AVIONS DE TRANSPORT REGIONAL INTEGRATED

First Aerospatiale/Aeritalia (later Alenia) agreement July 1980; ATR programme started 4 November 1981; Groupement d'Intéret Economique (50:50 joint management company) formally established 5 February 1982 to develop ATR series of transport aircraft. Assembly or licensed production by Xian Aircraft in a new factory at Shenzhen, near Hong Kong, was discussed, but not pursued; Xian already produces components for ATR. Fuselage and wing production remain subcontracted to Alenia Aeronautica and EADS France respectively.
ATR marketing and support office opened in Washington 15 July 1986; ATR airline support centre in Singapore opened 18 November 1988; ATR Training Centre opened 1 July 1989; these functions taken over by AI(R) from 1996, but returned when this joint venture with BAe was dissolved on 1 July 1998. Phased production lines introduced in 1999 have reduced delivery times to three months from one year. The 600th ATR was delivered to Air Dolomiti on 28 April 2000.
The ATR family logged its 10 millionth flight on 10 October 2000. Sales by 17 June 2003 totalled 376 ATR 42s and 301 ATR 72s, or 677 in all, of which 369 ATR 42s and 287 ATR 72s had been delivered to 113 operators in 73 countries, including 2002 deliveries of five and 14 respectively. The company is planning to reach proposed ICAO Stage 4 noise levels which become effective on 1 January 2006. In 2002, ATR developed a modified internal door designed to resist unauthorised flight deck incursions, in anticipation of the FAA's 9 April 2003 deadline for all airliners to be retrofitted to this standard. By mid-2002, ATR had received 100 firm orders for the modified door from American Eagle (first customer), Finnair, Jet Airways and Trans States Airlines. The new door is resistant to forcible impacts of up to 300J and penetration of 9 mm and 44 Magnun ammunition.
ATR's Asset Management arm is responsible for second-hand sales.
ATR expected to have become a single corporate entity by early 1999 but this did not materialise until 1 June 2001 with the formal establishment of ATR Integrated combining the activities of the two partners, stil with GIE status and around 500 employees. Holding is 50 per cent each. Workforce 570 in June 2003.

Participating companies:

• Alenia Aeronautica (Italy)
• EADS (International)