The European regional aircraft manufacturer ATR welcomed today a high-level pan-African delegation as part of company's continuing search to develop and strengthen new industrial partnerships in this region. Around 40 African ambassadors accompanied by the representatives of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGAC) arrived in Toulouse this morning on board the ATR 72-600 in the colors of Royal Air Maroc. The delegation, personally toured by Filippo Bagnato, ATR's Chief Executive Officer, visited the ATR Final Assembly Line and exchanged on how the dynamics of the African regional air transport market today embrace the new generation ATR aircraft. 

Filippo Bagnato stated: « Africa is poised to become one of the world's largest aviation markets, and it already is a major geographical region for ATR. Today there are 37 African airlines flying more than 110 ATRs. Five additional ATRs will be delivered to African carriers in the coming months. For that reason, we opened in 2012 a training center in Johannesburg, convinced that ATR is the perfect solution for the African market." Today, Africa accounts for some 10% of total ATR sales worldwide. 

ATR regional turboprops have proved to be an ideal match to African airlines due to their unrivalled fuel-efficiency and low operating cost performances on shorter routes. On a typical regional route of about 500 km, take Dar es Salam - Arusha in Tanzania operated by Precision Air Services, an ATR 72-600 burns up to 35% less fuel than other regional turboprops, and up to 50% less than regional jets of the same size.

 As African regional carriers are looking to boost efficiency and safety while meeting operational demands, the popularity of ATRs continues to grow. The unmatched performance of these new generation airplanes is hugely due to the most technologically advanced avionics suite, inspired from Airbus A380 technology. Equipped with the new satellite navigation software ATR airplanes are able to land whatever conditions the pilots face, even in extreme weather, short runways in rough terrain or airports with limited ground installations. It significantly reduces pilot stress and workload, improves safety and operational performance of the aircraft. 

ATR estimates a demand for some 400 turboprop aircraft in the region in the next 20 years within the 50-90 seat market. This is a market with a huge potential.

About ATR:

ATR is the leader in the regional aviation market. ATR turboprop aircraft are recognized as the most eco-friendly regional airplanes and are the world benchmark in terms of efficiency, reliability and economics on short-haul routes. ATR is ISO 14001 certified. Today more than 180 operators fly ATRs in over 90 countries worldwide. ATR is an equal partnership between two major European aeronautics players, the Airbus Group and Alenia Aermacchi (a Finmeccanica Group company).

ATR Press Contact

David Vargas
Tel. : +33 5 62 21 66 14
Email : david.vargas@atr.fr

Yevgenia Akinshina
Tel. : +33 5 62 21 60 61
Email : yevgenia.akinshina@atr.fr

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