Page 16 - AAA OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2019 Online Magazine

connecting second and third-tier cities. “We also see opportunity For these airports to become thriving air hubs,
to connect South Korea’s outlying islands to the mainland. A good what needs to happen next is for domestic air
example is Ulleungdo island. There’s more than 10,000 people living services to be developed from these alternative
on that island and the only way for people on the island to get to international gateways cities. International trav-
the mainland is by ferry. But it takes about 3 hours to get from the ellers will want to stay in these cities and then
island to the mainland by ferry,” Kosowski says. Air services will be able to travel to other parts of the country.
also boost the local economy in these areas as it will allow people And when I say other parts of the country, I
to visit the islands more readily and businesses on the island will don’t just mean Seoul and Jeju. There are so
be able to get their produce to market more readily. many other parts of the country that people
can explore.

Also, you will notice that to generate repeat
visitation, you need to offer something new. If
people have already been to Seoul and Jeju,
it means on their next trip they will want to try
some place new in Korea. So there’s clearly an
opportunity to develop new routes and desti-
nations in South Korea using ATR aircraft. The
ATR is the best aircraft for developing new
routes and markets.

Short Field Star
ATR’s announced in October, that it would
launch the ATR 42-600S, a Short Take-Off and
Landing (STOL) version of the popular Regional
Transport Aircraft (RTA) family. Elix Aviation
Capital as the launch lessor, has placed orders
for 10 aircraft, while launch operator Air Tahiti
will operate two of the new STOL type. ATR
has bagged a total of 20 commitments from
operators and lessors for the ATR 42-600S.
As compared to the ATR 42-600, the company
expects an incremental market of 150 units for

INTERACTION: JEAN-DANIEL KOSOWSKI the new type, by targeting new routes and the
30-seater STOL segment. The ATR 42-600S’
“WE SEE FOUR KEY MARKETS certification, is expected for the second half
FOR THE ATR IN KOREA ,” of 2022, with the first delivery expected imme-
Jean-Daniel Kosowski, Sales Director for ATR in Charge of Korea diately after. ATR will now have four distinct
variant on offer to customers; new 42-600S,
Kosowski highlights the versatility of the ATR family for South ATR 42-600, ATR 72-600, and upcoming ATR
Korean operators as follows: 72-600F cargo variant.
• Launching new air services connecting second and third-tier
cities in Korea direct. “Adding the ATR 42-600S to our family makes
total sense and paves the way for the com-
• Launching new short-haul international air services linking Korea pany’s future. There is a huge potential for
to northeast China
50-seater aircraft and the ATR 42-600S could
• Launching new short-haul international air services linking cities help airlines widen their horizons, as it can
in Korea, especially those in the south, to cities in southern Japan reach up to around 500 new airports across the

• Launching new air services to the new island airports that will globe. This is clear illustration of our dedication
soon be built in Korea. in helping more people and more remote com-
munities benefit from being part of a connected
Currently the domestic flights are mostly north-south and nearly world and in a sustainable way,” said ATR CEO
all the flights are routed through either Seoul or Jeju. But we see Stefano Bortoli. There are approximately 500
there are opportunities to link cities in the east and west direct, airports around the world that have a runway
particularly those cities in the east that are not connected to high- length between 800 and 1000m that could be
speed rail. South Korea also has alternative international gateways serviced by the ATR 42-600S. The brand new
such as Busan, Cheongju, Muan and Daegu. STOL version will be able to take-off and land
on runways as short as 800m with 40 pas-
So you already have international travellers flying into these cities. sengers on board in standard flight conditions

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