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ATR launches Yunnan demonstration tour
November 16th 2018
Franco-Italian turboprop manufacturer ATR this week completed a demonstration tour of its ATR 42-600 in Yunnan, China. Read More » The objective of the tour was to prove the aircraft’s high-altitude performance in challenging mountainous environments to local airlines and officials.
The ATR 42-600 visited several airports in Yunnan, including Diqing, Lijiang and Kunming. With a specially designed Chinese livery, prominently displaying the words ‘Highland Eagle’ in Mandarin script, the aircraft lived up to its name by taking-off and landing in Diqing – situated at 3,287m above sea level – the highest-altitude airport an ATR 42-600 has ever served and for which is it fully certified.
“The ATR 42-600 operates perfectly from challenging airfields offering the lowest operational costs, shows that it is the perfect modern solution to enhance China’s regional connectivity. No other regional aircraft in production could regularly serve Diqing in a General Aviation configuration and this highlights its remarkable versatility and performance, even in ‘hot and high’ conditions, surrounded by challenging terrain. I thank all those that have made this demo tour in Yunnan a success,” said ATR CEO, Stefano Bortoli.
Last week in Zhuhai, ATR published its first Chinese Market Forecast, which predicted a requirement for 1,100 turboprop aircraft to 2037: 300 airplanes for regional commercial aviation and 800 for general aviation. ATR said by 2037 87% of the regional and general activity will come from almost 2,200 newly created routes. ATR’s market proposition is the 48-seater ATR 42-600 and the 70-seater ATR 72-600.
No ATRs are flying commercial passenger flights at Mainland airlines today. In Paris last year, ATR said it had reached an agreement with Xuzhou Hantong Aviation Development Co., a commuter carrier planned to be launched this year, to provide the company with three ATR 42s. The OEM that year also signed another preliminary agreement for ten ATR 42s with Tianju Airlines, a Shaanxi Tianju Investment Group carrier awaiting AOC approval.
