Iran Air finalised a contract to buy 80 planes from US firm Boeing, the official IRNA news agency said Sunday, as it seeks to renew its ageing fleet despite sanctions. IRNA reported that the contract was worth $16.6b, in the first such deal since the 1979 Islamic revolution. “Fifty of the planes are 737 and the other 30 are the long haul 777 that will be delivered to Iran Air in a period of 10 years,” said Farhad Parvaresh, CE of the national carrier, who signed the contract with Boeing officials in Tehran. It is the first deal with an American aviation firm since the revolution, and comes in spite of fresh tensions over sanctions after US lawmakers voted earlier this month to renew measures against Iran. The lack of new planes and parts has taken a severe toll on Iran’s carriers over the years, earning it one of the worst safety records in the world with close to 1,700 people dying in a string of civilian and military air disasters since 1979, according to the Flight Safety Foundation. “With the signing of this contract, the first important step has been taken for the modernisation of the country’s aviation fleet,” Transport Minister Abbas Akhoundi was quoted as saying. Iran Air is also due to finalise the purchase of 100 planes from European firm Airbus. “Our goal is to increase our ability to compete in the aviation industry to be able to get back our share in the transport industry in the region and the world,” said Akhoundi, referring to the fact that Iran was a regional hub for air transport before the revolution.<br/>
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Southwest is hoping to resume recently suspended flights between Los Angeles and three resort cities in Mexico beginning Sunday. The airline had cancelled all its flights from Los Angeles International Airport to Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta and Cancun since Wednesday because all the necessary paperwork hadn't been completed. Southwest says Mexican authorities issued the permits Friday night to clear the way for the airline to resume its Los Angeles service to and from the cities affected by the shutdown. A total of 40 flights were canceled during the four-day suspension of service. Southwest says it is trying to rebook the passengers on the canceled flights. Separately, American Airlines says it also has received the paperwork it needed to begin service between Miami and the Mexico city of Merida.<br/>
Fugitive Indian businessman Vijay Mallya said Friday that his Twitter account had been penetrated by a hacking group called Legion, which posted links to what it alleged were details of Mallya's bank accounts, offshore investments and luxury cars. Mallya, a former billionaire who made his fortune from a liquor and beer empire, moved to Britain in March after being pursued in courts by banks that his now defunct Kingfisher airline owed around $1.4b. "Legion will find you, hack you, expose you," read one of several postings tweeted by the hackers on Mallya's official Twitter account before they were erased at around 1215 IST (0645 GMT). Mallya, who denies being an absconder, was not immediately available for a comment, and a spokesman for his UB Group also declined immediate comment on the hack. But a response was tweeted on his verified Twitter account. "Outfit called Legion has hacked my e-mail accounts and are blackmailing me !! What a joke." Legion came to public attention earlier last month when it claimed to have hacked the Twitter accounts of India's Congress party, and its vice chair Rahul Gandhi. Mallya is wanted by law enforcement agencies and is subject to a non-bailable warrant from a court.<br/>
Bolivia's defence minister said on Friday a plane crash that killed 71 people travelling to Colombia aboard a Bolivian-registered charter plane was "murder," accusing the pilot of flying with insufficient fuel. "This was definitely no accident. This was a homicide. What happened in Medellin was murder," Defence Minister Reymi Ferreira said. The LaMia airlines plane slammed into the mountains outside Medellin last week, killing most of Brazilian football team Chapecoense Real as they travelled to a match. A harrowing recording has emerged of the pilot radioing the control tower to report he was out of fuel. Investigations are ongoing, but Colombia's civil aviation safety chief has said the plane disregarded international rules on fuel reserves. Bolivia has suspended the airline's permit and arrested its manager and his son, who is an official in the civil aviation authority. Ferreira accused the plane's pilot, Miguel Quiroga, who died in the crash, of ignoring regulations requiring him to refuel mid-route. "Obviously, if the pilot had complied with the regulation, which is to land in Cobija (Bolivia) or Bogota (Colombia), or had at least declared an emergency from the beginning, before he was about to have an accident, it's possible this tragedy would not have happened," he said.<br/>