Japanese regional carrier Amakusa Airlines took delivery in Toulouse of a 48-seat ATR 42-600, the first of the type to start operations ...
Japanese regional carrier Amakusa Airlines took delivery in Toulouse of a 48-seat ATR 42-600, the first of the type to start operations in Japan. For almost 15 years, the airline has been providing regular scheduled regional services connecting the city of Amakusa off the coast of mainland Kyushu in southwestern Japan to large cities such as Kumamoto, Fukuoka, and Osaka.
This new ATR 42-600 has been purchased from Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC), the industry’s largest turboprop lessor, headquartered in Denmark. It is equipped with the latest technologies in passenger comfort and navigation aid tools and features ATR’s newest Armonia cabin and full-glass cockpit avionics.
With the introduction of this very first ATR aircraft in Japan, Amakusa will replace their current 39-seat turboprop, thus offering larger capacity and contributing to the development of tourism and to even better service for the local population.
The smaller ATR 42-600 can seat 46 to 50 passengers, and is powered 2 Pratt & Whitney 127M turboprop engines, rated at 2400 horsepower each. Maximum take-off weight of the aircraft is 18,600 kg, with a maximum load of 5,500 kg.
The airline was established in late 1998 and started operations in March 2000, with services from Amakusa to Fukuoka and Kumamoto. Amakusa Airlines is the smallest airline in Japan, with one single aircraft, and is mainly owned by the Kumamoto prefectural government and the municipal government of Amakusa. Since the beginning of its operations, Amakusa Airlines has carried over 1 million passengers.
