As Franco-Italian turboprop maker ATR readies for the first flight of its new 600 Series this month, the company finds itself in a “comfortable position” by virtue of a backlog of 162 airplanes worth some $3 billion–“pretty much the largest [the company] has achieved in the program,” according to ATR senior vice president John Moore. Still, Moore didn’t deny the difficulty ATR has encountered selling airplanes in North America. Rather, ATR has found its greatest success of late in the Asia-Pacific region, which accounts for “just about half” of all its sales over the last several years.
Although North America accounts for a relatively solid installed base–about a quarter of all ATRs in operation fly there–most of the recent sales successes involving new turboprops in the U.S. and Canada have boosted the fortunes of the Bombardier Q400. Moore expressed confidence, however, that the trend would soon begin to shift, as U.S. airlines in particular continue to remove 50-seat jets from routes shorter than 350 nm and older-generation turboprops reach retirement age.
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