Atr 72-211/212

Twin Turboprop· 16 globally registered

The ATR 72 is a twin-turboprop regional airliner built by the French-Italian consortium ATR, which has dominated the 50-to-78-seat turboprop market since the type's 1989 entry into service. Developed as a stretched derivative of the ATR 42, the 72 added four meters of fuselage and became the world's best-selling regional turboprop, with over 1,000 delivered by 2023. Its Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127 engines and advanced six-blade propellers deliver exceptional fuel efficiency on short-haul routes under 500 nautical miles, making it the aircraft of choice for island-hopping, mountainous terrain, and thin regional markets where jet economics don't pencil. The type's high wing and excellent short-field performance allow operations into airports jets cannot serve, while its 23,000-foot service ceiling and 900-nautical-mile range cover the vast majority of regional missions. FedEx operates a dedicated freighter variant, the ATR 72-200F, converted from passenger frames for overnight package express networks where turboprop economics and cargo-door accessibility outweigh pure speed. The latest ATR 72-600 variant introduced a glass cockpit and improved cabin, sustaining the type's production run into the 2020s as airlines seek lower-carbon alternatives to regional jets. SkyMeter has tracked 122 flights across 12 airframes and 4 operators, with FEDERAL EXPRESS CORP the largest observed operator.