Turboprop Transport Makers Aren't Whining

Asian Aerospace 2000 -- Avions de Transport Regionale, the Franco-Italian partnership which builds turboprop short-haul airliners, is confident that it will be in business doing the same thing for the next 20 years despite the ever growing number of turbojet competitors and a marked eagerness of airlines to switch from props to jets.

ATR -- jointly owned by Aerospatiale-Matra of France and Italy's Alenia -- is at Changi exhibiting a new ATR-72 72-seater, which sells for around $16.5 million.

The company says its market studies show there will continue to be a "global" demand for turboprop transports seating between 40 and 70 passengers, the bracket it spans with its two designs, for the next two decades.

But the numbers sold are likely to be modest. Last year ATR booked orders for 30 new aircraft-up on the 21 sold the year before but well down on 1997's 54. In booking its 30 new sales, ATR also sold 52 used aircraft it acquired as trade-ins.

By Bob Rodwell