AVA Airlines

What AVA Airlines does

AVA Airlines (هواپیمایی آوا, DBA: آوا ایرلاینز) is a privately held Iranian passenger airline founded in 2023 and headquartered in Tehran (Firdous district, Ayatollah Kashani Boulevard). It operates a domestic route network connecting Tehran with Mashhad, Kish, Ahvaz, Shiraz, Rasht, Kerman, and Ramsar, and an international network serving Istanbul (Turkey), Najaf and Baghdad (Iraq), Kabul (Afghanistan), and Tbilisi (Georgia). The fleet comprises Airbus A310 and Boeing 737 aircraft. Three customer segments are explicitly targeted: general individual travelers, religious pilgrims to Iraqi holy sites, and premium/business travelers using CIP lounge services.

The company runs a digital distribution stack anchored on its own website (avaair.ir), a consumer mobile app distributed across Iranian Android marketplaces (Cafe Bazaar, Myket, SibApp) and iOS channels (SibChe, Anardooni, SibIran, iApps), and a web-based booking platform (book.avaair.ir, app.avaair.ir). The underlying reservation and ticketing infrastructure is the Sepehr CRS / Sepehr Sales System, licensed from Sepehr Systems, which also powers a travel-agency/reseller distribution mode. Beyond core ticketing, the company has built a content ecosystem around the brand: the "Radio Destination" (رادیو مقصد) podcast, AVA Magazine (مجله آوا) travel blog, AVA Academy (آکادمی) educational portal, an in-portal entertainment offering (مقصد سرگرمی) for films/books/games, and a Confidential Safety Reporting System for voluntary aviation safety disclosures. Special services — CIP facilities, a dedicated pregnant-women program, wheelchair assistance, and live animal transport — round out the service portfolio.

Revenue is generated almost entirely from one-time ticket purchases across domestic and international routes, priced in Iranian Rials, with ancillary streams layered on top: excess baggage fees (1.5% of ticket price + VAT per kg domestic; 10,000,000 IRR per kg international), wheelchair service fees ($35 USD to Iraq, €36 EUR to Istanbul), live animal transport fees, and ticket modification/name-change fees. Business class is priced at 1.75x economy, child fares at 75% of adult (one child per booking), and infants at 20% of one-way economy. The go-to-market combines direct-to-consumer (app + web + call center) with channel-partner distribution through the Sepehr Sales System in agency/reseller mode. Revenue, funding, ownership, and management team are all undisclosed in the public record; recent flight cancellations triggered by the conflict referenced as جنگ تحمیلی from 9 Esfand onward and an active passenger-refund workflow indicate the carrier is operating through material geopolitical disruption.

Name

AVA Airlines

Legal name

هواپیمایی آوا (Ava Airlines)

Website

https://avaair.ir

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AVA Airlines is a privately held Iranian passenger carrier founded in 2023, operating domestic routes from Tehran to major Iranian cities and international routes to Istanbul, Najaf, Baghdad, Kabul, and Tbilisi, serving individual travelers, religious pilgrims, and premium CIP customers through its website, mobile app, and Sepehr-powered agency distribution.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Passenger Airline Services

NAICS

Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation (481111)

SIC

Air Transportation, Scheduled (4512)

akta.pro primary industry

Full-Service Airlines (Passenger + Belly Cargo Integrated) (THABAAAF)

Keywords

• Passenger air travel
• Domestic flight services
• International airline routes
• Air ticket booking
• Airline passenger services

Headquarters

HQ city

Tehran

HQ country

Iran

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Airline Passenger Tickets: Primary revenue stream from selling passenger air tickets for domestic and international routes
2. Ticket Sales - Domestic Routes: Revenue from domestic routes including Tehran-Mashhad, Tehran-Kish, Tehran-Ahvaz, Tehran-Shiraz, and other Iranian destinations. Prices range from 4-11 million Rials depending on route.
3. Ticket Sales - International Routes: Revenue from international routes to Istanbul, Najaf, Baghdad, Kabul, and Tbilisi. Prices range from 5.5-28 million Rials.
4. Excess Baggage Fees: Additional revenue from excess luggage charges. For domestic flights, 1.5% of ticket price plus 10% VAT per kg. For international flights from Iran, 10,000,000 Rials per kg plus VAT.
5. Live Animal Transport: Fees for transporting live animals including pets, calculated based on total weight multiplied by excess baggage rate plus fixed fees and VAT
6. Wheelchair Services: Charges for wheelchair services at destinations, ranging from free for elderly/disabled on domestic routes to $35 USD for Iraq and 36 EUR for Istanbul
7. Ticket Modification Fees: Fees for name corrections and passenger detail modifications, ranging from free for minor corrections to 2-5 million Rials for significant changes

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

AVA Airlines is an Iranian passenger airline founded in 2023 (Iranian calendar year 1402) that operates scheduled domestic flights connecting major Iranian cities (Tehran, Mashhad, Kish, Ahvaz, Shiraz, Rasht, Kerman, Ramsar) and international flights to Istanbul, Najaf, Baghdad, Kabul, and Tbilisi using Airbus A310 and Boeing 737 aircraft. The airline sells tickets directly through its website, mobile application, and travel agency network, complemented by ancillary services such as CIP lounge access, special programs for pregnant women, wheelchair assistance, and excess baggage handling.

Product overview

AVA Airlines operates as an Iranian airline offering a comprehensive digital service ecosystem centered around its core air travel business. The primary customer-facing products include the AVA Airlines Mobile Application (اپلیکیشن آوا) for ticket booking and travel management, the Online Ticketing System (سیستم فروش سپهر) at book.avaair.ir for web-based reservations, and supporting digital content services including Radio Destination Podcast (رادیو مقصد), AVA Magazine (مجله آوا) blog, and Academy (آکادمی) educational resources. The airline also provides specialized passenger services such as Confidential Safety Reporting, CIP premium services, wheelchair assistance, and an Entertainment Platform (مقصد سرگرمی) featuring movies, books, and games. The company was established in 1402 (2023) and operates domestic and international flights from Tehran.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• AVA Airlines Mobile Application

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Sepehr SystemscoreTechnology or IntegrationSepehr Systems provides the CRS (Computer Reservation System) and ticketing platform for AVA Airlines, enabling online booking, seat selection, and travel agency distribution through the Sepehr Sales System.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Iran Air: Iran's flag-carrying national airline with the largest domestic network and international reach; competes with AVA on virtually every Iranian domestic trunk route and most regional international city-pairs.
• Turkish Airlines: Global network carrier that competes with AVA on Tehran–Istanbul and Mashhad–Istanbul routes, leveraging a vastly larger network and brand recognition but at different price/service tiers.

Direct peers

• Kish Air: Iranian airline with strong domestic presence especially on Tehran–Kish (a route AVA also operates) plus regional international flights, directly comparable in scale and network profile.
• Mahan Air: Major Iranian private full-service airline operating domestic routes and regional international routes to Istanbul, Baghdad, and other destinations that overlap directly with AVA's network. Closest direct competitor in terms of business model and route structure.
• Iran Aseman Airlines: Iranian full-service carrier with strong domestic presence (including Tehran–Ahvaz, Tehran–Shiraz, Tehran–Kish) and regional international operations, directly overlapping with AVA's route map and target passengers.
• Qeshm Air: Iranian private airline with a mix of domestic trunk routes and regional international services; operates similar narrowbody aircraft and competes head-to-head with AVA on Tehran-origin traffic.
• Taban Air: Iranian private airline operating scheduled domestic and regional international routes, competing with AVA on price-sensitive leisure and VFR segments across Iranian cities.
• Meraj Airlines: Iranian airline operating a domestic scheduled network with both passenger and charter services; competes with AVA on several Tehran-origin domestic routes.

Regional players

• Kam Air: Afghan private carrier that operates the Mashhad–Kabul route — a city-pair AVA also serves — making it a direct regional competitor on the cross-border Iran–Afghanistan corridor.
• Iraqi Airways: State carrier of Iraq that competes with AVA on the Tehran–Baghdad and Mashhad–Najaf/Baghdad corridors, offering both inbound and outbound competition on pilgrimage and VFR flows.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/avaair_ir
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ava-airlines

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AVA Airlines