Lion Group becomes ATR’s largest customer

ATR and Indonesia’s Lion Group have today signed a US$ 1 Billion purchase agreement for 40 additional ATR 72-600s, hiking the firm order total for the newest generation ATR turboprops to 100 aircraft. Today’s signature marks a milestone in ATR’s history, as Lion Group becomes ATR’s largest customer ever. This new contract has been inked by Mr.Rusdi Kirana, Chairman of the Lion Group and Patrick de Castelbajac, Chief Executive Officer of ATR, on the occasion of a special ceremony held in Rome, witnessed by Mr.Matteo Renzi, Italy’s Prime Minister.

There are currently three subsidiary airlines in the Lion Group operating ATRs: Wings Air with a fleet of 32 ATR aircraft operating in Indonesia; Malindo Air with a fleet of 10 ATRs operating in Malaysia; and Thai Lion Air, so far with 1 ATR in operation in Thailand. These additional 40 ATR 72-600s will be used to meet the growing demand forecast over the next five years both within the Group’s existing operators’ networks and to develop other opportunities for ATR operations throughout Asia and developing markets worldwide. Deliveries of the aircraft signed today will start in 2017 and run into 2019.

Rusdi Kirana, Chairman of the Lion Group, declared: “These modern and fuel-efficient aircraft will meet the future growth of the Lion Group airlines. The ATR 72-600 aircraft enable us to achieve a brilliant economic performance”. He added: “The ATR-600 aircraft are very competitive, as they enable us to ensure a high frequency service. With these new generation airplanes in our fleet, the Lion Group will continue to contribute to the economic development in Indonesia, Malaysia and Asia, including remote regions as well as tourist driven markets such as Bali, Java, Kalimantan (Borneo) and Sumatra”.

“Lion Air has become our largest customer among airlines, and has been successfully operating ATR 72s for five years. We are honored to receive this outstanding new order, which is an historical ATR milestone, and we thank the Lion Group for their continued strong commitment to our profitable and eco-efficient aircraft. The ATR-600 series feature the highest level of operational performance, while offering its passengers the highest standards of comfort and service. We look forward to further strengthening our partnership with the Lion Group”.” declared ATR’s Chief Executive Officer, Patrick de Castelbajac. He added: “We also thank the strong financing support provided by SACE, Italy’s Credit Export Agency, which has considerably contributed to develop and consolidate such a fruitful partnership”.

The Asia Pacific region accounts for nearly 40 percent of the sales of the ATR -600 series aircraft. Today, more than 300 ATR aircraft are operated by Asia-Pacific carriers, while there are some other 100 on order.