Aircraft
Turboprops Remain Vital to Asia-Pacific’s Connectivity
ATR and De Havilland Aircraft of Canada see continued growth for their regional turboprop aircraft in the Asia-Pacific region.
A Bangkok Airways ATR 72-600 lands at Sukhothaï Airport in northern Thailand. (Photo: ATR)
A Bangkok Airways ATR 72-600 lands at Sukhothaï Airport in northern Thailand. (Photo: ATR)

Air traffic in the Asia-Pacific region has recovered more slowly from Covid-19 than that in most other parts of the world, but ATR and De Havilland Aircraft of Canada remain upbeat on their position in the region, where some 500 ATR 42/ 72s—37 percent of the worldwide in-service ATR fleet—and close to 250 Dash 8s operate, respectively.

“I am quite optimistic,” ATR head of sales for the Asia Pacific region Jean-Pierre Clercin told AIN in an interview ahead of the Singapore Airshow. “The past two years have been difficult for the industry but, overall, our market has proven to be resilient owing to its domestic and community serving nature,” he said. Aviation recovery from the Covid-19 has taken a different trajectory for domestic and international capacity, particularly in Asia-Pacific, where domestic capacity has recovered faster.

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