Sum Air’s first ATR 72-600 is seen at ATR’s hangar in Toulouse, France, on this undated picture. Courtesy of Sum Air
Sum Air, Korea’s first airline devoted to connecting islands and distant areas, will obtain its first plane from its producer in France later this month.
The plane, an ATR 72-600, is the newest 72-seat turboprop mannequin produced by Toulouse-based ATR. It’s scheduled to depart the French metropolis on Dec. 31 and make stopovers in Turkey, Uzbekistan and China earlier than arriving at Gimpo Worldwide Airport on Jan. 2.
Sum Air beforehand signed a purchase order settlement with ATR for eight plane. The deal comes because the airline prepares to launch new home routes subsequent yr, together with service between Gimpo and Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, in March and between Gimpo and Ulsan in Could. The service plans to deploy the small-sized plane to develop air connectivity to regional locations throughout the nation.
The ATR 72-600 — the primary ATR mannequin to be launched in Korea — is designed to function on runways which might be shorter than these at main airports, based on Sum Air. The plane can take off from and land on runways as brief as 1,200 meters, in contrast with the two,800 to three,000 meters usually required for planes at worldwide airports. This functionality makes it well-suited for smaller airports on islands and in mountainous areas.
A picture that includes Sum Air’s brand / Courtesy of Sum Air
In 2022, ATR examined the plane’s environmental efficiency by working it on one hundred pc sustainable aviation gas, efficiently demonstrating its eco-friendliness. Since its introduction, the turboprop plane has not recorded any operational accidents involving chicken strikes or engine failure, Sum Air mentioned.
Sum Air’s brand, which juxtaposes an island and a triangle, has obtained recognition on the Good Design Korea 2023 awards and the Asia Design Prize 2024.
“Our image displays our imaginative and prescient of enhancing regional mobility by connecting islands and the mainland and providing a brand new mobility expertise,” mentioned Choi Yong-suk, president of Sum Air. “With the ATR 72-600, we intention to enhance transportation entry in underserved areas and grow to be a number one airline connecting communities nationwide.”
