Swiftair Orders 3 ATR 72-500s
Toulouse, 25 April 2007
 |
| ||||
ATR and Madrid-based Swiftair today announced the signature of a contract for 3 new ATR 72-500s for a total value of about US $ 55 million. The airline, which currently operates 16 ATR aircraft, is now adding to its fleet for the first time the new -500 series ATR aircraft. Swiftair plans to operate 30 ATRs in 2010.
These three aircraft, configured with 68 seats, will be delivered in December 2007 and by mid 2008, and will be equipped with the new “Elegance Cabin”, Light Emitting Diode (LED) and with the newest technological innovations in the field of communications and navigation aid tools.
Swiftair is one of the largest ATR operators in Europe, and decided to acquire 3 new ATR 72-500 in order to expand its fleet and cope with the increasing demand of charter contracts.
Commenting on this contract, Filippo Bagnato, ATR CEO, said: “In a short period of time, Swiftair has undergone an impressive expansion of its operations across Europe and the Middle East and to meet this challenge has had a steady growth of its fleet of ATR aircraft. It is an honour for us to contribute to such development because Swiftair has become a European reference in the cargo and charter market. Today’s contract for 3 new aircraft adds a new milestone to this successful partnership. It reinforces the confidence of the airline in ATR, as well as allows the introduction of the latest technological developments and standards of comfort.”
Salvador Moreno, Swiftair CEO, declared: “We launched our first ATR aircraft 4 years ago and we have regularly increased our fleet with ATRs because the aircraft has proven itself to be effective in both our cargo and passenger operations. Our confidence in the ATR family is now going one step forward with the acquisition of new generation ATRs, whose performance will allow us to grow our fleet with aircraft that have the lowest operating costs and the highest standards of passenger comfort”.
From the beginning of the year, ATR has received orders for 27 new aircraft, some of them not yet unveiled. Since the beginning of the programme, ATR has sold 864 new aircraft (402 ATR 42s and 462 ATR 72s).
The –500 series: New Generation aircraft
With its ATR 42-500 and ATR 72-500, ATR supplies state-of-the-art aircraft with jet-like comfort. The advanced six-blade propeller provides remarkably low noise levels. Low fuel burn and gaseous emissions position ATR as the “green player” of the regional market. All ATR models are compliant with noise regulations and have a large margin with regard to Chapter IV (ICAO) noise regulations, effective 1st January 2006.
About Swiftair
Madrid-based Swiftair was founded in 1986 and started its operations with a single Metro II on cargo and passenger routes within the Iberian Peninsula. During the nineties, the airline increased its fleet and expanded its operations to Europe and Middle East. Today, the airline has developed itself and has become a reliable and competitive aircraft operator focusing on long and short-term contracts for mayor global integrators (DHL, Federal Express, TNT, UPS…), leading Spanish overnight services and passenger charter operations across Europe. Swiftair posted € 84 million revenues in 2006 and counts 35 jet and turboprop aircraft.
About ATR
Toulouse, Southern France-based regional aircraft manufacturer ATR is the world leader in the 50 to 74-seat turboprop market. In 2006, ATR posted a turnover of US $ 700 million, an increase of 30% compared to 2005. 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.
Press Contact ATR
| Frédéric Lahache |
Tel.: 33 5 62 21 60 61 Fax: 33 5 62 21 68 00 www.atr.fr mailto: frederic.lahache@atr.fr |
