Aircraft

The resurgence of the turboprop market last year has vaulted ATR to the head of the order rankings, with demand for small regional jets collapsing.

In overall terms, the regional manufacturers suffered declines in deliveries and orders last year, but the turboprop revival has partially masked the jet decline.

Deliveries and orders fell 15% last year to 291 and 240 aircraft, respectively, for ATR, Bombardier and Embraer. But within these numbers, there are two stories: orders for ATR and Bombardier Q Series turboprops grew more than twofold and deliveries rose by 30%, as sales of regional jets fell by over a third, and output by 20%.

ATR’s 90 orders ranks it equal number one with Embraer for 2005 in net order terms – a remarkable turnaround for a company that was once the regional market leader, but had been struggling to muster double-digit orders annually during the recent slump in turboprop sales.

Although Bombardier has maintained its position as the largest producer, its regional jet net orders were in deficit as a result of over 50 cancellations for the 50-seat models. However this decline was partly offset by resurgence of the turboprop market, with the Q Series family securing 61 orders.

Embraer’s small regional jets also suffered, but this was offset by sales of the large models, which secured just under 100 orders for the second year running. Overall, Embraer’s orders fell by 18 units.

A full analysis will be published in next week’s Flight International.