ATR 42 / 72
Illustrative image; it may differ from the actual aircraft.The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR. The number "72" in its name is derived from the aircraft's typical standard seating capacity of 72 passengers. The ATR 72 has also been used as a corporate transport, cargo aircraft, and maritime patrol aircraft. To date, all of the ATR series have been completed at the company's final assembly line in Toulouse, France; ATR benefits from sharing resources and technology with Airbus SE, which has continued to hold a 50% interest in the company. Successive models of the ATR 72 have been developed. Typical updates have included new avionics, such as a glass cockpit, and the adoption of newer engine versions to deliver enhanced performance, such as increased efficiency and reliability and reductions in operating costs.
Specifications
Figures for the ATR 72-600 variant, the most representative of the family
The type first flew in 1984 (42 years ago) · About 1,800 units built · Still in production
Figures for the type, not for this particular aircraft: each variant and each configuration changes something. They are shown in both systems used in aviation.
The story of the type
History
ATR (French: Avions de transport régional or Italian: Aerei da Trasporto Regionale) is a joint venture formed by French aerospace company Aérospatiale (now part of Airbus) and Italian aviation conglomerate Aeritalia (now Leonardo S.p.A.). During the 1980s, French aerospace company Aérospatiale and Italian aviation conglomerate Aeritalia merged their work on a new generation of regional aircraft. The new jointly owned company, ATR, was established to develop, manufacture, and market their first airliner, later designated the ATR 42. On 16 August 1984, the first model of the series, designated as the ATR 42-300, performed the type's maiden flight. During the mid-1980s, the ATR 72 was developed as a stretched variant of the ATR 42. On 27 October 1989, Finnish airline Finnair became the first airline to operate this type in revenue service.
Development
Origins
During the mid-1980s, ATR sought to introduce a larger airliner with increased capacity over its earlier products. This new regional airliner, designated as the ATR 72, was directly developed from the earlier ATR 42 and had much in common with it; the principal difference between the two airliners was an increase in the maximum seating capacity from 48 to 78 passengers. This was principally achieved by stretching the fuselage by 4.5 m (15 ft), along with an increase of the wingspan, the use of more powerful engines, and increased fuel capacity by about 10%.
On 15 January 1986, the launch of the stretched ATR 72 programme was announced. On 27 October 1988, the prototype performed its maiden flight. One year later, on 25 September 1989, the ATR 72 received airworthiness certification from the French Directorate General for Civil Aviation. The following month, on 27 October 1989, Finnish airline Finnair became the first to introduce the aircraft into service. Since the ATR 72 is assembled on the same production line as the smaller ATR 42, along with sharing the majority of subsystems, components, and manufacturing techniques, the two types support each other to remain in production. This factor may have been crucial as, by 2015, the ATR 42 was the only 50-seat regional aircraft still being manufactured.
In 2000, the combined global ATR fleet reached its 10,000,000th flight, during which a distance of around 4 billion km (2.5 billion statute miles) and around 450 million passengers had flown on board ATR-built aircraft. The 2007 production set a new record for the programme's sales; a total of 113 new ATR aircraft had been ordered during a single year. By the end of 2014, ATR had received 1,000 orders for the type and delivered 754, leaving a backlog of 246 aircraft.
Various organisational changes were implemented within the ATR company. On 10 July 1998, ATR launched its new Asset Management Department. In June 2001, EADS and Alenia Aeronautica, ATR's parent companies, decided to reinforce their partnership, regrouping all industrial activities related to regional airliners into the ATR consortium. On 3 October 2003, ATR became one of the first aircraft manufacturers to be certified under ISO 9000-2000 and EN/AS/JISQ 9100, the worldwide quality standard for the aeronautics industry. During July 2004, ATR and Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer announced a co-operation agreement on the AEROChain Portal to deliver improved customer service. During April 2009, ATR announced the launch of its 'Door-2-Door' service as a new option in its comprehensive customer services range.
In 2017, the 72-600 unit cost was US$26 million.
Further development
As of October 2007, the current production version is the ATR 72-600 series. On 2 October 2007, ATR CEO Stéphane Mayer announced the launch of the -600 series aircraft; the ATR 42-600 and ATR 72-600 featured various improvements to increase efficiency, dispatch reliability, lower fuel burn, and operating costs. While broadly similar to the earlier -500 model, differences include adopting improved PW127M engines, a new glass cockpit, and various other minor improvements.
Since 2008, ATR has been a participant in the European Clean Sky Joint Technology Initiative. On 8 July 2015, an ATR 72-600 'green' technology demonstrator performed its first flight; the demonstrator was used for testing new composite materials for insulation, air conditioning systems, electrical distribution systems, and energy dispersal modifications to evaluate their effect on the aircraft's overall efficiency as a contribution to the Clean Sky initiative. ATR's senior vice-president for engineering Alessandro Amendola indicated that the elimination of all uses of bleed air was a key aim in the designing of an all-electric architecture as well as improving engine efficiency; the minimising of peak electrical loads was also a stated priority.
Variants
Two subtypes were marketed as the 100 series (-100).
ATR 72–101
Initial production variant with front and rear passenger doors, powered by two PW124B engines and certified in September 1989.
ATR 72–102
Initial production variant with a front cargo door and a rear passenger door, powered by two PW124B engines and certified in December 1989.
Two sub-types were marketed as the 200 series (-200). The -200 was the original production version, powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PW124B engines rated at 2,400 shp (1,800 kW).
ATR 72-201
Higher maximum take-off weight variant of the -101, a PW124B-powered variant certified in September 1989.
ATR 72-202
Higher maximum take-off weight variant of the -102, a PW124B-powered variant certified in December 1989.
Two subtypes were marketed as the 210 series (-210): the -211 (and with an enlarged cargo door, called the -212) is a -200 with PW127 engines producing 2,750 shp (2,050 kW) each for improved performance in hot and high-altitude conditions. The subtypes differ in the type of doors and emergency exits.
ATR 72-211
PW127-powered variant certified in December 1992.
ATR 72-212
PW127-powered variant certified in December 1992.
Certified in January 1997 and fitted with either PW127F or PW127M engines, the -212A is an upgraded version of the -210 using six-bladed propellers on otherwise identical PW127F engines. Other improvements include higher maximum weights and superior performance, as well as greater automation of power management to ease pilot workload.
ATR 72-500
Initial marketing name for the ATR 72-212A.
ATR 72-600
Marketing name for ATR 72-212A with different equipment fit. The -600 series aircraft was announced in October 2007; the first deliveries were planned for the second half of 2010. The prototype ATR 72-600 first flew on 24 July 2009; it had been converted from an ATR 72-500.
The ATR 72-600 features several improvements. It is powered by the new PW127M engines, which enable a 5% increase in takeoff power via a "boost function" used only when called for by takeoff conditions. The flight deck features five wide LCD screens (improving on the EFIS of earlier versions). A multi-purpose computer (MPC) aims at increasing flight safety and operational capabilities, and new Thales-made avionics provide Required Navigation Performance (RNP) capabilities. It also features lighter seats and larger overhead baggage bins. In December 2015, the EASA approved a new high-density seating layout, raising the maximum capacity from 74 to 78 seats.
During the 2021 Dubai Airshow in mid-November 2021, ATR debuted the new ATR 72-600 engine which is powered by new PW127XT powerplants with 20% lower maintenance cost and 3% lower fuel consumption than the predecessor PW127M powerplant.
The ATR 72-600 HighLine is the same as the ATR 72-600 however it featured an executive cabin layout.
The ATR 72MP is an ATR 72-600 derivative developed by Leonardo for search and rescue, maritime patrol, command and control, communication, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR).
Leonardo Electronics designed its Airborne Tactical Observation and Surveillance (ATOS) backbone to manage its sensors, combine their output in a tactical situation presented on up to four workstations.
The main sensors are
a multimode radar, also with active electronically scanned array (AESA) like the Leonardo Electronics Seaspray 7300;
an electro-optical turret (EO/IR);
an automatic identification system (AIS);
an airborne search and rescue direction finder (ASARS DF).
A tactical display is added to the glass cockpit and can be integrated with INS/GPS positioning systems and IFF transponder.
Three U/VHF radios, one HF radio and a wideband SATCOM are used for communications. Other sensors, systems and communications equipment can be integrated, like an electronic support measure (ESM) system.
Where this type is seen
From our logbook: 1 aircraft of this type documented at 42 airports.
A count of our own aircraft profiles, year by year, from the public United States flight records: it reflects what we have documented, not the airport’s total traffic.
Overview and history adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA) · technical figures from the manufacturer’s published specifications and standard aviation references
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This page was last updated on October 10, 2026
APA
Vuelopedia. (2026, October 10). ATR 42 / 72. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/model/atr
MLA
“ATR 42 / 72.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 10 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/model/atr. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.
Chicago
Vuelopedia. “ATR 42 / 72.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 10, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/model/atr.
Harvard
Vuelopedia (2026) ATR 42 / 72. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/model/atr (Accessed: 17 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{vuelopedia_en_model_atr,
author = {{Vuelopedia}},
title = {{ATR 42 / 72}},
publisher = {Fundación Poderia},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-10},
url = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/model/atr},
howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/model/atr}},
urldate = {2026-10-17},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-17}
}Wikipedia
{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/model/atr |title=ATR 42 / 72 |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-10 |access-date=2026-10-17 |language=en}}