‘That’s where we excel.’ ATR eyes broader APAC push after landmark FLY91 deal

For ATR Senior Vice President Commercial Alexis Vidal, the recent $1 billion order from Indian regional carrier FLY91, the manufacturer’s largest in nearly a decade, is more than just a headline. It is proof that the Franco-Italian turboprop maker’s playbook of enabling low-cost regional connectivity in underserved markets is working. It is also an indication of where the company would like to focus on future growth.Speaking to AeroTime shortly after FLY91 placed a firm order for 40 ATR 72-600 aircraft, Vidal was candid about what the deal represents, both for ATR and for a region that continues to shape much of the company’s growth trajectory.

“3% is effectively pretty low in terms of market share for air travel,” Vidal said, referring to the fact that only about 3% of India’s 4.6 billion annual intercity journeys are currently made by air. “In other jurisdictions, we would rather see up to seven, eight, or 9%, so that tells you how much potential there is, which is why I think we are successful in India as ATR.”

ATR 72-600 aircraftThe India play, and the government behind it

The FLY91 deal did not come out of nowhere. It sits on top of years of policy work by the Indian government under its UDAN regional connectivity scheme, which was launched roughly a decade ago to foster regional air travel in a country where road and rail have historically dominated intercity movement.

But policy alone, Vidal argued, does not put airplanes in the sky.

“One thing is to have a policy making which is supportive as an example of regional aviation,” he said. “But another thing is to have the tools to enable that vision to be materialized into concrete actions. And the beauty of the ATR, which is a turboprop aircraft, is that it’s the lowest cost per seat and the lowest cost per trip on such short sectors, and therefore it’s a great tool for the airlines and the government to implement that policy.”

ATR has been on the ground in India for more than 25 years, Vidal noted, well before UDAN, India’s regional connectivity scheme designed to make air travel accessible to smaller cities and underserved regions, existed. 

That long presence has translated into a growing ecosystem of engineers, technicians, pilots, and maintenance crews all familiar with the ATR platform.

“The ecosystem itself, whether ATR or the airlines or the maintenance shops, is deploying more and more capacity,” Vidal said, adding that ATR plans to continue building its footprint in the country as demand grows.

Why the ATR 72-600 fits India’s short, low-cost sectors

Asked why FLY91 chose the ATR 72-600 specifically for the Indian market, Vidal returned to the fundamentals of turboprop technology.

“To make it super simple, the more air you move with a large propeller, and the slower you move the air, the more efficient it is,” he explained. “An ATR is basically consuming 45% less fuel compared to a jet aircraft of the same size. 

“That’s immense in terms of cost saving, in terms of CO2 emissions reduction because it’s proportionate, and that makes the ATR aircraft the most adapted to short sectors and thin routes.”

That combination, low operating cost and the ability to serve smaller markets, is the key to converting surface travelers into air passengers, Vidal said. Passengers who currently spend 10 or 12 hours on a bus or a train will only switch to air travel if the ticket is affordable.

“You need to make sure that your platform, your aircraft, is cost efficient,” he continued. “Otherwise, the price of the ticket is just not affordable to the passengers. That’s the challenge that we have, which is why I think our platform is well suited for being what I call the first aircraft or the first air travel experience for passengers.”

A regional strategy shaped by geography

While India dominated much of the conversation, Vidal was quick to point out that the same fundamentals apply across the broader Asia Pacific region. 

He described the appeal of ATR aircraft in APAC as the intersection of three factors: the inherent efficiency of the platform, the region’s demanding geography, and its growing demographics.

“We have a geography which is sometimes quite challenging for larger aircraft,” he said. “We have a lot of islands, archipelagoes, we have a lot of mountainous areas, and that makes the ATR a perfect fit. As an example, for the Philippines, for Indonesia, for Malaysia, and many other countries in Asia Pacific.”

He also framed ATR’s role in the region as one of route creation, rather than route defense. Where jet aircraft need established traffic to justify service, turboprops can open entirely new routes and let them mature.

“That’s where ATR excels and jet aircraft cannot,” he said. “Which is to create new routes to test whether traffic is enough for the routes to be viable economically. And that’s where we excel.”

Vidal added that when those routes do mature, ATR takes the upscaling to larger platforms as a complement.

“We are also part of the Airbus family. We take pride when we develop new routes that those routes are upscaled into larger aircraft like Airbus’s narrowbodies,” he said, pointing to the Philippines as an example of a market where that progression has played out.

Where APAC growth goes next

Beyond India, Vidal identified Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia as clear areas of long-term potential. Indonesia’s economic situation has been challenging in recent years, he acknowledged, but he described the archipelago as a market ATR continues to bet on.

“We continue to believe Indonesia will be a great market for adding more capacity on the ATR side,” he said.

Malaysia, both peninsular and the East Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah, is another. 

In May 2026, ATR marked a milestone in Malaysia with the delivery of the world’s first ATR 72-600 in the manufacturer’s new “HighLine” All-Business Class configuration to Berjaya Air. 

The delivery signaled a broader shift toward blending regional turboprop efficiency with a more premium, semi-private travel experience, an idea Vidal said reflects the kind of vision he wants to see more of.

Berjaya AIr ATR 72-600 all business class“We believe that’s the kind of project and vision from the airlines that are first valuable for us, but second, that is going to happen,” Vidal said.

He also mentioned Australia as a market to watch, hinting at signs that the country could reopen for regional aviation and turboprop operations after years of narrowbody-dominated service.

Asked whether Southeast Asia’s aging single-aisle fleet, with an average age now around 10.5 years, could create openings for turboprops to step in on routes where jets are becoming uneconomical, Vidal said the pattern has played out elsewhere, particularly in the United States.

“The market has eliminated about 800 routes in the last 15 years domestically because they were employing jet aircraft that were not economical for those routes,” he said, pointing to operator JSX, which is now deploying ATR 42-600s under a Part 135 model to restore lost regional connectivity in the US.

Sustainability as a growing part of the conversation

While cost has always been the dominant factor in APAC airline conversations, Vidal said sustainability is increasingly part of the equation.

“It’s more and more present and we are glad about it,” he said. “For any airline to be successful, they need a platform that is economically viable for their operations. That’s where first and foremost ATR excels. But second, which is a bit less economical but more societal, we want to deploy a capacity that is clearly more responsible, more sustainable for the environment.”

The ATR platform’s 45% lower CO2 emissions compared to similarly sized regional jets, he said, is becoming a relevant value proposition not just for airlines, but also for governments and aviation authorities across the region.

“That plays an important role in the conversations we are having with airlines,” he said. “But also with governments and authorities alike.”The post ‘That’s where we excel.’ ATR eyes broader APAC push after landmark FLY91 deal appeared first on AeroTime.

Go to Source