IATA AT5ICAO AT45

Aerospatiale/Alenia ATR 42-500

Aerospatiale

TravelerPulse profile

Enhanced regional turboprop serving short-haul routes worldwide.

First flight

1994

Category

Regional turboprop

Seating

48–50 passengers

Range

1,326 km

Engines

2× Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127E turboprops with six-bladed propellers

Status

In service

The ATR 42-500 is an enhanced variant of the ATR 42 family, produced by the Franco-Italian consortium ATR (Aérospatiale/Alenia). It features more powerful Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127E engines driving six-bladed propellers, delivering improved performance over earlier -300 and -320 variants, particularly in hot-and-high conditions. Introduced in the mid-1990s, the -500 became the dominant production standard for the ATR 42 line, offering lower cabin noise, better fuel efficiency, and increased payload capacity compared to its predecessors. The aircraft is optimized for regional routes of up to around 1,300 km. The ATR 42-500 is widely operated by regional and feeder airlines across Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and the Americas. It competes primarily with the Bombardier Dash 8 Q300 series in the regional turboprop market segment.

Notable operators

Major operators have included Air France (through regional subsidiaries), Air Tahiti, Lao Airlines, and various regional carriers across Africa and Southeast Asia.

Notable facts

›The -500 introduced six-bladed composite propellers, significantly reducing cabin noise compared to earlier ATR 42 variants.
›Maximum takeoff weight was increased relative to the -320, improving payload-range performance.
›The PW127E engines produce approximately 2,400 shaft horsepower each.
›ATR delivered the first -500 variant to Air Littoral in 1995.
›The ATR 42-500 shares a high degree of commonality with the larger ATR 72-500, simplifying crew and maintenance training.