LONON – Brand new Japanese carrier Toki Air has today announced that it has taken delivery of its first ATR72-600 aircraft as the new carrier prepares now to start options servicing what it has referred to as “essential” travel for its Japanese customers.
ATR Grows In Japan
Toki Air becomes the fourth carrier to now operates the ATR aircraft which has become a favoured choice thanks to its ability to have a lower impact on the local environment. While propeller aircraft have noise pollution, when it comes to performance and fuel burn they tend to be the favoured choice over jet engines on shorter routes, this is also due to the cost of maintenance compared to the popularity of particular services.
The aircraft was provided through the aircraft lessor company NAC. The delivery also comes with a ten-year agreement with ATR global maintenance, which will support Toki Air’s mission of revitalising Niigata city and the surrounding regions of Japan when the carrier launches its service in 2023.
ATR Chief Executive Officer, Nathalie Tarnaud Laude, said: “Our long-term relationship with NAC and the confidence of the lessors’ community in our aircraft allow new airlines such as Toki Air to offer their passengers the most modern and sustainable aircraft on the regional market. The support we will be able to provide through the ATR Global Maintenance Agreement will also ensure the most reliable and efficient services.”
Norman C.T. Liu, President & CEO of NAC, said: “We are pleased to welcome Toki Air as our newest customer. We wish all the team at Toki Air every success and look forward to a long-term, successful partnership.”
Who is Toki Air
The new start-up carrier earns its name from the Japanese ancestral bird called “Japanese Crested ibis”, which mainly lives on Sado Island, it is a symbol of the preservation of japans nature and was done to highlight the carrier’s commitment to connecting areas that coexist with nature, while operating at the lowest CO2 emissions and most fuel-efficient aircraft it can.
Masaki Hasegawa, Representative Director of Toki Air, said: “We are pleased to start operating our ATR 72-600 aircraft soon. Thanks to their unrivalled versatility and responsible and affordable performance, ATR aircraft are the ideal choice for us as an airline and for our country.”
“This first aircraft will allow us to serve our higher purpose by providing a responsible and reliable air connection to the communities of the Niigata Prefecture and surrounding regions. We look forward to seeing Toki flying in the skies of Japan.”
It is not yet clear the success that the carrier will have when it launches its services next year, however, it is clear that there is a major growing market across Japan for services like these, with ATR releasing a report which showed there were 15 of their aircraft currently operating in Japan right now, with a short to medium term demand likely to increase past 100.
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