Lufthansa CEO Sees Opportunities In Iran

Lufthansa is excited by the possibilities offered by the opening up of Iran, especially for its maintenance and catering divisions, the airline group's chief executive said.

Carsten Spohr said he would be travelling to Iran shortly and that talks with partners had intensified.

"I think there's a high interest for Lufthansa Technik and catering services, but also for additional destinations and capacity on the cargo and passenger side," he said.

Austrian Airlines, part of Lufthansa, has said destinations could include the cities of Isfahan and Shiraz.

Iran and six world powers struck a deal on Tehran's disputed nuclear programme in Vienna on July 14 and if the UN atomic watchdog confirms Tehran is complying with provisions to curb its nuclear activity, Western sanctions could begin to be removed.

Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines have been able to maintain flights to the Iranian capital Tehran through the sanctions, Spohr noted.

"Lufthansa has always kept services into Tehran over the last difficult years, so did Austrian and this is now paying off."