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ATR 72

ATR · Turboprop airliner · In production

The regional workhorse.

Length27.17 m
Wingspan27.05 m
Range1,528 km
MTOW23 t
Typical seats72
Built1,200+
Our numbers

Derived metrics

Computed by aircraft.fyi from the core specification — see how we calculate these.

Seats per metre#27 of 35
2.65 seats/m typical seats ÷ fuselage length
Range per tonne#29 of 65
66.4 km/t maximum range ÷ MTOW in tonnes
Span-to-length ratio#19 of 68
1.00 wingspan ÷ fuselage length
Weight per metre#63 of 68
0.85 t/m MTOW ÷ fuselage length
Range in hours#48 of 65
3.0 h maximum range ÷ cruise speed
Weight per seat#33 of 35
319 kg MTOW ÷ typical seats
Sense of scale

How big is it, really?

The ATR 72's wingspan, against things you already know the size of.

ATR 7227.05 m
Football pitch (width)68 m
Blue whale25 m
New Routemaster bus11.2 m
You (probably)1.75 m
Specification

The numbers

Length (ATR 72-600)27.17 m
Wingspan27.05 m
Height7.65 m
MTOW23,000 kg
Range (72 pax)1,528 km
Typical seats72 (up to 78)
Max cruise510 km/h
Engines2 × PW127 turboprop
First flight27 October 1988
Built1,200+

Last verified: 2026-07-14 · Spot an error? business@luck.fyi

The story

What makes it different

ATR is a Franco-Italian joint venture that has quietly won the regional turboprop market outright: over 1,200 ATR 72s built, flying for more than 100 operators, on routes where a jet would burn twice the fuel for a journey barely any quicker.

It is slower than a Dash 8 and cheaper to run than almost anything, and on the short island- and island-hopping legs it was designed for, that trade is exactly right. Under an hour in the air, and fuel burn is the only number that matters.

Its high wing, slim fuselage and huge six-bladed propellers make it one of the most recognisable aircraft in regional aviation — and one of the last places you can still watch propellers do serious commercial work.

Common questions

ATR 72 — the short answers

How fast is the ATR 72?
The ATR 72 cruises at about 510 km/h — roughly 275 knots, or 317 mph.
How far can the ATR 72 fly?
The ATR 72 has a maximum range of about 1,528 km (825 nautical miles, 950 miles). At its cruise speed that is roughly 3.0 hours in the air.
How many people does the ATR 72 carry?
A typical ATR 72 carries 72 passengers. Exact figures vary with the operator's chosen configuration.
Is the ATR 72 still in production?
Status: In production. The ATR 72 first flew in 1988, and about 1,200 have been built.
How big is the ATR 72?
The ATR 72 is 27.17 m long with a wingspan of 27.05 m and a height of 7.65 m. Its maximum takeoff weight is 23,000 kg.
Variants

The ATR 72 line

ATR 42
The shorter 50-seat sibling.
ATR 72-500 / -600
The current production standard. Spec shown above.
ATR 72-600F
The freighter — FedEx is the launch customer.
Operators

Who flies the ATR 72

The top 7 operators by fleet size, of ≈100 worldwide — the rest are aggregated below. Counts marked ≈ are approximate, verified 2026-07-14.

IDWings Air≈60
INIndiGo≈45
BRAzul Linhas Aéreas≈40
USFedEx FeederFreighters flown by feeder partners.≈30
INAlliance Air≈20
ESBinter Canarias≈20
IEAer Lingus Regional≈15
Other operatorsOver 100 airlines fly the ATR 72 — the broadest turboprop operator base in the world. Counts are fleet-report approximations.≈900