Originally Posted by
andrasz
The case of Iran and Russia are not directly comparable, they are apples & oranges. In 1981 Iran was left with a fleet of 1960s-70s designs, which were all essentially mechanical designs, with no electronics controlling primary systems. Modern A & B are essentially flying computers with some attached aerodynamic and propulsion devices. The black boxes are only repairable by the manufacturers (as opposed to simple copying and manufacture of a worn or broken mechanical part), and with the failure rate of electronics, the available stocks will be depleted far quicker than 10 years. Without EEC the engines will not start...
Well at least for the Boeing 737 it is directly comparable as the 737 is a 1960’s design with the bare minimum of IT lip stick to keep it presentable enough to be seen outside. I agree the Airbus types. would be considerably more challenging as they have a lot more integrated automation.
However if the aim is to keep the minimum necessary airline service for Russian internal routes then I do think they could keep things going for quite a long time. The West had a total ban on Iran but there was still enough crooked suppliers who made big money sanctions busting to keep some Iranian airliners flying long past their best before date. Lots of crashes for sure, but that never seemed to be a problem in Iran or Russia.