Hainan Airlines has become the latest customer of Comac
after placing an order for 40 aircraft.
More Chinese planes for Chinese airlines
Earlier today, Bloomberg reported that Hainan Airlines reached an agreement with Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) for 40 new ARJ21-700s to be operated by Urumqi Air. A filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange says the low-cost carrier will sign the deal, which is worth up to $1.52 billion. But before it is finalized, the airline’s shareholders and Chinese government must authorize it.
Photo: COMAC
The ARJ21-700 is the first short-medium range turbofan regional plane to have been created in China. These planes can seat between 78 and 97 passengers and have a range of 2,225 to 3,700 kilometers. Next month, the Chinese manufacturer will celebrate one decade since the certification of the -700.
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In ten years since the plane’s certification, COMAC has manufactured under 200 of the type. According to ch-aviation, there are 148 ARJ21-700s worldwide, listed as active and inactive. The full list of 11 operators is below:
- Air China
- China Express
- China Southern
- Chengdu Airlines
- CFGAC
- Genghis Khan
- Jiangxi
- OTT Airlines
- Shantou
- TransNusa
- COMAC
Of the carriers currently flying the -700s, Chengdu Airlines was the first to begin flights. Data shows that Chengdu’s first plane was delivered on October 27, 2014. Most of the planes listed as active or inactive (typically in maintenance) have been delivered from 2020 forward.
Recent COMAC news
As of April, COMAC had orders from the ‘Big Three” Chinese carriers for its C919, Air China, China Southern, and China Eastern Airlines. China Southern and Air China both placed an order for 100 of the C919s. Interestingly enough, all three of the airlines listed above have placed orders for 100 planes.
Prior to April, only China Eastern had ordered the C919. The carrier’s first order for five aircraft was placed in March 2021. Then, in September 2023, the airline ordered 500 more of the type. Air China and China Southern placed their orders on the same day.
The HNA Group, which is one of the owners of Hainan Airlines, also announced a significant aircraft order in April. At the time, it purchased 60 C919s and 40ARJ21s. The 60 C919s were meant for two of the subsidiaries, Suparna Airlines and Urumqi Air.
“”In the fourth quarter of 2024, Suparna Airlines will receive its first C919 aircraft, becoming the world’s first privately-owned airline to operate the C919. The plan is to introduce a total of 30 C919 aircraft by the end of 2027, gradually establishing a passenger transport operation model based solely on China-developed C919 aircraft.” – Suparna Airlines
Today, only one airline, TransNusa, operates a COMAC aircraft outside of China. As shown above, the Indonesian low-cost carrier operates the ARJ21. Despite this, rumors surfaced in September that one of Brazil’s cargo carriers was considering a purchase for some COMAC aircraft.
Reports from Reuters said that one of Total’s partners was going to visit China in October to meet with COMAC and negotiate a purchase of four planes. Reuters added that a deal could be reached ahead of President Xi Jinping’s visit to Brazil for the G20 Summit.