ATR 42 et 72

ATR Head of Sales John Moore told ATW that EIS later this year of the ATR 72-600 should enable the turboprop manufacturer to make inroads in North America.

In a Wednesday interview on the sidelines of the Regional Airline Assn. Annual Convention in Nashville, Moore said, "We'd really like to have a bigger presence in the [North American] market. We've been successful everywhere else and I don't see why North America should be any different."

He noted that certification of the ATR 72-600 will be achieved "imminently, [likely] by the end of May." The first is slated to be delivered to Royal Air Maroc this summer and a total of six to seven will be delivered this year, he stated. The 42-600 is set for certification by year end with first delivery to Air Tahiti scheduled for early 2012, Moore said.

"The -600 is a big step forward for us," he commented, adding that certification has been, "quite a demanding process, but so far everything has gone well. We built in a fair bit of margin, which we've used, but we're on track"(ATW Daily News, March 8, 2010). The additional benefits from new Pratt & Whitney PW127 engines, a new Thales avionics suite with a glass cockpit and more overhead bin space will make the -600 models attractive "in the more mature markets like the US and Europe," he asserted.

Regarding launching a larger turboprop, which Moore emphasized will be a new aircraft and not merely a larger version of an ATR 72, the company has no "fixed timeframe" for making a decision. "We've indicated to the engine manufacturers what [a larger aircraft] is going to require and [based on next-generation turboprop engine designs currently being developed] it looks like they can achieve these kinds of improvements," he said (ATW Daily News, May 18).

He concluded, "Overall, we're quite pleased with the market for turboprops, which is secure, especially with [high] fuel prices." ATR plans to increase its annual production rate from 54 units this year to 70 in 2012.

European turboprop manufacturer ATR has received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification for its ATR 72-600.
Flight testing of the latest model in the ATR range began in the summer of 2009.
The certification process validated several new features in the ATR design including its new glass cockpit, plus communications and flight management systems. The -600 also includes a redesigned passenger cabin.
ATR chief executive Filippo Bagnato said he was "very proud to see that the ATR 72-600 is now on the brink of entering into service".
First deliveries are due this summer to Royal Air Maroc, which has four of the type on order

European turboprop manufacturer ATR has handed over the first ATR 72-600 to launch customer Royal Air Maroc (RAM).

The delivery, on 16 August, coincided with the first ever flight test of an ATR aircraft 27 years ago.

RAM announced an order for two ATR 42-600s and four ATR 72-600s aircraft, plus options for two additional ATR 72-600s in 2009 for its subsidiary Royal Air Maroc Express.

The second aircraft is scheduled for delivery on 19 August in an official ceremony in Toulouse.

ATR received European Aviation Safety Agency certification for its ATR 72-600 in May, two years after it began flight testing. The certification process validated several new features in the ATR design including its "glass cockpit" avionics, plus upgraded communications and flight management systems. The -600 is fitted with higher-power Pratt & Whitney PW127M engines and also includes a redesigned passenger cabin.

Since launching the new -600 programme in October 2007, ATR has received orders for 170 aircraft, including five ATR 42-600s and 165 ATR 72-600s

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has certified the ATR 72-500 for unpaved runways, boosting the European airframer’s efforts to sell the aircraft in the developing world.

The older -200 model already had EASA approval for dirt strip landings, but now the regulator has granted approval for the -500 as well, says ATR Eastern Support President Laurent Negre.

The impetus behind ATR’s move to apply for this approval came from Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea-based Airlines PNG, which last year added an ATR 72-500 leased from Malaysia’s Berjaya Air. The carrier uses the aircraft mostly for charter work on behalf of mining companies needing to reach remote airports in PNG, which are mostly unpaved.

Negre says Airlines PNG was able to start serving unpaved airstrips last year because it had preliminary approval, while the final approval was being worked on. ATR still has only one aircraft placed at Airlines PNG, primarily a Bombardier Dash 8-100 operator, but it is hoping to secure the airline as a major customer in the long run.

In a separate development, EASA has stretched the interval for heavy maintenance of ATR aircraft. The regulator has extended to 5,000 hr. from 4,000 hr. the operating period before the aircraft must undergo a C check, says Negre, adding that EASA’s decision covers all ATR types. He also says the U.S. FAA has validated EASA’s certification.

Cracks have been found on eight of Air New Zealand's fleet of 11 ATR 72-500 turboprops.

"These cracks can appear after a high number of cycles and can be detected during a standard maintenance check scheduled at 24,000 cycles - about 10 years of operations," says an ATR spokeswoman.

She added that the cracks were discovered in the "frame 5 segment" during a cockpit window change, but reiterated that the cracks do not compromise aircraft safety.

Three of the carrier's ATR 72-500s will have to undergo a technical adaptation while another three will require a frame-segment change.

On 20 March, Mount Cook Airlines, Air New Zealand's regional subsidiary, is able to operate four of the aircraft.

Three more turboprops are expected to be operational by 21 March and the remaining by the end of the week.

The carrier first grounded its entire fleet of ATR 72-500s when hairline cracks were discovered around the cockpit windows of one aircraft during routine maintenance.

"There is no safety issue with these cracks, as [the] mechanical capability of [the] cracked frame versus operational flight and ground loads was demonstrated," says ATR.

The airframer added that "it is not necessary" for ATR operators to push forward their maintenance check as the cracks do not compromise safety.

"ATR recommends proceeding through nominal maintenance planning and relevant repairs in case of findings [sic]," says the spokeswoman