ATR maps out the rest of its decade

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SANTA MONICA, Calif. — When the industry scrutinizes the health of the aerospace supply chain feeding manufacturing in Toulouse, turboprops from ATR are not the first aircraft that come to mind. The Airbus-Leonardo joint venture builds in the shadow of Airbus’s final assembly lines at Blagnac Airport, but has not escaped the industrial struggles felt by its massive neighbor.

In a wide-ranging interview with The Air Current, ATR CEO Nathalie Tarnaude Laude laid out the rest of the decade for the European turboprop manufacturer as it aims to move past a half-decade of supply chain reconstitution, rebuild its dormant position in the United States and fully understand by 2029 what a hybrid-electric evolution would look like for the venerable regional aircraft.

Tarnaud Laude described the company’s 2025 as a “very, very difficult” year spent preparing, though she said she is increasingly confident the plane maker last year reached “stabilization” for its production and is preparing for a significant acceleration in output on the back of resurgent demand.

Related: Special Report: ATR is making a run at its loneliest market

“This is the number one priority for 2026,” Tarnaud Laude said. “Really, the target is to ramp up and to deliver more aircraft, because this demand is there, because we are the only turboprop manufacturer today.”

Today — emphasis hers — is an important qualifier with Deutsche Aircraft’s 40-seat D328eco expected to fly this year; De Havilland Canada continuing to evaluate the resumption of Dash 8-400 production at its greenfield facility east of Calgary, Alberta; and signs of life from ATR’s nascent Chinese competitor, the Xi’an MA700. Tarnaud Laude said ATR’s strategy is designed to leverage its incumbency and set itself up for a “massive investment” that will push the turboprop into its fifth decade of production.

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