Air Deccan takes delivery of its first new ATR 72-500 aircraft
Le Bourget, 15 June 2005
Air Deccan, the first Indian low-cost airline, took delivery of its first new ATR 72-500 aircraft, this morning, at Paris Air Show. This aircraft, delivered with a 72-seat configuration, is the first one of an order for 30 new ATR 72-500 aircraft signed, in February, at Aero India in Bangalore (India).
The delivery ceremony took place on the static with Air Deccan’s Managing director Capt Gopinath and Filippo Bagnato, Chief Executive Officer of ATR. On this occasion, Air Deccan also confirmed the order announced in January for 6 second-hand ATR aircraft (3 ATR 42-500 and 3 ATR 72-500).
Capt Gopinath stated: “I am delighted to take delivery of the first new ATR 72-500. This aircraft will help us to satisfy the increase in traffic and to carry on with our plan to connect all main Indian cities to the major metropolitan centres at a very low fare.”
Filippo Bagnato added: “With the ATR 72-500 fleet, Air Deccan will operate aircraft that are ideally-suited to satisfy the Indian market needs.”
The Indian airline started its operations with four second-hand ATR 42s in August 2003. The Air Deccan ATR fleet has now grown to 12 ATR 42 aircraft, now to be expanded with the just delivered ATR 72-500 aircraft. ATR aircraft are very well adapted for feeder routes in India and can access most of the airports unable to be operated by jets. Furthermore, they are well known to be the most economics aircraft in their category.
ATR currently holds a market share in India of 60% in the 20 to 90-seat regional market and of the turboprop sector the market share is 73%.
In the Asia Pacific area, 104 ATRs are currently operated by 23 airlines.
About Air Deccan
The Bangalore-based airline, Air Deccan, is a division of Deccan Aviation Pvt. Ltd. that was created in 1997. The low-cost carrier currently operates 12 ATR 42s on its domestic network with links to cities such as Hubli, Belgaum, Hyderabad, Tirupati, Chennai, Derhadun, Jaipur, Goa, Vijayawada, Mangalore and Amritsar…from Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai and New Delhi.
About ATR
Toulouse, Southern France-based regional aircraft manufacturer Avions de Transport Régional (ATR) is the world leader in the 50 to 70-seat turboprop market. ATR is an equal partnership between Alenia Aeronautica (Finmeccanica group) and EADS. ATR is certified ISO 9001-2000 and EN/AS/JISQ 9100, the worldwide quality standard in the field of aeronautics.
Contact:
| Frédéric Lahache |
Tel.: 33 5 62 21 60 61 Fax: 33 5 62 21 68 00 www.atraircraft.com mailto: frederic.lahache@atr.fr |
