ATR has received European Aviation Safety Agency certification for the passenger-cargo "combi" version of the ATR 72-600.
The turboprop manufacturer unveiled the combi version at June's Paris air show with launch customer Airlines PNG of Papua New Guinea, which ordered eight aircraft of the type.
ATR says the new cabin configuration allows cargo volume for over 19m3 and nearly 3,000kg in weight.
The 44-passenger aircraft is equipped with four containers of 2.16m3 after removal of the forward seven rows.
"With more cargo space and excellent cost-per-trip economics, the 'combi' version opens a new path to develop new markets," says ATR senior vice-president of programmes Thierry Casale.
Delivery of the first unit is scheduled to take place by year-end. The combi version design is also offered for retrofit on existing aircraft.
During a briefing at the European Regions Airline Association (ERA) general assembly in Berlin yesterday, ATR chief executive Patrick de Castelbajac indicated that first delivery of the combi version could take place "at the end of this month or in November".
The second is to follow early next year.
De Castelbajac identifies Africa as a market for which the combi version could be "interesting". He says of the region: "We need to get back there, honestly. We are working on it now, trying to find what is the right combination – we're talking about the combi, cargo and pax, which in Africa seems to make a lot of sense."
ATR has "active campaigns" in Africa amid a "refocusing" of efforts there, he says.
Where infrastructure constrains other regions such as India, the issue in Africa is financing, notes de Castelbajac. "How can we build up financing for them: it's what we are exploring now as well."
De Castelbajac links Airlines PNG's acquisition of the combi to Papua New Guinea being an "isolated place, difficult to reach", creating a need for cargo and lift.
Additional reporting by Niall O'Keeffe in Berlin
Source: Cirium Dashboard
