Aviation Outlook: ATR sees large gap in MENA fleets to grow turboprop opportunities

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Speaking at the Aviation Outlook MENA conference in Dubai today Bertrand Pabon, ATR’s manager of market strategy said that the utilisation of the turboprops was much lower in the region than elsewhere in the world.

“Usually we see an average of 38% turboprop versus narrowbodies in the regional markets  but in the Middle East the average is as low as 22%.   There is clearly room to grow,” Pabon said.

A study by ATR showed that there are currently 257 routes operating in the region over distances below 300nm – of these 30% are international, the rest are domestic, Pabon said. “But importantly for us, 50 of these short routes are served with narrowbody aircraft and are not yet served by a daily flight. If you look at passenger demands then a regional market needs twice daily flights as a minimum.”

Pabon said that airlines in the region need to look at exploring the smaller markets.  “There is the offer of additional opportunities,” he said “No geographical constraints but hidden opportunities in areas such as adventurous luxury leisure, hostile area support, remote estate service. “

The two ATR models : the 70-seater ATR-72 and the 50-seater ATR-42 have a single type rating and a capability for short take off and landing.

The new dash 600 aircraft will be even more effective in hot and high conditions and will a capability to lift more load from even shorter runways with a fuel burn of just three litres for 100km per passenger.

  “We have the only western 50-seater aircraft in production,” Pabon said. “The economic case is compelling. It provides the lowest seat of all regional aircraft and is optimised for short haul travel leading to 30% lower operational cost than a jet.”

The dash 600 aircraft featured avionics derived from Thales systems used on the A380 and will be the type of system that the A350 will use. “It is the most modern glass cockpit in regional aviation,” he said.

The cabin has also been designed for comfort and style with a new interior.

“Thirty new airports will be opened in India because of this airplane,” Pabon said, “It can change a market.”