Aviator Daily News
Toulouse, 29 November 2022 – The world’s number one regional aircraft manufacturer ATR, today delivers the first ATR 72-600 with the brand new PW127XT engine to launch customer Air Corsica.
Following a firm order for five new ATR 72-600, announced a year ago at the Dubai Airshow, this delivery marks an important step in Air Corsica’s fleet upgrade and sustainable development, ensuring the airline will continue to fulfill its public service mission with the most economical, reliable and responsible aircraft on the market.
A clear testament of ATR’s commitment to investing in technology that brings affordable and sustainable regional mobility, the new PW127XT engine offers a 20% reduction in maintenance costs and a 3% improvement in fuel consumption compared to the PW127M – which means -45% fuel burn and CO2 emissions compared to similar-size regional jets.
Air Corsica’s passengers will benefit from high cabin comfort and further innovation as the aircraft will be equipped with USB ports for charging electronic devices during the flight – a first in ATR cabins.
The airline will also be optimising the maintenance of its entire ATR fleet through a 12-year Global Maintenance Agreement. This pay-by-the-hour contract covers the repair, overhaul and pooling services of Line Replaceable Units, and includes the propellers, landing gears and leading edges availability and maintenance, plus a long-term price agreement for the provision of over 2,000 spare parts.
Marie-Hélène Casanova-Servas, President of Air Corsica’s Supervisory Board, commented: “ATRs are central to our model of air travel in Corsica. They have proven to be the right product for our short-haul operations, enabling us to limit our impact on the island’s pristine environment and to meet our passengers’ demand for quick, frequent, reliable, and yet lower emission, air travel. Selecting both the latest generation turboprop, the newest engine on the market to equip it, and the best maintenance programme to optimise its reliability, makes perfect business sense, and moreover, is the most responsible choice.”
ATR Chief Executive Officer Nathalie Tarnaud Laude said: “Air Corsica and ATR have grown together ever since their first ATR flight in 1990. Over decades they have shown commitment to flying the latest technology and most responsible aircraft available. As our product evolves to meet new market needs and incorporates further innovations, it remains the most reliable, efficient, cost-effective aircraft on the market, as well as the most sustainable platform to operate regional routes. This makes ATR and Air Corsica a perfect match.”
Increasing fuel prices, growing carbon taxation, as well as greater passenger demand for lower emission travel all mean that the aviation industry is naturally favouring low-carbon emitting
aircraft such as ATR turboprops. Studies show that, even today, if all regional jets in Europe were replaced by turboprops, the reduction of CO2 emissions would be equivalent to the amount of CO2 removed by a forest of around 5000 km2 – approximately the surface covered by forests in Corsica.
ATR
Silk Avia, which will be operating as a low-cost airline, is owned by Uzbekistan Airports and has the main goal to stimulate domestic tourism and business development. The airline is set to be launching early next year with three second-hand ATR72-600s and hopes to grow to a fleet of twelve ATR72-600s by 2025.
The livery of the start-up is inspired on colorful satin fabrics that are commonly sold in the region. The plan is to have various varieties of the livery on its fleet.
Illustration by ATR.
Two new private air operators, Air Astra and Fly Dhaka, are all set to spread their wings in the sky of Bangladesh.
Being the third private domestic airline in Bangladesh, Air Astra is hoping to launch its flight operations in different domestic destinations from January, 2022.
Another private airliner called Fly Dhaka is also planning to operate its commercial flights on various domestic routes soon though the airliner authorities kept its launching schedule secret as yet. This will be the fourth private domestic airline in Bangladesh.
Apart from the national flag carrier – Biman Bangladesh Airlines – two other private airlines, namely US-Bangla and Novoair, are currently operating flights.
According to Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh sources, Fly Dhaka has already submitted an application to the regulatory authorities to get its license while Air Astra will also follow the same procedure by this month to obtain the required license from CAAB for moving ahead as per its plan. Both the two new air operators are learnt to bargain with a leasing company to lease ATR 72-600 (Dash) aircraft.
“Though we were planning to start our aviation business last year, Covid-19 situation has delayed our official work in this regard. However, recently we have formed a board of directors with a foreign investor and recruited nine aviation experts as per CAAB direction before submitting our application. Hopefully, Air Astra can fly in January, next year with highly ensured air safety measures and better passenger services,” said Imran Asif, chief executive officer of Air Astra, while talking to The Business Post.
Imran also said, “We are communicating with two aircraft leasing companies, one company has four aircraft and another has three aircraft as we are planning to operate flights on all seven domestic routes. If we can collect at least 4 aircraft by January, we will be able to operate flights to all the domestic destinations.”
Being the first private airlines operator of Bangladesh, Air Astra is keen to get the IOSA certification, an operational safety audit programme being conducted by International Air Transport Association, taking into consideration the passengers’ safety and security. Moreover, various benefits for corporate and business clients will be introduced for the first time in Bangladesh, he added.
While talking to The Business Post, former minister Anisul Islam Mahmud, who is one of the partners of Fly Dhaka, said, “We will formally announce the matter once all the procedure is completed.”
As per the civil aviation authority rules, airlines will get permission to operate international flights after operating domestic routes for at least one year. Thus, both Air Astra and Fly Dhaka can also spread their wings on international routes only after a successful year of their respective domestic operations.
Hasan Al Javed / businesspostbd.com
Photo: K M ABU BAKAR SIDDIQUE
S2-STB / ATR 72-212A(600)
