In 1981, the European joint venture formed by Aerospatiale (now EADS) and Aeritalia (now Alenia Aermacchi, part of the Finmeccanica group) resulted in the most cost-effective family of short-haul aircraft. The aircraft design is inspired from a high-wing, twin turboprop aircraft optimized right from the start for efficiency, operating flexibility and passenger comfort: the ATR 42 and ATR 72.
Twenty years on, ATR has become the benchmark for regional turboprop aircraft with sales exceeding 1200 aircraft, with over 180 operators in more than 90 countries. These have accumulated a total of around 19 million cycles. Today, ATR is a pioneer in the regional transport field: every twelve seconds, an ATR takes off somewhere around the world. The unparalleled success of the ATR range can be attributed to the combination of outstanding features, in terms of innovation, comfort and environment-friendliness. The latest generation of ATR turboprop aircraft with the state-of-the-art technology opens up new horizons to regional airlines woldwide by offering optimum performance, perfect reliability, exceptionnal passenger comfort, easy maintenance and high economic efficiency.