Dec. 29, 2025, South Korea’s SUM Air took delivery of its first ATR 72-600 on a 12-year lease from Aviation PLC. This marks the airline’s first ATR aircraft and Aviation PLC’s first customer in South Korea.
SUM Air
SUM Air is a Regional Air Mobility airline. Their focus is on connecting islands and underserved areas using ATR 72-600 aircraft, as they are eco-friendly and generate lower emissions per passenger.
Choi Yong-deok, chief executive officer, stated:
With the ATR72-600, SUM Air will address the transportation problems of areas with low air transport accessibility. Thanks to the revitalisation of regional airports, we will grow as a central airline for regional transportation connecting all of Korea.
ATR 72-600
The ATR 72-600 is a popular, fuel-efficient twin-engine turboprop regional airliner. They are known for connecting smaller communities with low operating costs, excellent environmental performance (low CO2 emissions) and the ability to use short and challenging runways.
These aircraft were built by the French-Italian company ATR (Avions de Transport Régional), a joint venture partnership between Airbus and Leonardo begun in 1981.
This aircraft features advanced avionics, similar to modern Airbus jets, enhancing safety, and is powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127M turboprop engines.
This aircraft is a part of a batch of 10 ordered by Aviation PLC in 2024 and has become the first in SUM Air’s fleet. This marks an important step in the airline’s growth in the South Korean aviation market.
Aviation PLC
Aviation PLC is a Singapore-based, publicly traded company that owns and leases a global fleet of commercial passenger aircraft to various airlines worldwide. Their focus is newer, low-emission aircraft and supplying aircraft parts.
Jeff Chatfield, executive chairman of Aviation PLC, said:
We are pleased to purchase this aircraft, which is currently unencumbered and which has been placed on lease with a new airline customer, SUM Air, for a twelve-year lease. SUM Air is our first customer in South Korea; we look forward to a long and successful business relationship with the airline.
The arrival of the ATR 72-600 in Sum Air’s fleet is a step forward in realising the airline’s goal of improving regional transport connectivity across Korea.
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