Dave Willis profiles ATR, the successful French-based company that builds turboprop airliners.
Toulouse-Blagnac Airport is home to the production facility of Avions de Transport Régional (ATR), which has been making turboprop regional airliners since late 1985.
Aérospatiale of France and Italian aerospace company Aeritalia signed a co-operative agreement on November 4, 1981 to produce the twin-engined ATR 42 – the designation derived from the number of passengers it was expected to carry – which was aimed at regional or commuter airlines and those working as ‘feeder’ carriers, ferrying passengers to the hubs for onward connections.
