On April 9, French Polynesia-based Air Tahiti took delivery of its 25th ATR aircraft, an ATR 72-500, in a ceremony held at the Final Assembly Line of the European turboprop manufacturer in Toulouse. With this delivery the airline, which has operated ATR aircraft since 1986, counts a fleet of 3 ATR 42-500s and 7 ATR 72-500s now.

Air Tahiti is also one of the launch customers of the new ATR "-600 series" aircraft, with an order for 3 ATR 42-600s and 2 ATR 72-600s which will start to be delivered in spring 2011. Air Tahiti will become at the same time the first operator of ATR "-600s" in the South Pacific.

The ATR 72-500 delivered on April 9, configured with 66 seats, is equipped with ETOPS (Extended Range Twin-Engine Operations) 120 minutes and with the "Elegance" cabin. The aircraft is powered by PW 127M engines and features state-of-the-art technological innovations in passenger comfort, communications and navigation aid tools.

Thanks to the ETOPS 120 capability of the "-500 series", an exclusive feature in the regional aviation, Air Tahiti is able to operate its ATR fleet over a network of islands as vast as Europe. ATR aircraft are thus paramount to the development of Air Tahiti's network, and offer essential air transport services across French Polynesia. Today, the airline counts one of the largest and youngest fleet of ATR aircraft in the Pacific zone.

Mate Galenon, Managing Director of Air Tahiti, declared: "We are very satisfied of maintaining such a long partnership with ATR, reinforced by the delivery of this 25th aircraft. For more than 20 years, the ATR have proven to be the right choice for our interisland operations. The high commonality between the ATR 42s and ATR 72s represents a clear advantage for us, as it allows us to operate our fleet optimally in some forty destinations, while minimizing our operating costs."

He added: "We have a total confidence in the ATR aircraft family and we are very proud of further developing our partnership with the introduction of the first ATR 42-600s and ATR 72-600s that will fly in the Pacific region. These aircraft, because of their very low fuel consumption, will enable us to enhance our operational capabilities, while reducing our environmental footprint, which is a major value in Polynesia."

Stephane Mayer, ATR CEO, said: "With the delivery of this 25th aircraft, ATR is writing a very important page of its history, which talks about mutual confidence, fidelity in our product and suitability of our aircraft for the particularities of the routes operated by Air Tahiti. This airline has clearly contributed to consolidate, worldwide, the image of the ATRs as the right choice for interisland operations, especially with the ATR '-500 series' like the one we deliver today."

He added: "The ATRs provide solutions which are environmental-friendly, while proposing state-of-the art comfort and unbeatable performances, especially on short runways such as the ones used regularly by Air Tahiti."

He concluded: "We are really proud of counting with Air Tahiti among our list of operators, and we will be glad to welcome them again in 2011 for the delivery of their first ATR '-600 series'."

Since the beginning of the programme, ATR has sold 985 aircraft (422 ATR 42s and 563 ATR 72s).

About ATR "-500 series"

With its ATR 42-500 and ATR 72-500, ATR supplies state-of-the-art aircraft with the highest standards of comfort. The advanced six-blade propeller provides remarkably low noise levels. All ATR models are compliant with noise regulations and have a large margin with regard to Chapter IV (ICAO) regulations. The '-500 series' feature the lowest fuel consumption per passenger and CO2 emissions of the regional aviation, thus contributing to make ATR the "Green Player" of the regional aviation.

About Air Tahiti

With an average annual traffic of 860,000 passengers, Papeete-based Air Tahiti is the principle domestic airline of the French Polynesia. Since 1980, air traffic in the Polynesian archipelago has been increasing at an annual average from 4% to 7% as a result of hotel development on the islands as well as a boost in the local economy. The airline's network includes 42 islands scattered over the full dimension of French Polynesia.

About ATR

Toulouse, Southern France-based regional aircraft manufacturer ATR is the world leader in the 50 to 74-seat turboprop market. ATR is an equal partnership between Alenia Aeronautica (a Finmeccanica company) and EADS. In 2008, ATR posted an annual turnover record, with US$1.3 billion. ATR is ISO-14001 certified, the worldwide standard in the field of environmental respect.

Image 1: An ATR 72-500 aircraft in Air Tahiti livery.

Image 2: This hand-shaking marks another milestone in the Air Tahiti-ATR long-term partnership.