News
29 August 2008
MASwings takes delivery of first ATR 72-500
Malaysia Airlines’ subsidiary, MASwings celebrated today the delivery of its first ATR 72-500 in a ceremony held in Toulouse.
MASwings has put in a firm order of 7 ATR 72-500 valued at US$128.1 million with options for an additional 3 aircraft valued at US$54.9 million.
The other 6 aircraft will be delivered next year and all the planes will be deployed in the 2 states of Sabah and Sarawak in Borneo.
At the same ceremony, Firefly, another subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines, took delivery of its second ATR 72-500. The community airline has a total order of 10 ATR 72-500 valued at US$183 million with an option to purchase 10 more.
These aircraft are the first ATRs to operate in Malaysia.
MASwings Managing Director, Dr. Amin Khan said, “This fleet renewal is taken in response to the Malaysian Government's request to enable MASwings to expand its services in Sabah and Sarawak.
“These new aircraft will enable us to expand our capacity by 150%, meeting the future demand in air travel within Sabah and Sarawak, and connect more customers worldwide to the two states which are ideal destinations for business and tourism.”
He added, “The preservation of the environment in Borneo is one of our major concerns. With the environmentally friendly ATR 72-500s, we will be contributing to the development of the sustainable tourism in East Malaysia.”
Present at the event were Sarawak’s Minister - Urban Development & Tourism, Datuk Michael Manyin; Firefly’s Managing Director, Mr. Eddy Leong and ATR Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Stéphane Mayer.
Mayer underlined the importance of Malaysia in the recent success of ATR and said, “With the delivery of these aircraft, we are entering a new market with strong growth potential, while strengthening our position as the leader in the turboprop market in Asia”.
He added, “We are also delighted at the further developments for the ATR fleet in the region with the establishment of the ATR Training Center at Subang airport in partnership with Malaysia Airlines, a worldwide known and respected major carrier.”
Since the beginning of the programme, ATR has sold 958 aircraft (419 ATR 42s and 539 ATR 72s) and has delivered 786 (401 ATR 42s and 385 ATR 72s), thus posting a current backlog of 172 aircraft.
The ATR –500 series:
With its ATR 42-500 and ATR 72-500, ATR supplies state-of-the-art aircraft with the highest standards of comfort. The advanced six-blade propeller provides remarkably low noise levels. All ATR models are compliant with noise regulations and have a large margin with regard to Chapter IV (ICAO) noise regulations, effective 1st January 2006. The ‘-500 series’ feature the lowest fuel consumption per passenger and CO2 emissions of the regional aviation, thus contributing to make ATR the “Green Player” of the regional aviation.
About ATR:
Toulouse, Southern France-based regional aircraft manufacturer ATR is the world leader in the 50 to 74-seat turboprop market. ATR is an equal partnership between Alenia Aeronautica (Finmeccanica group) and EADS.
Issued by:
MASwings, Sarawak
For more information on this release, members of the media can contact:
Shao Yi,
MASwings Press Contact
ATR Press Contact
Tel: +33 5 62 21 66 14
E-mail: presse@atr.fr