Airlines ATR delivers 1600th aircraft to Air New Zealand

This month, European aircraft manufacturer ATR is celebrating its 40-year anniversary and suitably the company was now able to celebrate another milestone in its history by reaching the delivery of aircraft number 1600.

The number represents ATR´s continued progression and development in the aviation industry and especially the maturity of the ATR aircraft programme, which now has customers across the world that operate the aircraft in different geographical environments.

Launch customer of the 1600th ATR is Air New Zealand, the third largest ATR operator in the world. The aircraft is an ATR 72-600 and will be used to serve domestic destinations within New Zealand. It is also the last of 29 aircraft ordered by the carrier.

ATR and Air New Zealand have been partners for over 25 years with the first generation of ATRs and over the years, the companies have just continued their work together. With the help of the airline, ATR was able to introduce new innovations and technologies to the branch like new avionics suites.

Air New Zealand’s Chief Executive Greg Foran said: “We really value our longstanding relationship with ATR and this will be the 29th to join our fleet since 2012. During that time the fleet of ATRs have boosted the airline’s regional network by over 50 per cent and they have proven extremely efficient. Our ATRs have helped us build one of the best domestic networks in the world and have flown an estimated 33.5 million passengers on more than 636,000 flights around New Zealand.”

Stefano Bortoli, CEO of ATR added: “We are of course proud of this achievement, and I recognize the hard work and dedication of every ATR employee, past and present, in getting us here. As we have recently celebrated 40 years of making a difference, it is the perfect moment to think about how the ATR has supported communities throughout New Zealand.“

Air New Zealand is the main carrier for the country and currently offers scheduled passenger services to 20 main centres and regions across New Zealand. The airline operates flights with 29 ATR 72s, 24 Airbus A320s, seven A321s, 14 Boeing 787s and 23 DHC-8.