ATR, the European manufacturer of turboprop aircraft, today announced the opening of a new pilot training center in Paris. The new center, based near Charles de Gaulle airport in Roissy, is equipped with a brand new Full Flight Simulator (FFS). This simulator, developed and manufactured by Thales, will allow crew members to be trained on the ATR 72-500. ATR has setup this new center in partnership with SIM Aéro Training, which will house the simulator and all the other teaching tools put in place by ATR, in addition to providing technical support.

Building on its commercial success, (ATR now has almost 900 aircraft in operation in more than 90 countries), the turboprop manufacturer is strengthening its policy of expanding its offer of support to customers worldwide. The opening this new center allows services to be offered to these customers more rapidly and with greater ease of access. ATR currently has pilot training centers in Toulouse (France), Paris (France), Bangkok (Thailand) and Toronto (Canada). Other centers will open soon in Johannesburg (South Africa) and Bangalore (India).

Filippo Bagnato, ATR's Chief Executive Officer declares: "This new training center is strategically located to allow easy access to our operators, not just Europeans, but also those from other continents. It will also allow the load to be lightened for our other training centers, particularly the Toulouse center, which are already operating full-time. The number of ATR operators is ever increasing, and we have to be able to offer them the best tools to constantly support them in their operations."

About ATR:

Founded in 1981, ATR has become the world leader on the market for 50 to 74 seat turboprop aircraft. Since the start of the program, ATR has sold more than 1,100 aircraft to over 175 operators based in 94 countries. Our planes have totaled over 21 million flight hours. ATR is an equal partnership between two major European aeronautics players, Alenia Aeronautica (a Finmeccanica Group company) and EADS. ATR headquarters is located in Toulouse and ATR is ISO 14001 certified, the international reference standard in the field for environmental friendliness.

Contributed by ATR