India's Alliance Air to Lease Two ATR 42-600 Aircraft from TrueNoord

(16 Feb 2022)  India's Alliance Air has signed a deal to acquire two ATR 42-600 via lessor TrueNoord.

The aircraft will be used to support Alliance Air’s mission of serving challenging airfields in the Himalayas, with the first delivery scheduled to take place mid-2022.

The ATR 42-600 aircraft is ideally suited to the region as it can operate on the short runways of Shimla and Kullu airports, both located at high altitudes, and exposed to high temperatures.

The former regional subsidiary of Air India already operates 18 ATR 72-600s.

Alliance Air ATR 42-600

Vineet Sood, Chief Executive Officer of Alliance Air, said, “Our relationship with ATR started 20 years ago, and ever since we have been building a network that truly serves Indian communities, delivering comfortable, reliable and affordable air services. Thanks to the unique features of the ATR 42-600, Alliance Air will proudly fulfill the mission assigned by the Indian government to make the most inaccessible regions accessible.”

The high commonality between the ATR 72 and 42 will help make the introduction of this new aircraft type seamless. The airline will also continue to benefit from the manufacturer’s pay-by-the-hour maintenance programme, the ATR GMA, to optimise its operations and maintenance activities.

Stefano Bortoli, ATR CEO, said, “Renewed confidence from a historical customer is the best recognition of the efforts we are making every day to remain at the higher edge of technology whilst providing concrete solutions to operate the aircraft with the most sustainable business model. The fact that we will deliver the aircraft by the middle of this year is testament both to the recovery of the Indian domestic market and the essential need for affordable and reliable connectivity throughout the country.”

These are the third and fourth ATR 42 aircraft that TrueNoord is introducing into its fleet. In December 2021, the lessor bought two ATR 42-600 to support Silver Airways’ development in the United States.

Carst Lindeboom, Sales Director Asia Pacific at TrueNoord, said, “We are proud to be a strategic partner in enabling vital and essential connections to be made throughout India. With this new acquisition, we are firmly establishing the whole ATR family as a cornerstone of our portfolio of modern regional aircraft, and demonstrating our confidence in their long-term value.”

Last year, 40 new routes were created in India with ATR aircraft.