ATR 72

The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed by French aerospace company Aérospatiale (now Airbus) and Italian aviation conglomerate Aeritalia (now Leonardo S.p.A.). The number "72" in its name is derived from the aircraft's typical standard seating capacity of 72 passengers.

During the 1980s, French aerospace company Aérospatiale and Italian aviation conglomerate Aeritalia merged their work on a new generation of regional aircraft. For this purpose, a new jointly owned company was established, ATR, for the purpose of developing, manufacturing, and marketing their first airliner, which was later designated as the ATR 42. On 16 August 1984, the first model of the series, designated as the ATR 42-300, performed the type's maiden flight. During the mid-1980s, the ATR 72 was developed as a stretched variant of the ATR 42. On 27 October 1989, Finnish airline Finnair became the first airline to operate the type in revenue service. The ATR 72 has also been used as a corporate transport, cargo aircraft, and maritime patrol aircraft.

To date, all of the ATR series have been completed at the company's final assembly line in Toulouse, France; ATR benefits from sharing resources and technology with Airbus SE, which has continued to hold a 50% interest in the company. Successive models of the ATR 72 have been developed. Typical updates have included new avionics, such as a glass cockpit, and the adoption of newer engine versions to deliver enhanced performance, such as increased efficiency and reliability and reductions in operating costs. The aircraft share a high degree of commonality with the smaller ATR 42, which is also still in production.

Development

Origins

During the mid-1980s, ATR sought to introduce a larger airliner with increased capacity over its earlier products. This new regional airliner, designated as the ATR 72, was directly developed from the earlier ATR 42 and had much in common with it; the principal difference between the two airliners was an increase in the maximum seating capacity from 48 to 78 passengers. This was principally achieved by stretching the fuselage by , along with an increase of the wingspan, the use of more powerful engines, and increased fuel capacity by about 10%.

On 15 January 1986, the launch of the stretched ATR 72 programme was announced. On 27 October 1988, the first prototype performed its maiden flight; one year later, on September 25, 1989, the ATR 72 received airworthiness certification from the French Directorate General for Civil Aviation. During the following month, on 27 October 1989, Finnish airline Finnair became the first airline to introduce the aircraft into service. Since the ATR 72 is assembled on the same production line as the smaller ATR 42, along with sharing the majority of subsystems, components, and manufacturing techniques, the two types support each other to remain in production. This factor may have been crucial as, by 2015, the ATR 42 was the only 50-seat regional aircraft that was still being manufactured.Sheppard, Ian
"ATR Continues To Drive Turboprop Revolution."
''AIN Online'', 8 November 2015.Sheppard, Ian
"ATR Creates Leasing, Asset Management & Freighter Unit."
''AIN Online'', 7 June 2017.

During 2000, the combined global ATR fleet reached its 10,000,000th flight, during which a distance around 4 billion km (2.5 billion statute miles) had been flown and around 450 million passengers had flown on board ATR-built aircraft. The 2007 production set a new record for the programme's sales; a total of 113 new ATR aircraft had been ordered during a single year. By the end of 2014, ATR had received 1,000 orders for the type and delivered a total of 754, leaving a backlog of 246 aircraft.

Within the ATR company, various organisational changes were implemented. On 10 July 1998, ATR launched its new Asset Management Department. In June 2001, EADS and Alenia Aeronautica, ATR's parent companies, decided to reinforce their partnership, regrouping all industrial activities related to regional airliners into the ATR consortium. On 3 October 2003, ATR became one of the first aircraft manufacturers to be certified under ISO 9001-2000 and EN/AS/JISQ 9100, the worldwide quality standard for the aeronautics industry. During July 2004, ATR and Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer announced a co-operation agreement on the AEROChain Portal for the purpose of delivering improved customer service. During April 2009, ATR announced the launch of its 'Door-2-Door' service as a new option in its comprehensive customer services range.

Further development

The current production version is the ''ATR 72-600'' series. On 2 October 2007, ATR CEO Stéphane Mayer announced the launch of the -600 series aircraft; the ATR 42-600 and ATR 72-600 featured various improvements to increase efficiency, dispatch reliability, lower fuel burn and operating costs. While broadly similar to the earlier -500 model; differences include the adoption of improved PW127M engines, a new glass cockpit, and a variety of other minor improvements.

Since 2008, ATR has been a participant in the European Clean Sky Joint Technology Initiative. On 8 July 2015, an ATR 72-600 'green' technology demonstrator performed its first flight; the demonstrator was used for testing new composite materials for insulation, air conditioning systems, electrical distribution systems, and energy dispersal modifications to evaluate their effect on the aircraft's overall efficiency as a contribution to the Clean Sky initiative. ATR's senior vice-president for engineering Alessandro Amendola indicated that the elimination of all uses of bleed air was a key aim in the designing of an all-electric architecture as well as improving engine efficiency; the minimising of peak electrical loads was also a stated priority. During March 2016, a second round of flight trials dedicated the testing of all-electric systems architecture using the demonstrator was completed; analysis is set to continue.

As a consequence of strong demand for the -600 series, ATR decided to invest in the establishment of a second, more modern final assembly line and acquisition of more hangar space at its Toulouse site, along with a new large completion and delivery area; overall, the manufacturing operation expanded to four times the footprint that it had in 2005. Speaking in October 2015, ATR CEO Patrick de Castelbajac stated that the firm was set to produce in excess of 90 aircraft that year, and that the new manufacturing facilities could support a production rate of up to 120 per year. At the time, the company had a backlog of orders for 300 aircraft, sufficient for three years of production. During 2017, a new in-house financing and leasing division was established by ATR in order to offer customers a greater degree of support and expand the company's range of services.

Considerable emphasis has been placed upon the continuous development of ATR's aircraft models. Speaking at the Farnborough Airshow in July 2016, the CEO of ATR Patrick de Castelbajac stated that the company was currently examining the possibility of replacing the current Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127 engine with either a new offer from P&WC, or a GE38 derivative from GE Aviation. Although expressing satisfaction with the PW127 engine and its supplier, Castelbajac noted the design's age and the need to remain competitive with the latest regional jets. To be a worthwhile exercise, any re-engine exercise would require a 15 per cent improvement in fuel-burn and 20-25 per cent reduction of direct maintenance costs. Additionally, Castelbajac sees the potential re-engine as a "bridge" to the eventual development of a larger 100-seat aircraft.

During the mid-2010s, reports emerged that the development of a further stretched 90-seat ATR model was under consideration as well; allegedly, shareholder Airbus was relatively unenthusiastic on proceeding with such a development, while Airbus CEO Fabrice Brégier favoured a focus on resolving manufacturing issues. However, in January 2018, ATR's parent company Leonardo announced that the 100-seat program has been formally brought to a close.

Design

The ATR 72 is a turboprop-powered regional airliner, capable of accommodating a maximum of 78 passengers. It is powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney Canada PW100 turboprop engines, which drive an arrangement of four or six-bladed propellers supplied by Hamilton Standard. Earlier models of the ATR 72 are equipped with the older PW124B engine, rated at 2,400 shp, whilst later-built aircraft are powered by the newer PW127 engine, rated at a maximum of 2,750 shp to achieve improved " hot and high" takeoff performance. It can land and takeoff in high airports with short runways like the Andorra Airport. It employs carbonfibres for 30% of the wing by weight, for a 20% weight reduction.

In a standard configuration, the aircraft does not have an auxiliary power unit; when present it is installed within the C4 cargo section. Most operators of the ATR 72 equip their aircraft with a propeller brake (referred to as "Hotel Mode") that stops the propeller on the No. 2 (right) engine, allowing the turbine to continue running and provide both airflow and electrical power to the aircraft while on the ground.

In the majority of configurations, passengers board the ATR 72 using the rear door, a relatively unusual configuration for a passenger aircraft, while the front door is typically used for the loading and unloading of cargo; early customer Finnair intentionally ordered its ATR 72s with a front passenger door so that it could utilize the jet bridges at Helsinki Airport, while operator Air New Zealand's standard rear door aircraft can use jet bridges at airports with this equipment. While passengers are boarding or disembarking the aircraft, a tail stand is set into place as standard procedure to guard against the aircraft nose lifting off the ground.

Operational history

2011 was a record-breaking year for sales at ATR.Alcock, Charles
"ATR's Record Year Set To Get Better."
''AIN Online'', 11 November 2011. According to ATR's CEO Filippo Bagnato, sales had continued to grow during the Great Recession despite the downturn experienced by most aviation companies as "fuel consumption that can be half that of the alternatives and ithlower maintenance costs". Bagnato noted the strength of Africa as a market for the type, as well at the firm's aircraft being capable of serving destinations that would otherwise be inaccessible with other aircraft due to the austere conditions of many airstrips and runways in the region, as well as the ability to operate autonomously without any reliance upon ground support equipment.

For 2013, ATR claimed a 48 percent global market share for regional aircraft deliveries between 50 and 90 seats (comprising both turboprops and jets), making it the dominant manufacturer in this market segment. That same year, during which firm orders for 10 ATR 42-600s and 79 ATR 72-600s were recorded, leasing companies were responsible for 70 per cent of these; according to ATR's CEO Filippo Bagnato: "Years ago, we were not even considered by the lessors; now they see ATRs as a good investment". Several major leasing companies operate their own ATR fleets, such as Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), who placed an order for 20 ATR 72s along with options for another 20 in February 2014, and Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC), who ordered a fleet of 30 ATR 72s during June 2013, along with options for up to 55 further airliners. Placing their first order during 2011, by December 2012, Singaporean leasor Avation had a combined total of 20 ATR 72s on order; by February 2016, the number on order for had risen to 35 aircraft.

During May 1997, ATR achieved their first breakthrough sale in China, placed by operator China Xinjiang Airlines

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