ATR New Orders Soar to 157 Planes as Oil Prices Favor Turboprops

Avions de Transport Regional, the turboprop-plane venture of European Aeronautic, Defense & Space Co. and Finmeccanica SpA, had the highest order intake in its 30-year history as rising oil prices made the aircraft more attractive than less-efficient jet planes.

The manufacturer won orders for 157 planes last year, as well as options for 79 more turboprops, with the biggest portion coming from carriers in the Asia Pacific region, including ATR’s first order in Australia, Chief Executive Officer Filippo Bagnato said at a briefing today. ATR delivered 54 planes and had total revenue of $1.3 billion.

Demand for planes powered by turbo-propellers is soaring, particularly for regional routes in developing markets such as Indonesia and Latin America, driven by deregulation and an increase in air travel. ATR plans to deliver 72 planes in 2012, and “at least 80” in 2013, Bagnato said at the briefing in Paris. It handed over 51 planes in 2010.

Demand slowed to a trickle at the end of the 1990s as commuter airlines, especially in the U.S., turned to Embraer SA (EMBR3) and Bombardier Inc. for planes seating fewer than 100 passengers and providing faster, quieter flights. In the middle of the last decade, delivery numbers slumped to fewer than 20 planes a year.

The company’s backlog of planes on order and not yet delivered is at 224 aircraft worth $5 billion.

ATR is based in Toulouse, France, which is also home to EADS’s Airbus SAS unit, the world’s biggest planemaker. The venture sells the 50-seat ATR 42-600 and the 74-seat ATR 72-600 turboprop models.

Source:  http://www.bloomberg.com