ATR, a French-Italian airplane manufacturer, has announced that it is going to cut its regional airliner production by 50%. On top of this, ATR has also decided to get rid of 204 employees. This does not come as a surprise, because it only delivered 67 planes last year. Airbus and Boeing have also suffered from this crisis, but ATR doesn’t have an executive jet manufacturing division (which is now every plane manufacturer’s biggest source of profit) and only sells turboprops, that are not financially sustainable products. The chief executive of ATR, Stefano Bortoli, has announced:“The aviation industry, along with many other industries, is facing the most significant economic crisis we have ever experienced. Despite actions taken to absorb the initial shock of Covid-19, it is with a heavy heart that ATR must now adopt such measures to adjust to the overwhelming challenges we face to ensure we are ready to adapt our competences to the new future of regional aviation, keeping all engagements with our customers; supporting the fleet worldwide, and pursuing the development of products that can open new markets, such as the ATR 42-600S short takeoff and landing, and the ATR 72-600F freighter.” Although this message does have a slightly positive note, I do not think that freighters are the future. Many airlines are closing down their logistics divisions or selling them off, as we have seen with Jet2. The only companies and people who are making money in the avition industry are defence contractors and programmers. Investors, traders, you name it… nobody wants to be in this industry. At the beginning of May, billionaire investor Warren Buffet sold all his shares in Delta, the biggest airline in the world. Now that, my friends, is a market indicator. 3rd of July 2020.
Aeronews24 