Paris – Le Bourget.The market-leading ATR 72-600 will add Angola to its list of countries served from the start of July. Private company Bestfly will take delivery of two ATR 72-600s from lessor Acia Aero to operate corporate and charter services throughout the country. ATR will also provide maintenance and training services to Bestfly. Burning 40% less fuel than regional jets as well as benefitting from on outstanding dispatch reliability and airport accessibility, the flexibility of the ATR -600 series makes it the perfect aircraft for a range of operations.
Nuno Pereira, Chief Executive Officer of Bestfly, commented: “It is naturally essential that we are able to meet the needs of our customers, who depend upon the flexibility and reliability of our solutions, as we have done since the foundation of BestFly in 2009. The ATR 72-600 is an aircraft that has assured regional connectivity all over the world thanks to its unbeatable operational costs and its dispatch reliability of 99.7%, making it the ideal aircraft for our corporate customers and marks a significant milestone in the BestFly life evolving from a purely business aircraft operator to a commuter aircraft operator always looking to find solutions that best suit our corporate clients needs through strategic relationships as the one with ACIA and ATR. We look forward to welcoming them into our fleet in July.”
Mark Hurst, Chief Executive Officer of Acia Aero, said: “It is pleasing to see the introduction of the ATR into Angola and we are grateful for the cooperation between the three companies to achieve this. The ATR aircraft platform operating in passenger or freighter configurations, provide a valuable backbone to airlines worldwide, thanks to their economic efficiency, operational flexibility and strong dispatch reliability. They are perfectly adapted to the business and charter travel. We look forward to growing the demand in Angola further together with Bestfly.”
Fabrice Vautier, ATR’s Senior Vice President Commercial, said: “We are grateful for the support and cooperation from both Bestfly and Acia Aero in facilitating this deal. It is always satisfying to welcome a new operator with as high standards as Bestfly and to see our aircraft flying in a new country. Bestfly’s decision makes perfect sense. The ATR 72-600 burns 40% less fuel and emits 40% less CO2 than regional jets and that is a clear advantage for operators.”
ATR’s Market Forecast sees a demand for 300 new turboprops over the next 20 years for the Africa and Middle-East region. Regional aviation provides essential connectivity around the world. A 10% increase in regional flights generates additional increases of 5% in tourism, 6% in regional GDP and 8% foreign direct investment. Turboprops are key in connecting communities around the world: 36% of all commercial airports rely exclusively on turboprops and 50% rely, also exclusively, on regional aircraft.
