ATR 42-300/320

Updated: October 2026 – A small high-wing aircraft with a T-tail taxis to the runway in the evening dusk, the cabin windows are taped over, and the propellers on the engines have conspicuously few blades: chances are you are looking at an ATR 42-300, and a freighter at that. The first generation of the ATR turboprop has become a classic. This page shows you how to tell it apart from the more modern ATR 42-500 and -600, what the -320 does differently and why most of the remaining aircraft fly parcels instead of passengers today.

What is the ATR 42-300?

The ATR 42-300 is the first production version of the ATR 42 and thus the start of a turboprop family that is still being built today. The abbreviation ATR stands for “Avions de Transport Régional” or “Aerei da Trasporto Regionale”: a French-Italian joint project that was then carried by Aérospatiale and Aeritalia. Today the shareholders are Airbus and Leonardo; you can find more about the company itself on the page about ATR.

The number 42 refers to the size class of a good 40 seats. In practice, airlines usually fitted their aircraft with around 46 to 50 seats. The fuselage is 22.67 meters long, the wingspan is 24.57 meters – values that have stayed the same up to today’s ATR 42-600.

The key development milestones:

• August 16, 1984: first flight of the ATR 42 in Toulouse
• September 1985: certification by the French and Italian aviation authorities
• December 3, 1985: delivery of the first production aircraft to Air Littoral; scheduled service began in the same month
• 1987: entry into service of the -320 with more powerful engines
• 1996: end of production of the -300 and -320

The -300 is powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW120 engines, each turning a four-blade Hamilton Standard propeller. The maximum takeoff weight is around 16.7 tonnes.

The ATR 42-320: more power for hot days

The -320 is not a new airframe but a performance variant. Instead of the PW120 it carries the more powerful PW121. The extra power matters most where turboprops otherwise reach their limits: in high temperatures and at high-elevation airports, where the thinner air cuts takeoff power. Airlines in warm regions or with mountain airports in their network had more margin in payload and takeoff distance.

For spotters, the -320 is a tough nut. Fuselage, wings, tail and propellers are identical to the -300, and the ICAO code AT43 is the same, too. You can only settle the difference through the registration and a fleet database. How to read and look up registrations is explained in the article Understanding aircraft registrations; how to find out an aircraft’s year of manufacture is covered in How old is this aircraft?.

A short look ahead within the family: the -400 was a further development of the -320 with six-blade propellers, of which only a handful were built. The real generational change came with the ATR 42-500, which was announced in 1993, first flew in September 1994 and was delivered to Air Dolomiti from October 1995.

The three features that are enough to identify it

With the first ATR generation, it all comes down to a detail many people overlook at first glance: the propellers. With three observations you can still be sure quickly.

That leaves the question of -300 or -320: only the registration answers that. For your collection it is often secondary anyway, because AT43 is AT43 – it gets more interesting when you wonder whether you caught a passenger aircraft, a Quick Change or a pure freighter.

ATR 42-300, ATR 42-500 or ATR 72-200?

Most mix-ups happen within the ATR family. The table summarizes the key differences.

Feature	ATR 42-300/-320	ATR 42-500	ATR 72-200/-210
ICAO type designator	AT43	AT45	AT72
Blades per propeller	4	6	4
Fuselage length	22.67 m	22.67 m	much longer, around 27 m
Look in profile	compact, wings longer than fuselage	compact, wings longer than fuselage	stretched
Production	1985–1996	from 1995	first generation of the ATR 72

The most dangerous mix-up is with the ATR 72-200, because both carry four-blade propellers. Here the fuselage length decides: on the ATR 72 there are visibly more windows ahead of and behind the wing, and the fuselage is about as long as the wingspan. The ATR 42, by contrast, looks stubby, almost square. What ICAO type designators mean in general and how to read them is explained in the article ICAO type codes explained.

ATR, Dash 8-100 or Fokker 50?

Other regional turboprops from the same era may cross your path. The finder helps narrow it down.

The Dash 8-100 was the ATR 42-300’s direct competitor in the late 1980s and is similar in size; its landing gear, however, retracts into the engine nacelles. The Fokker 50 is also a high-wing aircraft, but carries its horizontal stabilizer low on the rear fuselage instead of on top of the fin. The Saab 340, finally, is a low-wing aircraft. For a broader overview, see the article Telling turboprops apart.

A second life as a freighter

The real story of the ATR 42-300 in the 21st century is its life as a cargo aircraft. The ATR 42-300QC (“Quick Change”), which could be converted between passenger and cargo operation, was available straight from the factory. As the first generation left passenger service, numerous conversions followed. By October 2012, more than a fifth of the first-generation ATR 42s and ATR 72s had already been converted to freighters.

There are two basic forms:

• Bulk freighter: The cabin is cleared out, the cargo is loaded loose and secured with vertical nets. According to common figures, such a conversion economically carries up to about five tonnes.
• ULD freighter: In addition, the fuselage gets a large cargo door at the front left through which standardized load units (Unit Load Devices) fit.

Several specialist shops offered conversion programs, including Alenia’s subsidiary Aeronavali and M7 Aerospace. A supplemental type certificate (STC) for pure cargo operation exists for all ATR 42 variants.

The best-known operator is the feeder network of FedEx in North America. There, contract partners fly smaller aircraft between regional stations and the big sorting hubs. FedEx is considered the largest operator of the ATR 42; the feeder fleet includes ATR 42-300 freighters alongside ATR 72 freighters and Cessnas. How parcel carriers’ networks are built is explained in the article Express integrators DHL, FedEx and UPS. And how to identify freighters with confidence in general is covered in Recognizing cargo aircraft.

In Europe the picture has changed. ASL Airlines Ireland operated ATR 42-300 freighters for a long time but retired its last aircraft in April 2021. The successors in Europe’s feeder networks are more likely ATR 72 freighters, such as the ATR 72-600F.

The ATR 42-300 in German-speaking countries

Historically, the first ATR 42 generation was also active in Germany and Switzerland. ATR 42-300s are documented from the late 1980s and 1990s with German regional airlines such as Nürnberger Flugdienst (NFD) and RFG Regionalflug. Farnair Switzerland was based in Basel, later ASL Airlines Switzerland. Alongside ATR 72 freighters, a first-generation ATR 42 was still part of the fleet in 2016; in February 2018 the airline ceased operations. Its home airport was EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg.

As of October 2026, no airline in the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) operates the ATR 42-300 or -320 on a scheduled basis. If you see one, it is usually a freighter, a ferry flight to a maintenance shop or a visitor from abroad. That is exactly why every sighting is a small stroke of luck. How to judge how special your sighting really is can be found in the article How rare is my sighting?.

Place	Chance of a hit	Why
Large DACH hubs	very low	No scheduled operations, at most visitors
Cargo and regional airports	low	Occasional cargo charters, ferry flights, maintenance flights
North America (FedEx feeder stations)	medium to high	Largest remaining fleet of early ATR 42 freighters
Remote regions and island networks worldwide	medium	Older ATR 42s there partly still fly in passenger service

Live searches for rare types work best through tracking services; how ADS-B helps with that is covered in the guide to flight tracking with ADS-B. You can find more strategies for rarities under Spotting rare aircraft, and if you search at smaller fields, you will get tips in the article Spotting at small regional airports.

Spotting in practice: freighters at dusk

Because most active ATR 42-300s fly cargo, spotting time often shifts to the edges of the day. Feeder flights are typically timed so that shipments reach the sorting hub in the evening and go back out early in the morning. For you that means: get up early or stay late, and be able to handle low light.

Which direction the aircraft land from is revealed by the runway direction in use; how to estimate it in advance is covered in Understanding the runway direction in use at an airport. When the light is right at your spot, you plan with the guide Planning the sun position for your photo spot. Whether your location is legally fine is answered by Is plane spotting allowed?.

Photo tips for the first ATR generation

The ATR 42-300 is small, and its four-blade propellers are the detail that sets it apart from the younger sisters. These points help you get a picture that shows the type unambiguously.

Which focal length fits which situation can be found in Lens for plane spotting: the right focal length. For shots in the dark, the article Photographing aircraft at night helps.

Common mix-ups and how to rule them out

Conclusion

The ATR 42-300 and -320 are the pioneers of one of the most successful turboprop families. The ATR basic shape leads you to the family, the four-blade propellers to the first generation, the compact proportions to the 42. In passenger service they have become rare, but as freighters in feeder networks they are still on the move. For spotters in German-speaking countries, every sighting is a real find.