InterSky. 3L. ISK

L'autrichien InterSky réceptionne son premier ATR 72, un -600

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By [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] | January 9, 2013

Austrian regional carrier [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] has taken delivery of its first of two 70-seat ATR 72-600s.


The regional carrier is the first ATR operator in Austria.

The aircraft will be used on routes to key regional destinations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The second ATR 72-600 is scheduled for delivery in March.

According to ATR, the aircraft are valued at around $24 million.

Intro Group owner Hans Rudolf Woehrl told ATW in Friedrichshafen: “We have now the Austrian market in focus. Besides our new twice-daily Graz-Zurich service starting from Jan. 14, we [will] start 4X-daily Salzburg-Zurich service [in the] coming summer.”

The Intro group owns 74.9% of Intersky.

Woehrl said he will consider further routes from Intersky’s base in Friedrichshafen to destinations including Hanover, Paris, Rome or Madrid.

But he warned these routes also come with risks. “First, Intersky has to create some passenger volume. And if we don’t make a
real profit, we won’t [be] expanding our network,” he said, adding that opening a new route costs between €4 million ($5.2 million) and €5 million and takes up to four scheduled periods—nearly two years—before the new route breaks even.

Intersky operates three Bombardier Dash-8 Q300s. “I expect that the Dash-8 will remain in the fleet for markets where the ATRs are not able to operate profitably.

Intersky could look to the future with a fleet of up to five ATRs and three Dash-8s. This is realistic,” he said.

In the long-term, Woehrl said he could see a fleet of up to 20 ATRs.

Woehrl said Intersky made a small profit last year, but is expecting a loss in 2013 due to the new route investment.