Franco-Italian joint venture ATR (Airbus/Leonardo) has celebrated its 1,500th aircraft delivery — an ATR 72-600 for Japan Air Commuter.
Franco-Italian joint venture ATR (Airbus/Leonardo) has celebrated its 1,500th aircraft delivery — an ATR 72-600 handed over to Japan Air Commuter at the end of October. The fuselage for the 1,500th aircraft was delivered by Leonardo in June.
This represents the latest in a year of milestones for the European regional aircraft manufacturer, after the delivery of the 1,000th ATR 72 in July and the 500th ATR -600 Series in August.
ATR claims a 75% share of the turboprop market since 2010. Nearly 500 50-seat ATR 42s and over 1,000 72-seat ATR 72s have been delivered to more than 200 operators in 100 countries.
ATR’s most recent market forecast predicts the need for over 3,000 turboprops in the next 20 years, in part to cater for nearly 3,000 new routes. According to the manufacturer, a 10% increase in regional flights contributes an additional 5% of tourists, increases regional GDP by 6% and Foreign Direct Investment by 8%.
Earlier this month, ATR's turboprop rival Bombardier sold its Dash 8 Q400 programme to Viking Air.