Orders continue, new series roll out assembly line

Samisoni Pareti
French turbo-prop aircraft manufacturer ATR is fast establishing its foothold in the Pacific Islands with continued sales to island-based airlines.

Air Vanuatu has placed an order for its first ATR 72-500 aircraft, which is going to replace its ATR 42-300 that links the national capital, Port Vila, to the islands of Santo and Tanna, as well as neighbouring New Caledonia.

The airline hopes to use its new ATR 72-500 to develop international services to neighbouring Fiji and Solomon Islands, as well as adding the much-needed capacity to the local islands of Santo and Tanna.

Another ATR aircraft operator to take delivery of its new 72-500 series is Air Tahiti.

This order takes to 12 the number of ATR aircraft which the airline operates or is planning to introduce.

Currently, the Papeete-based carrier has five ATR 72-500s and four ATR 42-500s in service on its domestic network in French Polynesia, with three more ATR 72-500s still to come. Two are to be delivered later this year, while the third will be ready in 2009.

Another ATR 42-500 operates in the French territory as a VIP aircraft for members of the territorial government.

ATR says the Pacific orders are in line with a worldwide resurgence in the popularity of turbo-prop airliners.

In 2007 alone, the manufacturer announced a record sale of 113 turbo-props—both ATR 42-500 and ATR 72-500 series aircraft.

“Turbo-prop aircraft are crucial not only to the airlines of the Pacific, but also to the economies of the Pacific nations, which demand reliable and economical air services,” said Laurent Negre, Sales Director Australia and South Pacific for ATR.

“The Pacific region is characterised by operations to secondary airfields with short runways and limited infrastructure, but also low levels of yields and traffic making it very difficult to justify the economic operation of a larger jet aircraft. 

“This market also features a significant number of long over-water flights both on domestic inter-island services and regional international flights—missions best suited to turbo-prop aircraft such as our ATR 72-500, which exclusively features 120-minute ETOPS certification.”

Other operators of ATR in the region are Pacific Sun, Air Pacific’s regional and domestic airline.

It bought two ATR 42-500 series from a Caribbean operator and both aircraft now service domestic and regional routes of Tonga, Vanuatu and soon, Tuvalu.

In New Caledonia, Air Caledonie operates two ATR 72-500 and one ATR 42-500 on a network linking the capital, Noumea, with seven mainland and island destinations.

The largest operator of ATR aircraft in the Pacific region is Air New Zealand with a fleet of 11 ATR 72-500 aircraft which are operating on key domestic routes.

The 68-seat ATRs enable Air New Zealand to serve disparate markets with regular, high efficiency services, while offering low noise, high comfort service for customers and significantly lower fuel consumption and related pollutant emissions than any other regional aircraft of equivalent size jet or turbo-prop.

Most recently, ATR has also penetrated the Australian market with one ATR 42-500 now in service with Queensland regional carrier, MacAir.

The aircraft is being used to serve both scheduled outback services and contract operations to remote sites operated by major resources companies.

According to Negre, both ATR 42-500 and the larger ATR 72-500 suit the Pacific’s diverse and pristine environments since they are very environment-friendly. Its 72-500 series for example consumes as little as half of the fuel used by a similar sized regional jet.

By comparison, a regional jet emits at least 50% more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere on every flight.

“That we are continuing to receive orders for our aircraft in this region after more than two decades of service is a major vote of confidence in the ATR family of aircraft,” said Negre.

“It is also a strong endorsement of our ability to evolve our aircraft over this period to continue delivering high efficiency, low cost operations for our customers, and providing environmentally responsible transport solutions for the communities that our aircraft serve.

“Our current family of aircraft is very popular with airlines throughout the Pacific, and we are confident the 600 variant—which is being offered now for entry into service from late 2010—will deliver even greater efficiency, flexibility and cost savings for operators.”

ATR recently launched a global campaign on its new 600 variant.

It says the new aircraft offers significantly improved performance to and from short airfields and higher revenue payload in so-called “hot and high” conditions, where hot climates and high altitudes can impact aircraft performance.

It will feature a newest-generation full “glass” cockpit, developed by Thales.

This will enable enhanced operational capabilities, including Cat III A and RNP approach and landing, as well as a further reduction in the aircraft maintenance and operating costs.

To support ATR operations in the Pacific and Australasian regions, ATR has established a regional sales office in Sydney and a spare parts centre in Auckland.

In addition, Air New Zealand has established a fixed-based ATR pilot training simulator in Christchurch, providing training for its own crews and the opportunity for a third-party ATR crew training in the region.

ATR operators are also working together in other ways, with Air Tahiti recently undertaking heavy maintenance work on Pacific Sun’s two ATR42-500s.

“The Pacific region is diverse,” said Negre. The ATR family of aircraft—both current and future—offers the capability and versatility the market demands.

“The ATR has proven how good an aircraft it can be for both overland and inter-island operations, and this is particularly well demonstrated here in the South Pacific.”