Amakusa Airlines Takes Delivery of ATR 42-600

Japanese regional carrier, Amakusa Airlines, has taken delivery of a 48-seat ATR 42-600, the first of the type to start operations in Japan.

For almost 15 years, the airline has been providing regular scheduled regional services connecting the city of Amakusa off the coast of mainland Kyushu in southwestern Japan to large cities such as Kumamoto, Fukuoka, and Osaka.

The new ATR 42-600 has been purchased from Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC), and features ATR’s newest Armonia cabin and full-glass cockpit avionics.

With the introduction of this very first ATR aircraft in Japan, Amakusa will replace its current 39-seat turboprop.

Takashi Yoshimura President of Amakusa Airlines, said, “We are honored to debut the ATR in Japan, and to provide our passengers with an aircraft that has an outstanding reputation in terms of comfort, reliability and operational flexibility. The aircraft, which has an increased seat capacity, will also enable us to achieve optimized economics and seat costs, while having a very low environmental footprint.”

Patrick de Castelbajac, Chief Executive Officer of ATR, added, “The arrival of this first aircraft underlines the suitability of the ATR - 600 series for regional operations across Japan. We are delighted to enter such a major market, one of the few Asian countries where ATR had not flown before. Japan, which has a fleet of almost 100 regional aircraft, including some 50 aging turboprops, provides us outstanding commercial opportunities. This, coupled with our aim of being as close as possible to our new operators there, explains the recent opening of an ATR representative office in Tokyo.”

ATR 42-600

Passenger capacity: 46 to 50 seats
Engines: Pratt & Whitney 127M
Maximum take-off power: 2400 horsepower per engine
Maximum take-off weight: 18,600 kg
Maximum load: 5,500 kg