Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) delivered the first ARJ21-700 regional passenger aircraft to launch customer Chengdu Airlines ...
Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) delivered the first ARJ21-700 regional passenger aircraft to launch customer Chengdu Airlines on Sunday, a major breakthrough for Chinese aviation industry.
Delivery of the ARJ21, which is the first indigenously developed jet engine powered passenger aircraft in China, demonstrates its capability to design, test and certify an commercial aircraft.
The delivery ceremony was hosted by VP Luo Ronghuai, the general director of the ARJ21 program and VP of COMAC, in the final assembly center of COMAC.
The aircraft with registration MSN 106 arrived at the Shuangliu International Airport in Shuangliu county, Sichuan following the delivery ceremony in Shanghai, after flying for around 3 hours.
Development of the ARJ21 began in 2002 and maiden flight was carried out in 2008. Type certification from Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) was achieved in December 2014. Lack of US FAA certification will limit the aircraft to non-western markets.
The short/medium range regional jet with a maximum range of 3,700 km, is designed to operate in hub-spoke routes, ie to connect central cities to neighboring medium and small cities and has a standard range of 2,225 km.
The maximum takeoff weight of the aircraft is 40,500 kg and can operate at a maximum altitude 11,900 m.
Two GE CF34-10A turbofan engines are mounted on the rear of the aircraft. There are 78 seats in a dual-class configuration and 90 seats in a full economy class configuration. Its economic life is designed to be 60000 flying hours/20 calendar years
COMAC has received more than 300 orders from 19 airlines, including three from the Republic of Congo.
The aircraft will enter service with Chengdu Airlines in roughly 90 days time. The airline, a subsidiary of COMAC and an all-Airbus operator until now, will initially take delivery of five of the 30 ARJ21-700s it has on order.
Those five regional jets are expected to operate domestic routes from Chengdu to Shanghai Pudong, Nanjing, Kunming, Xi’an, Guiyang, Beijing and Wuhan.
The experience in developing the ARJ21 enabled COMAC to develop the larger C919 single aisle jet, which was rolled out in November 2015. The C919 will compete with Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 airplanes, with maiden flight scheduled for early 2016.
