Air Deccan takes delivery of the 700th ATR    

ATR and Air Deccan, the first Indian low-cost airline, celebrated today the delivery of the 700th ATR aircraft. The delivery ceremony has been held in Toulouse in the presence of Captain Gopinath, Air Deccan’s Managing Director, Filippo Bagnato, ATR CEO, and the minister of Foreign Affaires of France, Philippe Douste-Blazy. Other French and Italian political authorities and senior representatives of the worldwide partners and suppliers of ATR also attended the ceremony.

This 700th delivered aircraft, an ATR 72-500, is part of the contract signed in 2005 by Air Deccan for 30 new ATR 72-500s and represents the 6th ATR 72-500 aircraft already delivered to the airline.

Commenting on the delivery ceremony, Captain Gopinath stated: “It is an honor for Air Deccan to contribute to the success of ATR. Air Deccan’s history is closely tied to ATR. We recently celebrated our third anniversary from the date in 2003 when an ATR 42 took off from Bangalore for our inaugural flight. Since we started this cooperation in 2003, we have significantly increased our fleet of ATR aircraft because of the confidence we have in these aircraft. They are very well adapted for feeder routes in India and can access most of the airports unable to be operated by jets. With the most economically efficient and comfortable aircraft in their category, ATR is an important part of our success as the most popular carrier in India”. He added: “ATR has a very important weight in the fast development of the economic and human ties in our country”.

Filippo Bagnato highlighted: “This is a major milestone in the history of the ATR program. We delivered our first aircraft in 1985 and over the last two decades we have worked hard to build and consolidate our worldwide leadership in the turboprop market. Today, this 700th aircraft is tangible proof of the success we have achieved. We owe this success to the many men and women who have worked so hard and with such dedication and pride, as well as all the customers who have placed their confidence in our product. We look forward with ambition, to reaching the goal of 1000 deliveries more and more attainable since we have already commercially covered up to the 828th aircraft”. He added: “The recovery of the turboprop market and the worldwide recognized quality, performance, economics and comfort of our aircraft should lead us straight on to this ambitious goal”.

From the beginning of the year, ATR has received orders for 50 new aircraft, some of them not yet unveiled. Since the beginning of the programme, ATR has sold 828 aircraft (401 ATR 42s and 427 ATR 72s).

The ATR 72-500 is the latest development of the ATR 72 with a proven average dispatch reliability of more than 99.6%. This version shares the same power-plant, six-bladed propellers, the same interior design and soundproofing techniques of the 50-seat ATR 42-500, thus offering a family of aircraft with excellent comfort and passenger appeal. The ATR 72-500, offering capacity from 68 to 72 seats, has the lowest seat mile costs and is recognised as a benchmark for the regional market. The increased power and aerodynamic refinements provide excellent take-off and landing performance.

The advanced six-blade propeller provides remarkably low outside noise levels and the ATR aircraft have a large margin with regard to Chapter IV (ICAO) noise regulations, effective 1st January 2006. Low fuel burn and gaseous emissions contribute to make the ATR environment friendly.

The Bangalore-based airline, Air Deccan, is a division of Deccan Aviation Pvt. Ltd. that was created in 1997. The low-cost carrier currently operates its ATR aircraft on domestic network with links to cities such as Hubli, Belgaum, Hyderabad, Tirupati, Chennai, Derhadun, Jaipur, Goa, Vijayawada, Mangalore and Amritsar…from Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai and New Delhi. Air Deccan started its operations in 2003 with an ATR 42 aircraft. Beginning of January 2005, Air Deccan took a step forward by signing for 30 new ATR 72-500s in a 72-seat configuration.

Toulouse, Southern France-based regional aircraft manufacturer ATR is the world leader in the 50 to 70-seat turboprop market. In 2005, ATR posted a turnover of $542 million. ATR is an equal partnership between Alenia Aeronautica (Finmeccanica group) and EADS. ATR is certified ANSI/ISO/ASQ Q 9001:2000 and EN/AS/JISQ 9100, the worldwide quality standard in the field of aeronautics.

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