Just a couple of years ago they were about to close the doors on the facility that makes the ATR line of turboprop regional airliners. Total orders for the ATR 42 and 72 made by the European consortium had dropped to six, and no new customers were on the horizon. The regional jets (RJs) had won, and the era of the turboprop was over, again.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the funeral for the propeller. Oil prices skyrocketed, the financial performance of the world’s airlines crashed, and suddenly airlines needed a more efficient and cost-effective way to move passengers over distances of several hundred miles.
