Exactly forty years ago, on December 3rd, 1985, a small turboprop rolled out of the assembly line in Toulouse and went on to shape the future of regional aviation. It was the ATR 42-300, manufacturer serial number MSN 004, delivered to French carrier Air Littoral – the very first ATR ever handed over to a commercial operator.
Entering the fleet as a technologically advanced and cost-efficient alternative to regional aircraft of its time, MSN 004 quickly proved its worth in daily operations. Over ten and a half years with Air Littoral, the aircraft completed 20,170 flights and accumulated 20,760 flight hours, with an average sector time of roughly one hour. Its strong reliability became a defining characteristic of the ATR brand, and this pioneering aircraft effectively opened a new chapter in both European and global regional air transport.
Today’s celebration of the 40th anniversary of that first delivery is a reminder of how a modest turboprop laid the groundwork for a major success story. Since then, ATR has grown into the global leader in the regional turboprop market, with more than 1,600 aircraft delivered and fleets that connect thousands of smaller communities worldwide every day.
The operational history of ATR 42-300 MSN 004 is equally fascinating, revealing how this pioneering airframe remained in demand throughout its career. Delivered to Air Littoral on 3 December 1985 as F-GEGD, it spent its early years with the French carrier before being transferred to Air Tahiti in 1990, only to return to Air Littoral later that same year. In 1996 it joined Islena Airlines as HR-IAX, staying with the Honduran operator until 2006, when it moved to the fleet under registration TG-IAX. From 2007 it operated for Islena and Aeroperlas as HP-004APP, and in 2014 it entered private ownership under its current registration TG-AGD, where it remains today—stored and out of service. Particularly noteworthy is the unusual fact that MSN 004 was delivered four months before MSN 003, making its status as the first delivered ATR even more remarkable.
The company notes that MSN 004 was only the beginning of a journey that continues to this day, and that the success of the first model remains a lasting source of inspiration for future projects and for the next generation of efficient, sustainable and technologically advanced turboprops. This anniversary is therefore not only a look back, but also a look ahead – toward the continued evolution of regional aviation, which ATR intends to keep leading.
