Atr 42-300

Twin Turboprop

The ATR 42-300 was the launch variant of the ATR 42 family, a twin-turboprop regional airliner developed jointly by France's Aérospatiale and Italy's Aeritalia in the early 1980s. First flown in August 1984 and entering service with Air Littoral in December 1985, the -300 established the ATR 42 as a fuel-efficient workhorse for short-haul regional routes, seating 42 to 50 passengers. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW120 engines driving six-blade propellers, the type was designed specifically to compete with the Fokker 50 and de Havilland Dash 8 on thin routes where jet economics didn't make sense. The ATR 42-300's high-wing configuration and rugged landing gear made it popular for operations into smaller airports with unpaved or short runways, particularly across northern Canada, Scandinavia, and island nations. With a maximum cruise speed of 270 knots and a range of roughly 800 nautical miles at full payload, the -300 offered operators a sweet spot between capacity and operating cost. Though later superseded by the -320, -400, and -500 variants with more powerful engines and improved avionics, the original -300 proved the ATR concept and remains in service with cargo operators and smaller regional carriers in remote markets. Its relatively low approach speed of around 100 knots and excellent short-field performance continue to make it valuable for bush and northern operations where few alternatives exist. SkyMeter has tracked flights across airframes and operators over routes, with the largest observed operator.