High oil prices are expected to inject a new lease of life into
turboprop airliners and in particular the 50-70 seat aircraft from
ATR. That's the belief of Filippo Bagnato, the former CEO of Alenia
Aeronautica who took over at ATR last month after running Eurofighter
GmbH for two years.
"Oil prices will remain high for a long time yet," Bagnato told
Show News. "And in that environment the 70-seat turboprop is 15-20%
more efficient than a regional jet on routes up to 350 nmi." That
can mean savings of $20-$30 a seat on every flight at current oil
prices.
This advantage over the jet on short routes is the message that
ATR is hammering home at Farnborough this year.
Bagnato is fighting for every order in a niche market where "recovery"
could mean worldwide sales of 50 new aircraft, which are typically
split around 50-50 between ATR and Bombardier. Last year, when ATR
suffered like everyone else, says Bagnato, the Toulouse-based manufacturer
delivered just nine new aircraft to seven airliners, and took orders
for 10. ATR has earlier said it needs to deliver 18 new aircraft
a year to break-even on the production line.
This year could see sales of 15-20 new aircraft and deliveries
of 15, Bagnato said, after Air Binter of Spain jump-started the
year with an order for six ATR 72-500s.
Strength in the used aircraft market helped balance ATR's economics
last year and has now become "very dynamic," according to Bagnato.
ATR delivered 43 secondhand aircraft in 2003, and is hoping for
at least as many this year.
Since the start of the program ATR has sold 682 new
aircraft (380 ATR-42s and 302 ATR 72s) to 115 airlines. By the end
of 2003 it had delivered 661 (372 ATR 42s and 289 ATR 72s).
ATR, an equal partnership between Finmeccanica's Alenia
Aeronautica and EADS, reorganized as a commercial company in mid-2001
from a marketing cooperation. The restructuring brought industrial
flexibility that Bagnato said shortened lead times and allows rapid
adjustment of production rates to meet market conditions. ATR is
at Chalet A24 here at the show.
—John Morris
NOTEWORTHY
A third customer may be in the works for ATR's MP maritime
patrol version of the turboprop regional airliner, according
to CEO Filippo Bagnato. Discussions are under way, he told
Show News.
The ATR42MP uses an integrated sensor suite developed and
manufactured by Alenia Difesa. Italy's defense ministry has
three aircraft that are armed with a fixed, forward-facing
gun mounted in the landing gear pod on the port side, and
the Italian Coast Guard operates two unarmed maritime patrol
ATR 42s.
"The requirement is definitely there for the
surveillance version, " Bagnato said. But he is the first
to admit that orders have been slow in coming.
The maritime patrol versions of the ATR have
been developed by Alenia Aeronautica and its Aeronavali subsidiary.
They feature fully integrated mission systems by Finmeccanica
companies.
