ATR HAS delivered the 1,000th ATR 72 aircraft to the low-cost carrier IndiGo. The aircraft, VT-IYJ (msn 1496) is the tenth ATR to be received by the Indian airline since it received its first example of the turboprop in November 2017.
The manufacturer said the delivery “consolidates the ATR 72 as an outstanding commercial success and a benchmark in the regional aviation market”.
ATR launched the ATR 72 in 1986, with the first customer ATR 72-200 delivery to Finnair following in 1989. The company handed over 187 examples of this first-generation aircraft before handing over 365 examples of the second-generation ATR 72-500, with the first delivery taking place in 1997 to American Eagle. The current ATR 72-600 launched in 2009 and entered service in 2011 (Royal Air Maroc was the first operator) and the latest IndiGo delivery means ATR has now delivered 448 examples of the newest model.
The ATR 72 is the best-selling regional aircraft in production today. IndiGo is set to take delivery of a further two ATR 72-600s, which will be VT-IYK (msn 1502) and VT-IYL (msn 1509).
