PRESS RELEASES

Tarom Takes Delivery of its First ATR 72-500

07^th May 2009	Print this article
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Romania’s flag carrier Tarom today took delivery of its first ATR 72-500 aircraft. This follows the contract signed last year, valued at some US $ 37 million, for two ATR 72-500s. The airline currently operates a fleet of 7 ATR 42-500s, and will take delivery of its second new ATR 72-500 later this year.

The ATR 72-500 aircraft delivered today is configured with 68-seats and powered with PW 127M engines. The aircraft is also equipped with the “Elegance cabin”, which features the most advanced technological enhancements in the field of passenger comfort in regional aviation.

“Our new ATR 72-500 aircraft will allow us to increase our total fleet capacity and to provide our passengers with more domestic frequencies as well as to open additional routes to Dubrovnik and Zagreb in order to enhance our network”,

declared Ruxandra Brutaru, Tarom CEO.

“These new ATR aircraft, as is the case for the ATR 42-500s that we’ve been operating since 1998, optimally match our requirement of combining very high standards of comfort with unrivalled operating costs and the lowest environmental footprint. With the higher capacity ATR 72-500s we will keep our operating costs down and offer our customers competitive pricing.” She added: “We are delighted to be celebrating the introduction of the first 70-seat turboprop aircraft in Romania, and to continue as one of the European carriers with the youngest and most modern fleet. It is our aim to continually propose to our passengers the most modern aircraft with the most up-to-date technologies, and we are convinced that our partnership with ATR will be further developed in the next years”.

Stéphane Mayer, ATR CEO, said:

“We are pleased to increase our presence in the Eastern European countries, where there are already more than 70 ATRs in operation. The ATR aircraft have proven to be the most suitable choice for the domestic and regional routes in this part of Europe, because of their operational flexibility and competitive costs.” He added: “The low maintenance costs of our aircraft are also playing an important role of their success in Eastern Europe. With the introduction of their first ATR 72-500s, Tarom will additionally benefit from the ATR’s exclusive feature of commonality of both the ATR 42s and ATR 72s, also in terms of reducing these costs”.

Since the beginning of the programme, ATR has sold 985 aircraft (422 ATR 42s and 563 ATR 72s).

The ATR –500 series:

With its ATR 42-500 and ATR 72-500, ATR supplies state-of-the-art aircraft with the highest standards of comfort. The advanced six-blade propeller provides remarkably low noise levels. All ATR models are compliant with noise regulations and have a large margin with regard to Chapter IV (ICAO) regulations. The ‘-500 series’ feature the lowest fuel consumption per passenger and CO2 emissions of the regional aviation, thus contributing to make ATR the “Green Player” of the regional aviation.

About Tarom:

Tarom was founded in 1954 as the National flag carrier of Romania. Six years later was operating to almost all the European countries and made its first intercontinental flight in 1966. Today the airline operates a fleet of 24 aircraft, including 7 ATR 42-500s, 11 B-737s, 4 A-318s and 2 A-310s, and counts a network reaching three continents.

About ATR:

Toulouse, Southern France-based regional aircraft manufacturer ATR is the world leader in the 50 to 74-seat turboprop market. ATR is an equal partnership between Alenia Aeronautica (a Finmeccanica company) and EADS. In 2008, ATR posted an annual turnover record, with US $ 1.3 billion. ATR is certified ISO 14001, the worldwide standard in the field of environmental respect.

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ATR Press Contact

Tel: +33 5 62 21 66 14

presse@atr.fr

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