We target 10-15 aircraft deliveries to Indian airlines annually: ATR Asia-Pacific sales chief    

Our history of serving the Indian aviation market spans over two decades. In 1999, the first ATR aircraft began domestic operations, boosting regional connectivity. Today, India’s combined 780-plus-strong commercial fleet includes 66 ATRs, flown by Alliance Air and IndiGo. The ATR-72 dominates as the third most popular type after the A320 and A321 families. 

India’s aviation boom makes it Asia’s fastest growing market. From 2013 to 2023, the number of ATR aircraft increased by 120 per cent, as India nearly tripled local routes — underscoring ongoing demand for regional connectivity. Five ATRs were inducted by Indian operators in 2023, and around 75 in the last 10 years. 

I can’t tell you specifically how this year will unfold, but what I can say is that we see a lot of potential in India, from direct orders to aircraft orders placed by lessors. We are targeting 10-15 aircraft deliveries per year on average within the next five years 

ATR aircraft have played, and will continue playing a vital access to air travel across India. The accessibility to challenging airfield is also key in the success of ATR in India. Currently, ATRs are the only modern aircraft capable of flying to short-runway airports such as Kullu, Shimla or Agatti in Lakshadweep. Their blend of outstanding economics, passenger comfort, reliability and sustainability remains unrivalled. Most of the interest we currently see is in ATR-72-600 version. The ATR-42 is also a great platform, which Alliance Air is using to serve challenging terrains in the Himalayas. We forecast a market requirement of 300 new passenger turboprops over the next two decades to serve India’s aviation development. 

We are in constant discussions with our suppliers to manage priorities. We also increased our investments in stock to have parts ready even in a scenario where lead times are growing. In addition, we dismantled three aircraft to reuse the components, qualified alternative suppliers mainly for urgent simple parts. All in all, we expect 2024 to remain challenging, but we also expect to progressively emerge out of this supply chain crisis, probably more towards the end of the year. 

Our training programmes adhere to competency-based training principles, ensuring excellence and customisation. We have three ATR training centres in Singapore, Paris, and Miami. To further enhance training capabilities, ATR is increasing its full flight simulator capacity by 15 per cent in 2024 compared to the previous year.