ATR has ended its effort to develop a short take-off and landing (STOL) variant of the ATR 42-600 after failing to secure as many orders as it had hoped.
The Toulouse-based regional turboprop manufacturer says “a comprehensive review of market conditions, technological advancements and future projections shows a reduced addressable market for the variant compared to the initial forecast”.
It adds that in Southeast Asia the number of airports it estimated would require STOL-capable aircraft has “significantly decreased” because of new airport development or runway extension programmes in recent years. “This trend is mirrored in other key target markets,” it says.
ATR chief executive Nathalie Tarnaud Laude says the decision to axe the ATR 42-600S project “reflects our dedication to operational efficiency and long-term sustainability” and that it will “enable ATR to shift efforts towards enhancing existing product lines, advancing technological innovation and addressing emerging market demands more efficiently”.
Among the Airbus and Leonardo joint venture’s priorities, she says, is breaking into the North American market, where it hopes to “replace ageing fleets of regional jets and boost point-to-point regional connections”.
Laude adds.: “We are now entering the next phase of growth and improvement where we will focus on further investing in the competitiveness of our market-leading products, the ATR 42-600 and 72-600. Delivering strong value propositions to regional airlines has always been central to our success.”
ATR resumed flight testing of the ATR 42-600S in December 2023, after a hiatus forced by a design reconfiguration – and had hoped to have the variant certificated by June next year. It launched the STOL version in 2019 when the original certification target was 2022.
Early last year, it reported an orderbook for 21 STOL aircraft, a total that had remained virtually the same since the launch.
Laude says ATR expects to deliver a “similar number” of aircraft in 2024 as last year, when it shipped 36. Like other aircraft manufacturers, it has been hit by supply chain hitches.
In the nine months to end September, ATR handed over 20 aircraft, against 21 in the same period a year earlier, data from Leonardo shows.
