Regional aircraft manufacturer to expand Chinese market
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-05-12 10:04
The France-based regional aircraft manufacturer ATR announced here Thursday
plans to expand further into the Chinese aircraft market with a representative
office in Beijing.
Avions de Transport Regional, the world leader in the
50 to 70-seater turboprop aircraft, planned to strengthen its cooperation with
Chinese airlines, said Filippo Bagnato, chief executive officer, in Beijing.
"We should further strengthen ties with Chinese industry, grow market
opportunities in the region, and have a permanent presence in this important
market," Bagnato said.
Since 1998, China Southern Airlines Xinjiang Company
has been operating five ATR 72-500s, the only turboprop regional aircraft in
China.
China, with a population of 1.3 billion, have a total of 784
passenger aircraft, including 76 regional aircraft. The United States,
with a population of less than 300 million, has 8,650 operational passenger
aircraft, including 3,200 regional aircraft. The U.S. has 1,534 turboprop
regional aircraft.
"In the coming 15 years, the commercial aviation
market will expand significantly in China," Bagnato said. "ATR will supply
state-of-the-art aircraft with jet-like comfort."
The revival of the
turboprop was due to the soaring price of crude oil, to the growth in regional
air traffic, and to pressure on airlines to reduce costs.
"The new
generation of ATRs is the right answer to these constraints on the regional
market by offering state-of-the-art, reliable and environmentally sensible
aircraft with unbeatable economics," Bagnato said.
In the 2005 fiscal
year, ATR announced a turnover of 542 million U.S. dollars, an increase of 15
percent compared with 2004.
"This commercial success is evidence of the
strong revival of the turboprop aircraft in the regional aviation market,"
Bagnato said.
European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) and
Alenia Aeronautica, a division of Finmeccanica of Italy, are equal partners in
ATR.
In 1985, the EADS predecessor company Aerospatiale and Xi'an
Aircraft Company signed a cooperation agreement on the manufacture of the ATR 42
wing component at Xi'an.
Cooperation increased in 1997 when a second
agreement was signed between Xi'an Aircraft Company and Alenia for manufacturing
a section of the ATR 72 at Xi'an.
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