Air Tahiti receives its first ATR42-600

By BA Staff

Air Tahiti has taken delivery of its first ATR42-600 in a bid to modernize its fleet. The aircraft is part of the firm order for three ordered in August 2010. The airline has also placed an order for four ATR 72-600s). All the aircraft will be shipped over the next three years.

Air Tahiti will introduce the aircraft on the regional routes within French Polynesia and will operate an international connection between Papeete and Rarotonga in the Cook Islands.

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Jet Time to operate regional routes for SAS in Northern Europe flying new ATR 72-600s

By BA Staff

Jet Time has taken delivery of the first of six new ATR 72-600 turboprops. This aircraft has been acquired on lease from the Danish leasing company Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC). All the ATR72-600 aircraft will be assigned to feed the SAS Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) route network, as part of a commercial arrangement between SAS and Jet Time, and they will all be painted in SAS livery.

The delivery ceremony for this very first ATR 72-600 series aircraft to be operated in Europe's Nordic countries took place in Toulouse, France, in the presence of the management teams of Jet Time, NAC, SAS and ATR. Deliveries of the next five ATR 72-600s will be completed by early in 2014.

The introduction of these new 70-seat ATR 72-600s, the most fuel efficient aircraft in their category, will contribute to Jet Time's economic performance in the long run as the airline expands its fleet capacity and widens the scope of its activity. These new generation ATRs are equipped with a new full-glass cockpit and feature a high comfort layout with larger overhead bins.

The Chief Executive Officer of Jet Time, Klaus Ren, declared:

“We have been looking forward to this first delivery. Today, we are thrilled that this modern turboprop airplane becomes the backbone of Jet Time's new activity. With a very good balance of comfort, modern technologies, cost efficiencies and highly regarded environmental qualities, the ATR 72-600 aircraft will also secure an effective and smooth launch of new regional service for Nordic travellers.”

Joakim Landholm, Chief Commercial Officer, SAS:

“I look forward to offering our clients the comfort and pleasure of a brand new aircraft on our North European routes, where Jet Time will operate the ATR 72-600 for SAS. With the smaller aircraft we can adapt our traffic to our customer's needs with many frequencies and destinations. Thus, the partnership gives us the possibility to strengthen our network regionally and at the same time expand on popular leisure destination with our own modern aircraft.”

Martin Møller, Chairman of NAC, declared:

“We are happy to see the first ATR-600 series aircraft to start operations in the Scandinavian skies. When acquiring an aircraft we favor those with the most modern technologies, low operating costs, excellent green credentials and versatility ATR turboprop aircraft and particularly the newest -600s perfectly match these requirements for short-haul operations”.

Filippo Bagnato, Chief Executive Officer of ATR, stated:

“Today's delivery to Jet Time is very significant because this is the first ATR-600 aircraft to go to the Scandinavian region. There has been very positive feedback from passengers who have travelled on the ATR 72-500s in the region, and the enhanced comfort of the new 600 series will contribute to further consolidate the strong reputation of the ATR planes. We are pleased to welcome Jet Time that has been able to introduce the ATR72-600 in SAS network, among our operators.”

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ATR 72-600 suffers first fatal crash

by Devesh Agarwal

Lao Airline ATR72-600. Photo courtesy ATR.

Airbus joint-venture subsidiary ATR (Aerei da Trasporto Regionale or Avions de transport régional) suffered the first fatal crash of the ATR 72-600 aircraft it manufactures.

The airframer confirmed that an ATR 72-600 operated by Lao Airlines as flight QV301 from capital Vientiane to Pakse crashed at around 16:00 (09:00 UTC) near Pakse (Laos).

All 44 passengers and 5 crew members on board perished.

The aircraft, registered RDPL-34233, was MSN (Manufacturing Serial Number) 1071, was delivered from the production line in March 2013.

At this time, the circumstances of the accident are still to be determined. Official sources of Lao Airlines declared that “the aircraft ran into extreme bad weather conditions and was reportedly crashed into the Mekong river. There were no news of survivors at this time”.

The Laos' Authorities will lead the investigation. In line with the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) Annex 13 convention, ATR will provide full assistance and the French Bureau d'Enquêtes et Analyses (BEA), safety investigation authority representing the country of the aircraft manufacturer will join the investigation.

The ATR 72-600 is a 68-to-74-seat twin turboprop engine aircraft which is the most recent variant of the ATR72-500 being operated around the world, including India;s Jet Airways group.

For more information on the accident, visit avherald.

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ATR approved for unpaved runway operations in Russia’s Siberia and Far East

Turboprop manufacturer ATR has won approval from the Russian Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) to operate from four unpaved runways in remote areas of Russia: Mys Kamenny, Lensk, Bodaibo and Igrim. Find out more details in the press release below:

26th August 2013

ATR obtained the company’s receipt of fleet-wide approval for new generation ATR aircraft to operate from 3 more unpaved runways in the remote parts of Russia. Russian Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) delivered the approval in late June this year. This certification brings to 4 a total number of runways already approved for use and operations: Mys Kamenny, Lensk, Bodaibo and Igrim, the latest being certified last year. 

The certification allows ATR aircraft to operate from gravel, dirt and grass strips. This significant upgrade to ATR's outstanding performance package was accomplished runway per runway, each of which had undergone extensive and thorough operational expertise and testing performed by ATR engineering team. More unpaved air strips are being assessed to gain approval for ATR operations.

Today, with this additional performance advantage, ATR aircraft are the only in-production foreign turboprops above 50 seats having received the certification for unpaved runway operations from IAC. “The ability to land and depart from unpaved runways adds increased operating flexibility to an already outstanding and robust ATR aircraft requiring minimal airframe modifications,” said Carmine Orsi, ATR Senior Vice President Technical.

With its expanded performance and the ability to operate from unpaved surfaces, ATR proves its commitment and enthusiasm to further invest in Russia’s high potential market. ATR turboprops aim to improve communications with Russia’s most remote regions where harsh environmental conditions and country’s vast territory make road transportation impracticable.

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