FLY91 Places Firm Order for 40 ATR 72-600s

NEW DELHI — Indian regional carrier FLY91 (IC) has placed a firm order for 40 ATR 72-600 turboprops. ATR says deliveries are scheduled from 2027 through 2032.

FLY91 announced the transaction on September 3 and valued it at approximately US$1bn. ATR also described it as a direct purchase and a firm order. Neither company disclosed options, purchase rights or other conditional aircraft alongside the 40.

ATR did not publish the number of aircraft due in each year. The two order announcements also omit the financing structure, deposits, cabin configuration and contract terms governing possible deferrals or cancellations.

ATR Calls Deal Its Largest Firm Order in Almost a Decade

ATR calls the FLY91 deal its largest firm order in almost a decade and the largest ever placed by a regional airline. The regional-airline qualifier is important: this is not the manufacturer's largest order of all time.

ATR's official 2017 results recorded a firm order from IndiGo for 50 ATR 72-600s, compared with FLY91's 40. That larger historical order rules out describing the FLY91 agreement simply as ATR's largest order globally.

The FLY91 agreement raises ATR's 2026 order intake to 54 aircraft. That is four more than the manufacturer's 50 net orders for all of 2025, but below the 60 gross orders ATR reported before cancellations that year.

From Six Leased Aircraft to a Direct Order

FLY91 currently operates six ATR 72-600s. The airline sourced all six through leases rather than this purchase: Dubai Aerospace Enterprise supplied the first two aircraft and the fifth and sixth, while TrueNoord placed the third and fourth with the airline.

The order creates a direct-purchase pipeline for the carrier. The 40 aircraft are future deliveries and do not bring FLY91's current fleet to 46; the six aircraft in service are leased.

FLY91 says it plans to grow beyond 60 aircraft over the coming years. ATR says the fleet will reach 60 within five years. The announced numbers do not fully reconcile: six current aircraft plus 40 ordered aircraft total 46, leaving at least 14 additional aircraft to be sourced if the carrier is to reach a fleet of 60 without retirements. Neither release identifies those aircraft or says whether they would come through more leases or another purchase.

Regional Growth Plan

FLY91 launched commercial operations in 2024 and says it has since operated more than 15,000 flights. The airline reports close to 280 weekly flights across 12 destinations, with a 13th destination scheduled to begin later in September.

The Goa-headquartered carrier focuses on regional links serving smaller Indian cities. Its expansion comes as the Indian government begins a new phase of regional-aviation support. In March, the government approved a 10-year, ₹28,840 crore Modified UDAN program, including plans to develop 100 airports from unserved airstrips and provide route and operating support.

That policy context may help expand the pool of regional markets, but it does not establish which routes FLY91 will fly with the ordered aircraft or how their purchase will be financed. Neither order announcement identifies bases, routes or a seating layout for the 40 aircraft.

ATR says deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2027. The reviewed releases do not resolve the annual delivery tranches or identify the additional aircraft required to build FLY91's intended 60-aircraft fleet.