China’s C919 gets another 100 orders in biggest deal yet, but when will they land?
- China Eastern Airlines, the first commercial operator of nation’s home-grown narrowbody passenger jet, has flown 35,000 passengers on the C919 since its maiden flight in May
- New deal is worth nearly US$10 billion, but the state-owned airline was said to receive a bulk-order discount
China’s flagship narrowbody airliner has received its largest purchase order yet – adding to a huge backlog that is expected to take several years to fulfil as the plane’s maker aims to reshape the passenger-aircraft market now dominated by Boeing and Airbus.
China Eastern Airlines, the world’s first operator of the C919, said it signed a contract on Thursday with the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) to buy 100 more units of the passenger plane, on top of the five it ordered in 2021.
Five are to be delivered in 2024, 10 will be delivered annually in the following three years, and 15 will follow each year from 2028-30, it said. Annual deliveries are expected to reach 20 in 2031.
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The new order is worth US$9.9 billion at list prices, but the airline said a discount was applied for the bulk order.
China Eastern Airlines has flown the C919 commercially for nearly 900 hours, transporting more than 35,000 passengers. The plane could eventually compete with the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 family of jets.
According to state broadcaster CCTV, Comac has a backlog of more than 1,500 orders for the C919.
The demonstration started on August 24 and spanned all 25 airports in Xinjiang. Over the following month, one ARJ21 aircraft and two C919 planes were deployed, conducting demonstration flights in different phases and locations.
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“These flights have thoroughly validated the adaptability of domestically produced commercial aircraft to the complex terrain, diverse climates, rapidly changing weather conditions, and numerous airports in the Xinjiang region,” said a statement on Comac’s corporate WeChat account. “This has laid a solid foundation for the subsequent operation of domestically produced commercial aircraft in Xinjiang.”
According to Comac, the company subsequently signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Xinjiang, focusing on deepening collaboration in areas such as aircraft operations, establishing a local operational network, developing aircraft maintenance and training capabilities and nurturing the large aircraft industry chain.
As part of this partnership, Comac will establish maintenance and training capabilities for domestic commercial aircraft in Xinjiang to support large-scale operations of the ARJ21.
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Xinjiang is the largest provincial-level region in China and boasts the most airports among all provinces, regions and municipalities, while the high altitude, wind and extreme temperatures require aircraft to be able to be versatile and adapt safely.
On Tuesday, Comac displayed seven static ARJ21s and two C919s at Urumqi Diwopu International Airport in Xinjiang.
Among the seven ARJ21s, there were derivative models, including executive jets, medical aircraft, cargo aircraft, and emergency rescue command aircraft. This marked the first appearance of those four models on the same stage together.
TransNusa has the backing of China Aircraft Leasing Company, which is partly owned by Everbright Group, a state-owned financial giant.
