The aviation market is changing rapidly. Supply chain issues, conflicts and infrastructure developments are redefining what the global industry looks like and how it operates. This not only has an influence over the way we travel but also on what specifications airlines give manufacturers to build the planes we travel on. ATR, although in a very specific niche, is in no way immune to all of this. The changing aviation ecosystem has pushed the Franco-Italian manufacturer to abandon one particular development project.
The ATR42-600S Will Never Take to The Skies
ATR has a very streamlined aircraft lineup. It only produces and sells 2 aircraft types which are based on the same design and differ only in size and cabin capacity:
- The smaller ATR42
- The larger ATR72
The smaller ATR42 is ideal for airlines operating in and out of small airfields, where jets just cannot land due to runway length. Many of the airports in question are in Southeast Asia where in many cases airlines have to operate out of small older generation airports. Within this Southeast Asia niche ATR had identified another niche of super small airfields with extremely short runways for which it had started development of the ATR42-600S.
This variant was what is referred to as STOL capable, or in more comprehensible terms Short Take-Off and Landing capable. It would therefore be able to takeoff and land on even shorter runways than the standard ATR42-600 thanks to some design modifications.
However the project has been scrapped with the manufacturer looking to concentrate more on its mainline products.
Why is ATR Giving Up On Its STOL 42-600 Variant
As I mentioned above, the aviation market is changing rapidly. Governments, particularly in the Southeast Asia region, are moving to either extend runways or build more modern more capable airports nearby the older ones. Therefore, the need for an aircraft capable of serving super short runways is rapidly disappearing and the niche ATR had initially identified is soon to be too small to make financial sense to cater to. Also, the manufacturer mentioned supply chain issues which would take away resources from its mainline products hurting the business on the longer run.
Why Do Airlines Use Turboprops Such As the ATR42?
Although for longer flights jet planes are by far the most efficient option, in a couple of very specific instances turboprops become the most fuel efficient and the best operational solution:
- If the flight is particularly short a turboprop plane is more efficient. This type of plane is more fuel efficient at lower altitudes compared to jet aircraft which are more efficient at higher altitudes.
- If the departure or arrival airport has a very short runway. Turboprops can take off and land using much less runway than a jet engine.
Therefore, in regions around the world where these conditions exist airlines tend to prefer operating turboprops to jet engined planes.
