Avianca Takes Delivery of First ATR 72-600

The Latin-American carrier Avianca has taken delivery of the first of 15 ATR 72-600s that it commissioned in late 2012, with the signing of a contract which also included options for 15 more aircraft and which was valued at over US$ 700 million.

The aircraft delivered on Tuesday at the Paris Air Show is configured with 68 seats and is equipped with the new 'Armonia' cabin.

With the delivery of this aircraft, Avianca begins an ambitious process of developing and modernizing its regional network in Colombia and Central America.

Fabio Villegas Ramirez, Chief Executive Officer of Avianca, said, "We are very pleased to begin introducing the ATR 72-600 into our regional fleet. These aircraft will enable us to further increase our service standards while operating our regional routes even more efficiently. Their advantages in terms of passenger comfort, as well as their excellent performance on high-altitude runways perfectly match the requirements of our regional network. They will also enable us to increase our seating offer and reduce operating costs.”

Filippo Bagnato, Chief Executive Officer of ATR, added, "Latin America has proven to be a very important market for us recently. We have doubled our presence in this region in the last five years, positioning our aircraft as essential tools for the strong growth in regional traffic. We are particularly proud to be associated with Avianca, a company with a great reputation and prestige, and to be able to place reliability, comfort, low operating costs and low environmental footprints of the ATR 72-600 at the service of their growth in region."

Avianca will gradually replace the Fokker 50s and ATR 42s currently in service. The first ATR 72-600 will serve destinations including Barrancabermeja, Florencia, Manizales, Neiva, Pasto, Popayán, Tumaco and Yopal in Colombia. Later, other ATR 72-600s will be used to connect Guatemala City and Flores (Guatemala), Tegucigalpa, Roatán and San Pedro Sula (Honduras), San Salvador (El Salvador), Managua (Nicaragua) as well as San José and Liberia (Costa Rica).

Avianca currently operates a combined fleet of 151 aircraft, representing the second largest fleet in Latin America. It serves over one hundred destinations in Latin America, the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Europe.

Alongside with the introduction of the ATR 72-600s, ATR and Avianca are preparing to jointly set up the first ATR-approved pilot training center in South America, which will open in the coming months at Avianca facilities in Bogota, Colombia.

ATR 72-600

Passenger capacity: 68 to 74 seats
Engines: Pratt & Whitney Canada PW 127M
Maximum take-off power: 2750 horsepower per engine
Maximum take-off weight: 23,000 kg
Maximum load: 7,500 kg
Maximum range at full load: 900 nautical miles (1,665 km)