Editing Iran Air (section)

===Early years===
[[File:Douglas C-47B EP-ACK Iranian Natnl Ringway 24.04.54 edited-2.jpg|thumb|An Iranian Airways [[Douglas DC-3]] freighter in 1954]]

Iranian Airways was founded in May 1944 by Reza Afshar and Gholam Ebtehaj.<ref name=ICS/> [[World-War II|Post-war]], its first passenger flight was from [[Tehran]] to [[Mashhad]],<ref name=Iranairhistory>{{cite web|url=http://www.iranair.com/portal/Home/Default.aspx?CategoryID=11162545-c3b9-455d-b26d-c8ebe61653f4|title=IranAir Portal|access-date=24 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150410094458/http://www.iranair.com/portal/Home/Default.aspx?CategoryID=11162545-c3b9-455d-b26d-c8ebe61653f4|archive-date=10 April 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> followed by a Tehran-[[Esfahan]]-[[Shiraz]]-[[Bushehr]]-[[Abadan]]-[[Ahwaz]] service. In 1946 the airline established service to Cairo, Baghdad, and Tel Aviv, and in April 1947, to Paris.<ref name=ICS/> Between 1945 and 1962, the airline became a major domestic carrier, also operating some international flights to Europe each week. The fleet consisted of [[Douglas DC-3]]s initially, supplemented by [[Douglas DC-4]] and [[Vickers Viscount]] aircraft later on.<ref name=Iranairhistory/>

In 1954, the privately-owned airline Persian Air Services (PAS) was established. PAS initially operated only freight services, followed by passenger operations between Tehran and other major cities in Iran.<ref name=Iranairhistory/> In 1960, PAS initiated passenger service to several European destinations, including Geneva, Paris, Brussels and London, using [[Boeing 707]] and [[Douglas DC-7]] aircraft leased from Belgium's [[Sabena]] airline.<ref name=FIPersian>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1961/1961%20-%200495.html |title=World Airline Directory |magazine=FlightGlobal |page=503 |volume=79 |issue=2718 |location=London |publisher=Iliffe Transport Publications |date=13 April 1961 |access-date=15 January 2017 }}</ref>

Iranian Airways was nationalized in 1961.<ref name=ICS/> On 24 February 1961, Iranian Airways and PAS merged to form the Iran National Airlines Corporation (HOMA), known as Iran Air, using the [[Huma bird|Homa bird]] as a symbol.<ref name=Iranairhistory/> HOMA was a public sector venture that combined the two predecessor air carriers. Among the aircraft used were [[Avro York]]s, Douglas DC-3s, [[Douglas DC-6]]s, and Vickers Viscounts.<ref name=ICS/> The carrier became a full member of the [[International Air Transport Association]] (IATA) in 1964. Iran Air and South African Airways were the launch customers for the [[Boeing 747SP]].<ref name=Iranairhistory/>