Lion Group takes milestone delivery of 50th ATR 72-600 aircraft

Indonesia’s Lion Group, ATR’s largest customer, celebrated today another milestone as one of the fastest growing airlines when it took delivery of its 50th ATR 72-600 of the 100 aircraft ordered to date.On arrival in Jakarta, the aircraft was welcomed by Edward Sirait, Chairman of the Lion Group, Patrick de Castelbajac, ATR Chief Executive Officer, Italian and French ambassadors and financing and banking partners at a specially organized delivery ceremony to mark the occasion. The ATR 72-600 will enter service this month with Lion Group’s regional subsidiary company, Wings Air, which already operates a fleet of 40 ATR aircraft in Indonesia. The remaining 50 ATR 72-600s will be delivered between 2015 and 2019. Edward Sirait stated : “This is an important milestone for Wings and the Lion Group, as we pioneered the Indonesia remote provinces feeder market with our first ATR 72s only 6 years ago and now are looking at the 50th ATR 72 and soon 100th for Lion Group and Indonesia. Wings Air is glad to fly the most technologically advanced and fuel efficient aircraft available, setting new standards in reliability and comfort. The new-generation ATRs have been very successful for us, and this is reflected in the strong customer interest wherever we have deployed the aircraft”.

“We congratulate the Lion Group on this important milestone. We are convinced that the ATR will continue to substantially contribute to the company’s strategy moving forward,” commented Patrick de Castelbajac. “Today, more than 50 ATR 72s are in operation connecting communities and villages across Indonesia. We are glad that the market-leading ATR turboprops contribute to the development of tourism in remote areas of Sumatra, Nusa Tenggara Timurand and Papua”.

In November 2014, the Lion Group signed a Purchase Agreement with a value of US$ 1 Billion for an additional 40 ATR turboprops aircraft, bringing its firm order total to 100 ATRs. The aircraft 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.

The Asia-Pacific region has become a core market for ATR, accounting for 30 per cent of all orders recorded to date. Today, there are some 350 ATR aircraft in service with over 50 operators across the region. Another 112 ATRs on order are with customers for future delivery. This represents nearly 45 per cent of the company’s total backlog, reflecting the importance of the region as the fastest growing market for new turboprop aircraft.