ATR 42

The ATR 42 is a twin-turboprop regional airliner that has been in continuous production, in successive forms, since the 1980s. It is the founding product of ATR, a joint venture formed in 1981 between France's Aérospatiale and Italy's Aeritalia to build regional turboprops, and the 42 in its name refers to its original seating of around 42 passengers. The aircraft first flew in 1984 and entered service in 1985 with the French carrier Air Littoral, aimed at short, thin routes where small, economical aircraft made sense.

The design is a conventional high-wing turboprop with a T-tail, twin Pratt & Whitney Canada engines, and a fuselage cross-section shared with the stretched ATR 72 that followed. The high wing keeps the propellers and engines clear of debris and gives good ground clearance, useful at the small, sometimes unpaved airfields the type was built to serve. Over the decades ATR progressively improved it, moving through the original -300, the more powerful -400, the -500 with six-blade propellers and updated engines, and the current -600, which introduced a glass cockpit and further refinements.

The ATR 42 has always been sold alongside its larger sibling, the ATR 72, and the two share a great deal of structure, systems, and a common pilot type rating, which lets operators mix the two sizes cheaply within one fleet. The 72 outsells the smaller 42 because many regional routes suit its higher capacity, but the 42 fills an important niche for thinner routes and smaller airfields. Its main competitor was long the De Havilland Canada Dash 8, and today the ATR family and the larger Dash 8-400 are the principal Western regional turboprops still in service.

As of 2026 the ATR 42 remains in production as the ATR 42-600, which ATR describes as effectively the only new-build airliner in the 30-to-50-seat class, a segment jet manufacturers have abandoned. It is flown by regional and commuter airlines across Europe, Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and the Americas, often on subsidised or remote routes that larger aircraft cannot serve economically. ATR has also developed a short-takeoff-and-landing version, the ATR 42-600S, to widen the type's appeal to airfields with very short runways. With turboprops offering much lower fuel burn than regional jets on short sectors, and growing attention to emissions, the ATR 42 occupies a durable niche, and the family is likely to remain in production for years to come. More than 1,600 aircraft across the ATR 42 and 72 range have been delivered since the 1980s, making the family comfortably the best-selling Western regional turboprop of its era.

The ATR 42 is a deliberately simple, rugged high-wing turboprop optimised for short sectors rather than speed. The high, straight wing is mounted on top of the fuselage, keeping the two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127 engines and their propellers well clear of the ground, which protects them from debris and suits unpaved or poorly surfaced runways. A tall T-tail holds the horizontal stabiliser up out of the propeller wash. The result is an aircraft that can operate from small, basic airfields with minimal ground support.

Power comes from two PW127-series turboprops driving, on current -600 aircraft, six-blade propellers that are quieter and more efficient than the earlier four-blade units. The engines are flat-rated so that they hold power in hot and high conditions, helping short-field performance. Cruising speed is far below that of a jet, around 300 knots, because the aircraft is designed for short hops where climb and descent dominate and outright speed matters little.

The current ATR 42-600 introduced a modern glass cockpit with electronic displays, replacing the analogue instruments of earlier versions, and shares its type rating with the larger ATR 72 so crews can fly both. The cabin seats up to around 48 in a four-abreast, single-aisle layout. Construction is largely aluminium, straightforward and easy to maintain, in keeping with the aircraft's workaday role.

As of 2026 the ATR 42 is flown by regional and commuter airlines on nearly every continent, typically on short, thin routes that larger aircraft cannot fill. Operators are spread across Europe, Africa, Asia, the Pacific islands, and the Americas, and include national carriers serving remote domestic points, small independent commuters, and government-subsidised essential-service routes. Because the type can use short and basic airfields, it is a lifeline aircraft for island chains, mountainous regions, and lightly populated areas, carrying passengers, mail, and light freight where road or larger-aircraft links are impractical. Airlines often operate it alongside the larger ATR 72, mixing the two sizes on one shared crew rating to match capacity to demand. Unlike the classic types in this group, the ATR 42 is still being built new, so its fleet includes both decades-old and brand-new aircraft.

The ATR 42 is a small, high-wing twin turboprop with a T-tail and engines mounted on the wing above the fuselage, giving it a light, angular look quite unlike a jet. Its hardest look-alike is its own stretched sibling, the ATR 72: the two are almost identical in shape, and the reliable difference is length. The ATR 42 is noticeably shorter, with fewer cabin windows, while the longer ATR 72 seats around 70. Against the De Havilland Canada Dash 8, the ATR's high T-tail and slightly different engine installation help, and the Dash 8-400 is longer, faster-looking, and has a taller fin. Any small high-wing turboprop with a T-tail and two tractor engines, seating fewer than about fifty, is most likely an ATR 42.