The price of each Tupolev 204 is about half of that of Western planes and stands at about 22-28 million dollars. If an agreement is made, they would be delivered in two years.

In a cold autumn day of 1888, the populous family of Tupolev—who lived in Postomazovo region of Russia along the shores of Volga River—gave birth to a boy whom they called Andrei Nicolayevic. At that time, nobody knew that this boy, who would live for 84 years, would register his name along that of Sergei Vladimirovic Illushin in the Russian aerospace industry. The boy born to the Tupolevs succeeded to manufacture the first full-metal Russian plane when he was 36. Overall, he designed more than 100 airplanes most of which reached production stage. His son, Alexi Andriovic Tupolev (1925-2001) continued his father’s career and became senior designer of the first supersonic Russian airplane, the Tupolev-144.

It is years that planes named after Andrei Nicolayevic Tupolev are flying our skies and their name is quite familiar for those accustomed to air travel (just as is the case with airplanes carrying the name of Sergei Vladimirovic Illushin).

Although the name Tupolev is reminiscent of unpleasant events in our country, due to Western sanctions the name not only has not seen its importance diminished, but has also become more prominent. The evidence is the recent remarks made by Ahmad Khorram, Iranian Minister of Road and Transportation, on the sidelines of his negotiations with Turkish Minister of Commercial Affairs. He said, "Preliminary negotiations for purchasing Tupolev 204 planes from Russia have been finished. This plane uses less fuel than Western counterparts and its fuselage and engine have been tested with success. The plane will soon replace some of our medium-range planes."

Iran-140: Millions have been invested to manufacture this aircraft domestically; however its awkward absence in the Transport Ministry’s purchase list reeks of neglect for domestic capabilities, leaving us with the unsettling question of when will Iran benefit from its own investments in favor over the foreigner’s?

This was to great disappointment to those who thought the name of the ‘genius engineer of the Stalin era’ will become lackluster or at least less prominent after to recent incidences and their subsequent discussions (he was known as genius of Stalin era because he spent the golden period of his activities from 1936 to 1942 under Stalin). Of course, Khorram admitted that the previous models of Tupolev, that is Tupolev-154, used more fuel than Western counterparts and 17 of them would be taken out of Iran’s air fleet by 27 October 2003.

The minister also announced that a number of Boeing 747 and Falcon 20 planes would be taken out of the Iranian air routes in the near future.

In his recent remarks, Khorram tried to depict the new model of Tupolev as an ideal plane saying, "The price of each Tupolev 204 is about half of that of Western planes and stands at about 22-28 million dollars. If an agreement is made, they would be delivered in two years."

But what are the real differences between this model and its notorious predecessors?

Let’s go back to 1985, when the Soviet Union found out that Tupolev 154s were no longer suitable for the activities of countries member to the Warsaw treaty and should be replaced during the 1990s. After preliminary studies, Moscow approved a plan for manufacturing a plane named Tupolev 204. From the start, its undeniable resemblance to the American Boeing 757 attracted everybody’s attention. The two planes were so similar that charges about simulation surfaced in some Western media against the Soviet Union. The charges were bolstered by the fact that Boeing was one of the most successful Western passenger planes in 1980s.

Of course, the Soviet Union paid no attention to the ballyhoo and continued the project, but they were faced with a technical problem: engines considered for the plane were not suitable and this delayed the completion of the project. The model was once again turned to by Russia, which lacked the power of the former Soviet Union, after nine years in 1994. However, it was taken seriously only in 1997.

Something happened at that year that beefed up the position of those who claimed the new Russian product took after Boeing 757. Subsequent to developments that followed the implosion of the Soviet Union, Westerners penetrated Russian airplane industries.

The British Rolls Royce Company, which was aware of concerns of Russian officials with regard to Tupolev 204 engines, offered a proposal to the Russians. Rolls Royce was the original manufacturer of Boeing 757 engines. It proposed to Russian companies to provide them with the same engines it already supplied Boeing.

In this way, the new plane was named Tupolev-204-120 and was equipped with two Rolls Royce engines. It was nicknamed the ‘Westernized Tupolev’ and a remarkable number of orders were lodged by the former Soviet Union Republics and Middle Eastern countries. Now, Ahmad Khorram has been added to its admirers in the Middle East. He is apparently very persistent for purchasing the planes because he emphasized that a delegation will be dispatched to Russia during the next two weeks.

"If their efficiency was confirmed, we would meet the rest of our needs from Russia," he said.

This has encouraged directors of Tupolev to go on with their future plan for producing Tupolev 214 as well as a more advanced variety of Tupolev 204. They are even considering an ambitious project for manufacturing Tupolev 234. It must be noted that Tupolev 204, like its predecessor Tupolev 154, is a medium-range plane and not suitable for long flights. Of course, this is the first Russian airplane to be equipped with digital flight control system.

The plane did its first test flight on 2 January 1989; that is, a short while before disintegration of the Soviet Union and can carry 196 passengers.