2014 : a record year for ATR

Last year, ATR, world leader in the market for 50 to 70-seater regional aircraft, achieved a record turnover of 1.8 billion dollars. On the occasion of their annual press conference held on January 21^st in Paris, the European manufacturers said that in 2014, they had registered the best year in their history.

In a little more detail, last year, ATR received 160 firm orders, thanks to their bestselling 72-600, which alone accounts for 90% of sales. The manufacturers, having also delivered 83 turboprops due to a ramp-up in production, hope to exceed the 100 mark for deliveries in 2016.

Patrick de Castelbajac, Chief Executive Officer – ATR 

"We are very happy because it was a year with major challenges. We had already had a great year in 2013, but we needed to build on it – and we did it, by delivering more aircraft than ever. It was not easy; we had to work even closer together with the supply chain. On the sales side, 2013 was also a good year, and we pulled out all the stops there too, which resulted in even more sales than ever."

ATR has never had an order book so full; 280 aircraft to roll off its final assembly line in Toulouse, (south west France), the equivalent of three years’ production. In 2014, the turboprop aircraft manufacturers captured almost half of the less than 90-seater regional aircraft sales, and serve as a global benchmark for short-haul operators. Key strengths of their turboprops are low operating costs, performance, and reliability.

As for the new 90-seater regional aircraft project, ATR’s two shareholders are still divided on the subject, so for now, it remains on the backburner; Airbus Group believe that it is not a priority for the moment, unlike Finmeccanica, who claim that there is definitely a market for this type of aircraft. To be continued...