! Now at this point, I need to point out that the meals were exactly the same as the last time I flew this flight. However, unless you fly the flight every week, that is not a problem.

Third Meal Service — Third meal service – a croissant and a Kit-Kat.

Once the third meal was finished, with only a couple of hours left, it was time to roam around the cabin once again. Wingshots, photos of cabin, photos with fellow passengers, you name it. Even though it was a regular flight, it felt like a special enthusiasts flight!

Economy Class — Overview of part of economy class.

Tourists — Group of Iranian girls on their way back from KL wanted to take a picture… Why not!

At about 4:15PM Iranian time we started our descend into Imam Khomeini airport, and way too soon – at 4:40PM, we touched down – bringing this awesome flight to an end.

Dining with Iran Air Crew

Just outside the immigration at Imam Khomeini airport, our driver was waiting for us. We headed straight to Mehrabad Airport hotel.

Van — Part of the group holding the free ice cream we received in the terminal in front of our van.

A quick shower later, we were on our way to Orkideh where we had a dinner with Iran Air crew members scheduled.

Everyone Gathered — Everybody at the table, time to order some food.

It was a great evening full of aviation (and other) talk. Besides our group of 10, three Iran Air 747 captains and two first officers participated. Also, I am very thankful that Mr. Mosaferi – the purser from our flight to Tehran – came for the dinner in spite of being very tired after working the flight from KL!

Yukihiro, Captain Moghadam and I — Yukihiro and I with Iran Air 747 fleet manager, Captain Moghadam.

Signature — First Officer Hosseinimehr signing photo for Nabe-san.

After the dinner was finished and a group photo taken, the two first officers and Mr. Mosaferi offered to drive us to the hotel instead of having to take the taxi – how nice!