Boeing Co. is finally open for business in Iran. The question is: When will GE Aviation?

The U.S. government cleared the manufacturer to begin talking with approved Iranian carriers about their fleet needs, a first step toward entering the country’s resurgent aircraft market, Boeing said Friday. The planemaker will still need a separate license to complete any commercial jetliner sales.

The stringent requirements aren’t limited to airframe manufacturers. Evendale-based GE Aviation, the world’s largest maker of jet engines, has also applied to do business in Iran, spokesman Rick Kennedy told Bloomberg News The license would cover new-equipment sales as well as maintenance and repair work, where engine manufacturers make most of their money.

GE’s application was submitted in preparation for opportunities arising as the airframers open talks, Kennedy said. GE Aviation, through its West Chester-based CFM International joint venture with France’s Safran SA, makes engines powering many aircraft including Boeing’s 737 and models in Airbus’s A320 family.

Europe’s Airbus Group SE, which faced fewer restrictions, grabbed an early lead with a $27 billion order announced on the day nuclear sanctions were eased last month, Bloomberg noted. While European aerospace rivals began scoping out potential sales last year, Boeing wasn’t allowed to veer beyond safety-related items such as the aircraft maintenance manuals it sold to Iran Air Tours.

By Cincinnati