Cebu Pacific Orders Up to 14 Brand New ATR 72-500
ATR | May 24, 2007
On May 24, Philippine-based low-fare carrier Cebu Pacific and ATR announced in Manila the signature of a contract for the purchase of 6 ATR 72-500s plus options for 8 additional aircraft. This major contract is valued at more than US$250 million.
These aircraft will be configured with 72 seats and will feature the newest technological innovations in the field of communications and navigation aid tools and passenger comfort.
Lance Gokongwei, President and CEO of Cebu Pacific explained that "the move to further expand its fleet with ATRs is a continued manifestation of Cebu Pacific's commitment to bring air travel closer to more Filipinos and to bring them to more destinations which we can not cannot operate to at the moment due to runway strength and length limitations."
"We are buying up to 14 brand new ATR 72-500 aircraft for our continued expansion. The first 2 ATR 72-500s aircraft are expected to arrive in early 2008 and the complete delivery is expected by 2013," Gokongwei added.
Filippo Bagnato, ATR CEO said, "We are extremely pleased that Cebu Pacific has chosen the ATR 72-500 aircraft, thus allowing ATR to enter the Philippine market for the first time. The ATR aircraft, with their unbeatable economics and superior comfort, is the optimal choice for Cebu Pacific. At present, there are 136 ATR aircraft operated by 30 airlines across the Asia Pacific region and we are excited to add such a high quality operator to this list."
"We are looking forward to operating to more destinations and connecting more islands because we know that this is good not only for tourism but for our economy as a whole. It's time we brought our trademark low fares to every Juan," Gokongwei concluded.
From the beginning of the year, ATR has received orders for 27 new aircraft, some of them not yet unveiled, and has delivered 11 aircraft. Since the beginning of the programme, ATR has sold 864 aircraft (402 ATR 42s and 462 ATR 72s) and delivered 724 aircraft (393 ATR 42 and 331 ATR 72), thus posting a current backlog of 140 aircraft.