SINGAPORE: Turboprop maker ATR said on Wednesday it had signed a deal worth more than 3 billion baht to sell 4 ATR 72-600s to Bangkok Airways, in the first commercial aircraft deal agreed at the Singapore Airshow.
Bangkok Airways is one of the largest operators of ATR aircraft and currently runs a fleet of 15 ATR aircraft, including six ATR 72-500s which it said it would progressively replace with the new turboprops.
Anawat Leelawatwatana, senior vice president of finance and accounting at Bangkok Airways, said the first of the four aircraft would be delivered at the end of this year with the rest by the first quarter of 2019.
"ATR aircraft last year created 70 new routes in Asian countries, generating over one million additional seats and revenue opportunities for their operators," ATR's Chief Executive Christian Scherer said in a statement.
ATR said last month that its orders had more than tripled in 2017 from a year ago, buoyed by a general pick-up in the aviation sector. The world's largest turboprop maker is jointly owned by Airbus and Italian aerospace group Leonardo.