ATR has secured its largest firm aircraft order in almost a decade after Indian regional carrier FLY91 agreed to purchase 40 ATR 72-600 turboprops in a deal valued at around $1 billion.
Announced on September 3, the order is also the largest ever placed with ATR by a regional airline. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2027 and continue through 2032.
The agreement takes ATR’s firm order intake in 2026 to 54 aircraft, already exceeding the manufacturer’s total net orders for the whole of 2025.
For FLY91, which began commercial operations in March 2024, the order supports plans for a sharp expansion from its current fleet of six ATR 72-600s to around 60 aircraft over the next five years.
Major expansion in India
The Goa-based airline operates more than 280 weekly flights across a network focused on Tier 2 and Tier 3 Indian cities. Its destinations include Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Goa, Kochi, Hubballi, Tirupati and Vijayawada.
Before deliveries from the new order begin, FLY91 also plans to lease another six to eight aircraft, taking its fleet to between 12 and 14 aircraft by late 2027.
The airline’s founder and CEO, Manoj Chacko, said the 40-aircraft purchase would provide the capacity for its next phase of expansion.
“We have grown deliberately and consistently since our inception and this 40-aircraft order is the catalyst for our next phase of expansion,” Chacko said.
UDAN program
FLY91’s growth strategy is tied closely to India’s efforts to increase air service to smaller cities through the government-backed UDAN regional connectivity program. About 98 of the airline’s roughly 280 weekly flights currently receive viability-gap funding under the program.
ATR estimates that India records approximately 4.6 billion intercity journeys annually, with only around 3% currently made by air.
The manufacturer sees turboprops as particularly suited to expanding that share because they can serve smaller airports and operate short sectors at lower costs than regional jets.
The ATR 72-600 can accommodate up to 78 passengers and has a maximum range of 740 nautical miles (1,370 km).
FLY91 is backed by investment firm Convergent Finance and remains in the early stages of its development. Chacko told Reuters that the airline is debt-free but has yet to record an annual profit. It expects to reach cash break-even by the end of the current financial year and profit-and-loss break-even a year later.
