ATR Try Again

MOUNT COOK Airline, and to a lesser extent Air Nelson, continue to be seen as a lucrative prize by order-starved airliner manufacturers. The fact that these airlines recently sent a high-ranking technical team on a three-week tour of the potential producers of a replacement for the HS748/Saab 340 has no doubt fuelled the fires. Mt Cook have been wooed with the BAe ATP (1991), ATR-42(1992), Canadair RV(1993) and the DHC-8-400 earlier this year, while a Saab 2000 demonstration is rumoured to be just around the corner. It was therefore no great surprise to find an ATR-72 scheduled for demonstration during June.