Wings Air (IW), the regional subsidiary of Lion Air (JT), will take an additional 27 ATR 72-600s by the end of 2015 and will become the largest operator of ATR aircraft in the world with 20 ATR 72-500s and 40 ATR 72-600s.
ATR and JT revealed at the Singapore Airshow that the Indonesian carrier is the unidentified customer for an order of 27 -600s included in ATR’s order book for 2011. The turboprop manufacturer last year booked firm sales of 157 planes and options for 79 aircraft .
IW’s new order is valued at about $610 million, ATR said.
IW introduced its first ATRs in January 2010 and operates a fleet of 16 ATR 72-500s across its domestic network in Indonesia.
Deliveries of the new order will start in November. IW will use the additional ATRs to develop new routes mainly from Sumatera, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua islands. Some of these aircraft will also replace and complement IW’s MD-80s and JT’s Boeing 737s operating from these airports.
“Our fleet of ATR 72s is playing a major role in the development and democratization of the aviation services in Indonesia, bringing new travel possibilities, at low rates, to an increasing part of the population,” said IW chairman and JT founder and president Pak Rusdi Kirana. JT earlier this week firmed up its agreement with Boeing to buy 201 737 MAXs and 29 737-900ERs in a $22.4 billion contract that was Boeing’s largest ever .
Kirana dismissed remarks that the country’s two main carriers, JT and Garuda Indonesia , are acquiring too much capacity. “We are working together to build a nation,” he said, pointing out that Indonesia has a growing and stable economy, a population of 230 million and lots of islands that need connectivity. “I believe that Indonesia can operate up to 1,000 aircraft, by when, I do not know.”
ATR said the Asia/Pacific region represents more than 40% of its total sales since 2005. There are some 250 ATR aircraft operating for Asia/Pacific carriers, plus 80 aircraft on backlog.
Article Source : ATW Daily News
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