With an estimated demand for more than 2,000 turboprop aircraft over the next 20 years, ATR is eyeing a strong drive of market momentum, despite no new orders announced at the Farnborough International Airshow 2026. The manufacturer’s outlook points to sustained growth in regional aviation, driven by both fleet replacement and untapped markets.
Regional demand is certain
Alexis Vidal, chief commercial officer at ATR, told Aerospace Global News that its book-to-bill ratio was above one, with a growing order backlog. The company has sold more than 50 aircraft annually over the past two years while producing around 35 a year. Vidal said ATR anticipates demand for around 2,100 turboprop aircraft over the next 20 years, a segment in which he expects the business to play a leading role.
Vidal explained that in India, around 4.6 billion intercity trips take place each year, of which only about 3% are made by air, with the remaining 97% carried out by road or rail. The figures come from ATR’s Mobility Monitor, a tool the company uses to analyse domestic travel patterns using GPS-based data. ATR said this points to substantial untapped opportunities in developing markets.
Vidal also noted that in the regional aviation sector, ATR aircraft are often the first many families or children fly on, particularly in developing economies where the aircraft enables new direct routes.
The company stated:
“A journey that might typically take eight to 18 hours by road can be completed in around 1.5 hours by air, opening up new possibilities for connecting families and businesses.”
What’s next for ATR
Vidal pointed to ATR’s investment in new hybrid propulsion technology for the ATR 72-600, which is slated for a flight test by 2029. The programme is backed by funding from the European Union’s Clean Aviation Research Initiative. With around 200 operators in 100 countries, Vidal said ATR is prioritising a credible development roadmap by integrating hybrid propulsion into an aircraft platform that is already certified and in production, rather than pursuing unproven technology.
In the shorter term, ATR is diversifying its product line with new cabin options. An all-business-class configuration named HighLine, featuring one-by-one seating instead of the standard two-by-two layout, was delivered to Berjaya Air in Malaysia earlier this year, with deliveries to Air Tahiti scheduled for 2027 and 2028.
The company is also introducing a “corporate shuttle” configuration aimed at businesses transporting groups of employees. The quick-change cabin allows an ATR 42-600, normally configured for 46 seats, to be reconfigured within minutes into a layout of 34 seats with a single column of worktables, or 23 seats with two columns of alternating seats and tables.
Between fleet renewal, new cabin formats, and its longer-term hybrid propulsion programme, ATR is positioning itself to capture demand across both established and emerging regional markets.
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