Regional aircraft maker ATR marked its 45th anniversary on Wednesday, saying it has sold more than 1,950 aircraft and delivered over 1,750 since its founding in 1981.

ATR said it was created on November 4, 1981, when Aérospatiale, now part of Airbus, and Aeritalia, now part of Leonardo, joined forces to develop aircraft for connecting regions efficiently and affordably. It said market studies at the time forecast demand for about 400 aircraft worldwide by 2000. The company now has 1,400 employees and describes itself as the global leader in regional aviation, with the world’s largest fleet of regional turboprops.

The company said its first aircraft, the ATR 42, first flew from Toulouse-Blagnac on August 16, 1984, and entered service with Air Littoral a year later. The larger ATR 72 was launched in 1986, flew for the first time in October 1988 and entered service the following year with Karair, a subsidiary of Finnair. ATR introduced its -500 series in 1995 and its -600 generation in 2011.

ATR said its aircraft serve very different markets. It cited India, where it says regional flights link secondary cities to larger economic centres, and Canada’s Nunavut territory, where its aircraft can use gravel or ice runways and carry food and supplies to isolated communities. It also noted Air Tahiti’s flights from Papeete to Moorea in 15 minutes and to Totegegie in three hours and 45 minutes.

In the United States, ATR said more than 800 regional air links have disappeared in the past two decades as traffic concentrated around major hubs. It said its turboprops could help restore direct links, which it estimates is a market for about 300 aircraft.

The company said ATR 72-600 aircraft built in Toulouse now use PW127XT engines and burn 45 percent less fuel than similarly sized regional jets. It said it is working on its EVO concept and taking part in European research programmes, including Clean Aviation, to cut emissions further.

Source: ATR