regional operator Air Nostrum. Since 2012,
orders have favoured the larger ATR 72.
A net total of 50 ATR 42-600s were
ordered from 2012 to 2017, of which 31 were
delivered in that time (plus the last -500, in
2012). ATR 72 gures for the same period
are 364 ordered and 346 shipped.
The manufacturer changed the way it
reported its orders for 2017, from net to
gross totals (without taking into account
any cancellations during the year), listing
rm commitments for one ATR 42 and 112
ATR 72s from ten customers, including the
launch order from FedEx Express for the
-600 freighter.
At the start of 2018, a total of 456 ATR
42s and 1,218 ATR 72s had been ordered,
of which 458 and 978, respectively, had
been handed over.
Last year’s gures con rmed the airline
industry’s bias towards higher-capacityaircraft – a growing trend over the past
decade that manufacturers generally
welcome: delivering larger aircraft usually
means higher pro ts, as they are traditionally
‘priced by the pound’ and an ATR 72 costs
more than a ’42 while having a similar
footprint at the Toulouse assembly site.
Some rms have responded to this
development by declining to invest in new
versions of their shortest offerings – Airbus
does not plan to offer an A318neo and
Embraer isn’t producing a ‘170-E2’.
Others, including Bombardier, have
recon gured interiors to accommodate
more passengers, with the Q400 offered
for a maximum of 90. ATR also launched
a high-capacity con guration for the ATR
72-600 in 2016, with 78 seats with a pitch
of 28in (71cm), an increase of ten paying
fares over the baseline interior (albeit with
3in/8cm less legroom).ATR has also studied larger designs,
for some 90 passengers, in recent years,
but as of early 2018 no decision to proceed
with a new variant had been taken.
Doubts have been raised about
the future of the ATR 42-600, as the
variant hasn’t attracted high sales.
Standard passenger capacity is for 48
passengers with a 30in (76cm) pitch,
with alternative con gurations for 42,
46 or 50 seats, unmatched by other
current production aircraft. While the
market for such aircraft is small at the
moment, the ATR 42 has the sector
to itself and it will be in prime position
should demand increase.
Toulouse’s ‘other airliner manufacturer’
may not be as widely known as its larger
neighbour, but it’s in a good position and
has contributed greatly to the airliner
industry so far.34 Aviation News incorporating Jets August 2018The rst Alenia Aermacchi ATR 72-600TMUA delivered to the Turkish Navy. Alenia AermacchiMyanmar National Airlines ATR 72-600 XY-AJY taking off from Toulouse shortly after the airliner had been completed. AT RThe Nigerian Air Force bought a pair of ATR 42MPs, which were based on the ATR 42-420. AT R30-34_atrDC.mfDC.mfDC.mf.indd 34 03/07/2018 15:08