ATR (aircraft manufacturer)

ATR
Joint venture
Industry Aerospace
Founded 1981
Headquarters Toulouse Blagnac International Airport
Blagnac, France
Key people
 Christian Scherer[1] (CEO till Sep. 2018)
Giovanni Tramparulo (CFO)
Revenue 1.8 US$ Billion (2017)[2]
Number of employees
 1,300+ (beginning of 2017)[2]
Parent Airbus (50%)
Leonardo (50%)
Website atraircraft.com
ATR 42 side view
ATR 72 side view

ATR (Aerei da Trasporto Regionale or Avions de transport régional; Regional Air Transport in English) is a Franco-Italian aircraft manufacturer headquartered on the grounds of Toulouse Blagnac International Airport in Blagnac, France.[3] It was formed in 1981 by Aérospatiale of France (now Airbus) and Aeritalia (now Leonardo) of Italy.[4] Its primary products are the ATR 42 and ATR 72 aircraft. ATR has sold more than 1,500 aircraft and has over 200 operators in more than 100 countries.

Manufacturing

Leonardo's manufacturing facilities in Pomigliano d'Arco, near Naples, Italy, produce the aircraft's fuselage and tail sections. Aircraft wings are assembled at Sogerma in Bordeaux in western France by Airbus France. Final assembly, flight-testing, certification and deliveries are the responsibility of ATR in Toulouse, France.[5]

History

1980s

The ATR program was launched on November 4, 1981. The ATR 42, equipped with PW120 engines, made its maiden flight on August 16, 1984. The ATR 72 was launched on January 15, 1986. The 200th ATR was delivered in 1988, to Thai Airways.[6]

1990s

The 300th ATR was delivered to Karair, Finland in September 1992.[7] The 500th ATR was delivered to American Eagle, USA on September 5, 1997.[8]

2000s

The 600th ATR, an ATR 72-500, was delivered to Air Dolomiti, Italy on April 28, 2000.[9] The 700th aircraft, an ATR 72-500, was delivered to Simplify Deccan, India on September 8, 2006.[10] ATR launched the new -600 series on October 2, 2007. ATR obtained an ISO 14001 management system certificate in 2008.

2010s

The 900th aircraft, an ATR 72-500, was delivered to TRIP Linhas Aéreas, Brazil on September 10, 2010.[11] Royal Air Maroc took delivery of the first ATR 72-600 in 2011. The 1,000th aircraft was delivered to Air Nostrum, Spain on May 3, 2012.[12] On June 15, 2015, Japan Air Commuter signed an historic contract for ATR: Its 1,500th aircraft sold.

In 2016, ATR signed a major agreement with Iran Air for 40 ATR 72-600s on February 1, the 1,300th ATR, an ATR 72-600, was delivered to NAC for operation by Irish airline Stobart Air on June 14 and ATR delivered the first ever ATR 72-600 High Capacity aircraft (78 seats) to Cebu Pacific on September 22. In October, Christian Scherer was appointed CEO.[13]

In 2017, ATR celebrated its 35th anniversary, Japan Air Commuter Co. Ltd. (JAC), subsidiary of Japan Airlines, became a new ATR operator with the introduction into their fleet of the ATR 42-600. On February 1, ATR and Sweden's BRA performed the first ATR biofuel flight. On February 21, ATR opened a new training center in Miami. On May 9, IndiGo selected the ATR 72-600 to enter the regional market. On May 16, Iran Air took delivery of its first four ATR 72-600s.

In August 2017, US regional carrier Silver Airways signed a letter of intent for up to 50 ATR 42, a return in the continental US market since 1997 when American Airlines converted 12 ATR 72 options, due to the rise of regional jets and the American Eagle Flight 4184 crash in 1994.[14] ATR lowered its output to 80 deliveries a year from 2017 and boasts a nearly three-year backlog after FedEx Express' November 2017 order.[15] In 2017, ATR booked 113 firm orders and 40 options, and delivered 80 aircraft: 70 new ATR 72-600s, 8 new ATR 42-600s and 2 second hand ATRs.

By April 2018, the fleet was flying more than 5,000 times per day and had operated 30 million flight hours.[2] In early June 2018, over 1,400 were delivered as Leonardo S.p.A. shipped the 1,500th fuselage and nearly 1,700 were ordered, ATR leads the turboprop regional airliner market since 2010 with a 75% share, they are operated in nearly 100 countries by 200 airlines and 30 million flights were done as one takes off or lands every 8 seconds.[16]

On 13 September, Scherer left its CEO role to replace Eric Schulz as Airbus' Chief Commercial Officer.[13] ATR replaced Scherer as its chief executive by Stefano Bortoli, president of ATR's board and Leonardo aircraft's senior vice-president for strategy and marketing.[17]

Products

ATR manufactures two sizes of turboprop aircraft, the 70-seat ATR 72 and the 50-seat ATR 42.

Proposed

  • ATR 82 – During the mid-1980s, the company investigated a 78-seat derivative of the ATR 72. This would have been powered by two Allison AE2100 turboprops (turbofans were also studied for a time) and would have a cruising speed as high as 330 knots (610 km/h; 380 mph). The ATR-82 project (as it was dubbed) was suspended when Aero International (Regional) (AI(R)) was formed in early 1996.[18]
  • ATR stretch – In 2007, as a response to the Q400X proposal, ATR floated the idea of a 90–99 seater stretch.[19] As of 2009, it was considered part of the future -900 series ATR family.[20] In 2011, the 90-seater was proposed to shareholders.[21] As of 2012, a new clean-sheet design has been considered in the 90-seat segment, for a 2017 launch.[22]

For a 2,000–2,500-unit demand over 20 years, developing a 90-seater would cost more than $5bn and should achieve at least a 30% fuel-burn reduction and the unit price needs to stay in the low-to-mid-$20m range, below small jets.[23] Leonardo S.p.A. prefers a clean-sheet 90-100 seater with new turboprops, wings and cockpit available soon but Airbus favours a medium-term introduction with disruptive hybrid-electric engines, structural advanced materials and automation.[15] In January 2018, Leonardo abandoned the 100 seater prospect, favouring existing ATR 42 and 72 models which dominate the turboprop market with a 75% share.[24]

References

  1. ↑ (in French) https://www.whoswho.fr/bio/christian-scherer_69896
  2. 1 2 3 "Company Profile". ATR.
  3. ↑ "Contact." ATR. Retrieved on 15 May 2010.
  4. ↑ ATR Milestones Archived August 1, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ↑ "ATR home page". Atraircraft.com. 2012-09-23. Retrieved 2012-10-10.
  6. ↑ ATR 200th aircraft, archived from the original on 2013-09-14
  7. ↑ ATR 300th aircraft, archived from the original on 2013-06-13
  8. ↑ ATR 500th aircraft, archived from the original on 2013-06-13
  9. ↑ ATR 600th aircraft, archived from the original on 2013-06-13
  10. ↑ ATR 700th aircraft, archived from the original on 2013-06-13
  11. ↑ "ATR makes 900th delivery". 2010-09-10.
  12. ↑ ATR 1000th aircraft, 2012
  13. 1 2 "Commercial Aircraft Christian Scherer appointed Airbus Chief Commercial Officer" (Press release). Airbus. 13 September 2018.
  14. ↑ Edward Russell (3 Aug 2017). "Has ATR finally ended its two-decade US drought?". FlightGlobal.
  15. 1 2 Stephen Trimble (14 Nov 2017). "ATR considering new corporate structure for flexibility". Flightglobal.
  16. ↑ "Leonardo delivers 1,500th fuselage to ATR, historic milestone" (Press release). Leonardo. 6 June 2018.
  17. ↑ David Kaminski Morrow (17 Sep 2018). "ATR names Leonardo executive as new chief". Flightglobal.
  18. ↑ "ATR 82 information". Airliners.net. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  19. ↑ Kingsley-Jones, Max. "ATR floats idea of stretched model to tackle 90-seat sector". Flight International, 2007 November 14. Retrieved: 13 February 2009.
  20. ↑ O'Keefe, Niall. "Prop manufacturers ponder larger offerings" Flight International, 8 June 2009; retrieved 29 September 2012.
  21. ↑ Kaminski-Morrow, David. "ATR more certain over prospects for 90-seat turboprop" Flight International, 18 June 2011; retrieved 29 September 2012.
  22. ↑ Trimble, Stephen. "IN FOCUS: Turboprop engine duel strikes up for 90-seater", Flight International, 2012 February 27. Retrieved: 29 September 2012.
  23. ↑ "New ATR CEO favors clean-sheet design turboprop". Leeham news. March 30, 2017.
  24. ↑ Dan Thisdell (30 Jan 2018). "ATR parent Leonardo rules out 100-seat turboprop". Flightglobal.
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