ATR in service

Background

The Avions de Transport Régional company was formed as a joint venture between Aerospatiale (now EADS) and Aeritalia (now Alenia Aeronáutica) in 1982 to offer a family of mid-sized, regional turboprop aircraft.

Its first aircraft, the 46-seat ATR 42-300 powered by a pair of 2000shp (1490kW) P&W PW120 engines made its first flight in August 1984, and entered service with French regional airline Air Littoral between Béziers and Paris in December 1985. The stretched 70-seat ATR 72-200 powered by 2400shp (1790kW) PW124B engines made its first flight in October 1988 and entered service with Finnair the following year.

The aircraft’s fuselages are manufactured by Alenia near Naples in Italy, while the wings are manufactured by EADS Sogerma in Bordeaux in southwestern France. Final assembly, flight testing, certification and delivery is performed at Toulouse in France.

The go-ahead for a series of enhancements to the two ATR models was given in June 1993, and the first ATR 42-500 featuring more efficient derated P&W PW127E engines driving six-blade propellers, an enhanced wing design, new interior, updated new landing gear, and a composite tail made its first flight in September 1994. The first 42-500 entered service with Italy’s Air Dolomiti in October 1995, while the larger ATR 72-500 featuring common engines and cockpit with the 42-500 made its first flight in January 1996.

In October 2007, ATR announced another upgrade of its two models.

Dubbed the ‘-600 series’, the new aircraft will feature further improved P&W PW127M engines with a hot and high power boost option, a new enhanced avionics suite and flight management computer, an integrated Aircraft Centralised Maintenance System (ACMS), further revisions to the interior with greater carry-on baggage storage and LED lighting, and increased operating weights.

The new ATR 42-600 and 72-600 models are expected to be available for delivery from late 2010 after a planned first flight in late 2009. ATR expects the -500 and -600 product lines to overlap by a few months into early 2011 on its Toulouse final assembly line as the current backlog of more than 170 -500s is cleared.

ATR also offers a cargo conversion of both models including the addition of a large front left cargo door and a reinforced floor, and says there is an active second-hand market for some of the earlier model aircraft which cancarry between 5. 3 and 8. 6 tonnes in bulk freighter configuration.

The Region’s Fleet

At last count, there were 31 ATR turboprops in service in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, comprising 11 72-500s in service with Air New Zealand subsidiary Mount Cook Airlines; six 72-500s and four 42-500s operating with Air Tahiti with another two on order; two 72-500s and one 42-500 with New Caledonia’s Air Caledonie; Fiji’s Air Pacific subsidiary, Pacific Sun with two 42-500s; one 42-500 in service with the French Polynesian government in Tahiti; Air Vanuatu with a single 42-300; and the three aircraft in service with MacAir and Toll.

“Turboprop aircraft are crucial not only to the airlines of the Pacific, but to the economies of Pacific nations which demand reliable and economical air services,” Laurent Negre, sales director Australia and South Pacific for ATR told Australian Aviation. “The Pacific region is characterised by operations to secondary airfields with short runways and limited infrastructure, but also low yield and traffic levels make it very difficult to justify the economic operation of a larger jet aircraft. ” “This market also features a significant number of long over-water flights both on domestic inter-island services and regional international flights, missions which are best suited to turboprop aircraft such as the 72-500 which exclusively features 120 minute ETOPS certification,” he added.

Utilisation

When looking for a new turboprop regional aircraft in the mid 1990s, Mount Cook considered a range of types then either in or recently out of production.

“We fly in some of the most severe weather conditions experienced anywhere in the world,” Mount Cook Airlines GM, Mark Pitt, offered. “In addition, we fly in areas with very high terrain – just take a look at Queenstown and you will get an idea of the complex nature of terrain. This combination of weather and terrain together with reliability, customer service and comfort, business economics, environmental friendliness, technology, operational flexibility and disruption recovery were considered at the time the ATR was selected, along with aircraft reputation in the industry and supplier relationships. ” “The BAe ATP, Dash 8-300 and the Fokker 50 were all considered when the ATR 72-210 was originally chosen to replace the HS. 748 in the mid-90s,” Pitt added. “When the ATR 72-210 was replaced in 1999 we looked at both the ATR 72-500 and the Bombardier Q400. We have 11 ATR 72-500 aircraft, and they range in flying hours from 9500 to 22,500. ” The airline’s first 72-500 entered service in September 1999.

“Mount Cook has very good fleet utilisation,” added Laurent Negre. “They’re running about 2600 cycles per year per aircraft, that’s an average of about eight cycles per day, and their average sector length is about 400km. ” “Our engineering despatch reliability exceeds 99 per cent within 10 minutes and our online operational performance exceeds 98 per cent reliability within 10 minutes,” Pitt continued. “The ATR has exceeded our expectations in all respects.

“I have had the benefit of flying jet aircraft and turboprop aircraft in my career. When I first joined Mount Cook Airlines I was the fleet manager so I could validate the handling characteristics in difficult conditions, experienced first hand the reliability and economics of operation and received feedback from customers. Now I am the GM I am looking at the operation from a different perspective and understand the intricacies behind the operation – this aeroplane certainly makes good sense from a business economics point of view and from a schedule reliability point of view too. The aircraft is versatile and provides benefits especially in light of the fuel price fluctuations we have seen over the last 18 months.

“We have had no long term issues with the aircraft and we get excellent support from ATR when we are seeking resolution to issues that arise occasionally.

Here at Mount Cook Airlines we have improved reliability in some areas through careful analysis and teamwork and we are proud to have an award for achieving 10,994 hours without engine refurbishment from Pratt & Whitney. ” MacAir’s ATR is primarily employed on RPT and fly-in/fly-out mining charter services to regional Queensland centres such as Mount Isa, with its operations centred on Townsville. “Sincethe ATR entered service it averages 170 hours per month, and in the last four months this has increased to 200 hours per month,” said MacAir’s maintenance controller, Bill Wood. “The technical reliability is running at 99. 24 per cent while the world average is 99. 7 percent.

The reason for slightly lower than average is because the aircraft’s weather radar is old technology and is unreliable during our wet season. In general the aircraft is very reliable and we don’t have too many problems with it, and it compares favourably with our Saab 340 which is running at 98. 49 per cent. ” MacAir has a second 42-500 on order and is expected to take delivery of the aircraft in October this year. “MacAir is operating its 42-500 at about 50 hours per week at the moment,” said Negre.

“They have a very good business in Queensland – a good mix of RPT and charter work. We have placed an ATR technical representative at Townsville to support MacAir’s operations.

Earlier this year, Queensland charter and freight operator Jetcraft Aviation was taken over by the Toll group, and Jetcraft/Toll has been operating its two ATR 42-300Fs on behalf of Toll Air Express as freighters on mostly overnight runs between Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

The first of the ATR 42-300Fs, VH-TOQ which was previously EI-SLB operated by Irish freight airline Air Contractors, was placed on the Australian register in June 2007 and entered service that August. The aircraft have a capacity of 54 cubic metres and can carry more than 5. 5 tonnes of freight.

“The ATRs were chosen to replace Metro III aircraft on inter-capital freight routes and become the first step in establishing a mid-sized freighter aircraft to operate on short haul sectors,” said Toll Air Express’s general manager, Noel Prosser. “Consequently, we were looking for a very quiet, curfew friendly aircraft that could operate efficiently in and out of Bankstown Airport.

The ATR was a proven aircraft in the 5000 to 7000 kilo uplift range. Toll was looking for mid-sized turbine aircraft with proven reliability, fuel efficient and easy to load/unload. After consultation with ATR and a review of other global freighter operators, the ATR 42-300 was best suited to the Toll operations. Also, we were looking to loose load the cargo and maximise cubic capacity. This meant the high wing and two door entries were very attractive. As inter-capital volumes increased, the ability to move up from three Metros IIIs to one ATR flight was a major benefit. ” In the Pacific, Air Vanuatu had previously operated the Dash 8-100 and Saab 2000, but now operates its 42-300 primarily on domestic routes between the capital of Port Vila and the islands of Santo and Tanna, but also to Noumea in nearby New Caledonia.

“The Dash 8 failed due to a combination of a weak market prevailing at the time and a lease rate which was untenable,” the airline’s general manager of domestic operations, Captain Peter Fogarty, told AA. “The Saab 2000 had maintenance issues and was too sophisticated for a remote area, with supply lines for parts from Europe and theUSA proving unreliable. Choosing the ATR came down to low break-even load factors, its ability to carry 46 passengers, and an excellent cargo carrying ability.

Our ATR 42-300, MSN223, is coming up to 6000 hours in service with Air Vanuatu. It achieves a dispatch reliability of 99. 9 per cent, and has met or exceeded the airline’s expectations with respect to reliability and efficiency. ” Air Vanuatu also has a new ATR 72‑500 on order for delivery next year.

Air Tahiti was the first ATR operator in the region, originally choosing the 42-300 to replace its Fokker F27s in 1985. “The ATR was a new aircraft on the market so the decision was mostly made in regard of the manufacturer’s declared data,” Air Tahiti’s deputy chief executive, Manate Vivish, said. “The paperwork showed good operating costs and good performances figures in regard with the type of operations on the very specific network of the company.

But the question at that time was would these data be confirmed in the real life? It has so far. The first aircraft we ordered appeared to show the qualities expected and dependability and the ATR customer support added some confidence in the relationship. ” Air Tahiti’s 10 ATRs flew a combined total of 23,000 hours in 2007, and is close to achieving the 300,000 flight hours milestone. “Productivity of our fleet reaches 2463 flight hours per aircraft per year which is one of the highest world rates,” added Vivish. “On the technical side, dispatch reliability for flights with less than 15 minutes delay is 99. 4 per cent. Performance of our ATR is above our expectations, the aircraft is very efficient, and has the lowest rate of fuel consumption per seat. ” The French Polynesian government, which is also based in Tahiti, operates one ATR 42-500 for government transport purposes, and has the option to convert the interior into a VIP configuration.

Air Pacific subsidiary Pacific Sun introduced its two 42-500s in 2007 and operates them on Fiji’s high density, short haul sectors between Nadi and Suva, Nadi and Labasa, and Suva and Labasa. The airline said it also considered the Bombardier Q400 before choosing the ATRs, and made its decision based on the manufacturer’s experience in the region, and the aircraft’s performance and efficiency, dispatch reliability, passenger comfort and ETOPS for overwater flights. Pacific Sun says its aircraft are logging about 2000 hours per year and are achieving a better than 99 per cent dispatch reliability figure.

Air Caledonie’s three ATRs are employed on services linking the capital of Noumea with resort destinations.

Its 42-500 is fitted with a high density 50-seat interior while the 72-500s carry 70 passengers, and the fleet is run as a common fleet with a single type-rating.

Future Prospects

Laurent Negre is confident of being able to announce some follow-on orders for ATR from existing customers in the coming months.

“That we are continuing to receive orders for our aircraft in this region after more than two decades of service is a major vote of confidence in the ATR family of aircraft,” he said. “I’m hoping for a decision from Air New Zealand by the end of September. And maybe any new aircraft will not replace but will add to the current fleet.

“We are looking for an aircraft that provides all the fundamentals we originally went looking for,” noted Mount Cook’s Mark Pitt. “These fundamentals don’t change with the passage of time but I think it is fair to say everyone is focusing on the fuel side of the equation – we are no different in this regard. ” Apart from the -600 series, Air New Zealand is reportedly also studying the Q400 and the Embraer E-170 for the imminent order. ATR claims the 72-500 burns about half the fuel of a 70-seat jet, and even uses about 40 per cent less fuel than the Q400 with similar block times on a typical 400km sector.

“There is also potential for Air Vanuatu to order one more, possibly a 42-500,” Negre added. “And we think Pacific Sun will look to increase their fleet as well. Pacific Sun is taking over the whole domestic market there plus is expanding to Tonga, Vanuatu and Tuvalu, and it would make sense to substitute some of their shorter 737 sectors with the ATR, and offer greater frequency while lowering costs.

“We think there is also potential in the Cook Islands and in Tonga as well, especially with such a core of expertise building up in the region. There is a strong backbone link from New Zealand, and we’re looking to develop the region’s market further on and around that backbone.

“The cooperation between all the operators is increasing well – Mount Cook does a lot of the training for pilots in the region, and Air Tahiti is getting into third party maintenance. ” And closer to home, despite MacAir’s sale to a Mount Isa based investor earlier this year and statements that the airline would soon be operating Q400s, little has been heard of this since that time. Instead, it is expecting to take delivery of its second ATR in October.

“Our mine customers have shown increasing interest in the aircraft operating their fly-in/fly-out charters because of reliability, payload, capacity, and passenger comfort,” MacAir’s head of sales and marketing, Sarah Raymond, said. “The mining customers are already lining up to secure it for their charters, which is a vote of confidence for our decision to introduce this aircraft type. ” Laurent Negre is also looking for new opportunities for the aircraft, particularly in Western Australia. “I’d like to break through in WA – it’s a growing market and I think there is room for ATR, especially with so many Fokker 50s in service over there. Hopefully, the decision by ATR to base someone in the region has been the breakthrough for the Australian market.

It’s still modest, but we’re confident of being able to grow it. ”