ATR 42: the regional turboprop that started a family

The ATR 42 is a twin-engine turboprop airliner built by ATR (Avions de Transport Régional), a joint venture of Airbus and Leonardo. It was designed for short regional routes, where its turboprop engines and lower operating costs suit smaller airports and shorter sectors than a jet airliner needs. Since its first flight on 16 August 1984, the type has become the smaller member of ATR’s regional turboprop family, and it is still in production and in service¹ today.

Design and development

ATR built the 42 as its first aircraft, a twin-turboprop sized for short regional hops, and later stretched its fuselage to create the larger ATR 72. The aircraft has gone through several sub-versions since its 1984 debut, most recently the ATR 42-600, which carries updated avionics and current engine options² on the same basic airframe. The type’s production run stretches from 1984 to the present day, with about 503 aircraft built¹.

Specifications

The current production version, the ATR 42-600, is 22.67 m long with a wingspan of 24.57 m. Its maximum take-off weight is 18,600 kg, and it is powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127XT turboprops² on the current model. An earlier version, the ATR 42-500, cruises at around 556 km/h (300 knots)¹.

Seating on the -600 typically ranges from 30 to 50 passengers, with 48 seats at 30-inch pitch as a common layout. With a maximum passenger load, the aircraft’s range is about 1,345 km², reflecting its design for short regional sectors. The aircraft has a crew of two pilots¹.

Variants

The -600 is the current production standard, following earlier -200, -300, -320 and -500 versions as ATR progressively updated the type’s engines and avionics over four decades of production. Each generation kept the same basic airframe and layout while improving the flight deck, engines and systems, letting operators of older models upgrade without retraining crews on a different aircraft. Freight conversions have also been built alongside the standard passenger layout, extending the aircraft’s use into cargo and express-delivery work.

Operators and service

The ATR 42 is flown by regional airlines around the world, chosen for its ability to serve short routes and smaller airports that larger aircraft cannot use economically. Its turboprop engines and short-runway capability make it a common choice for feeder services connecting smaller towns to larger hubs, and for routes where a larger ATR 72 would be more capacity than demand requires. ATR describes the type as in production and in service¹ today, more than four decades after its first flight.

Similar aircraft

• ATR 72: the stretched, higher-capacity development of the ATR 42, sharing the same wings, engines and basic systems.
• Bombardier Dash 8: a competing twin-turboprop regional airliner built for similar short-haul routes.
• Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia: an older twin-turboprop regional airliner that served a similar market segment.